Review on ☀️ Sunforce 7 Amp Solar Charge Controller: Enhanced SEO-Optimized Product Title by Jerry Eintertainment

I bought one of these in 2007 and used it to charge two deep cycle batteries in my RV for two years before realizing which was better. Solar charging was new to me and it was cheap so I decided to give it a try. It turned out to work fine - it showed that it was charging. But my batteries never seemed to last long. I set out to find out why and learned a lot about solar charging in the process. With that training came an awareness of the pitfalls of charge controllers like this one. This is an "On/Off" slider. When your batteries reach 14.2 volts, it simply turns itself off. Your batteries will then be discharged, either because something is empty or simply over time (self-discharge). Once they reach 13 volts this controller turns back on bringing them back to 14.2 volts and the cycle repeats. The problem is that your 12 volt batteries aren't fully charged when they reach 14.2 volts. Deep-cycle batteries, in particular, need more than that. Many are rated at 14.4V, some as high as 14.8V (many 6V pairs in series fall into this latter category). And when they reach that voltage, they should continue to be charged with a gradually decreasing current until they are completely filled. If they don't, they will chronically undercharge, preventing you from fully utilizing the battery's capacity. It's like having a 10 gallon gas tank in your car but never more than 7-8 gallons in it. As a result, you can't use as much power before you need to recharge. Worse, chronic undercharging shortens battery life. The plates become sulphated and the electrolyte liquid becomes stratified. The charges of the individual cells of the battery diverge and eventually cell failure occurs. It only takes one element to fail, and your battery will become nothing more than a toxic lead charge. Look for charge controllers that use PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) or MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) technology. MPPT is expensive and not very viable for many small solar systems, but there are many PWM controllers on the market today that are almost as cheap as this cheap Sunforce On/Off model. PWM controllers charge your batteries in three stages: suck and float. Bulk allows all of your solar panels to rush onto the batteries until they reach a set point (e.g. 14.4V). At this point the absorption phase takes over as the voltage is held there while the amperage your batteries can handle gradually decreases over several hours. It really fully charges your batteries. At the end of the absorption phase, the float phase takes over and gradually charges the batteries, keeping them fully charged. Renogy is one of the brands sold here on Revain. The ten amp model uses PWM and even includes built-in temperature compensation, but that's about $10 more than this Sunforce model. However, you will probably save more battery life. However, it also has its disadvantages, such as B. a short absorption regimen of 30 minutes. If you really want a good one, look for Morningstar, Blue Sky, Rogue, or Xantrex to name a few. I've also heard good things about a very cheap Chinese brand called Landstar. Although most of them are a bit more expensive, they don't sacrifice battery life and give you more battery capacity to work with. For more information about 12v solar charging, visit rvsolar101 dot blogspot dot com. Part 7 is about charge controllers.