Rob,
At further risk of too much tech talk, open circuit voltages on 12Volt rate=
d
solar panels in bright sun are usually well above 15 V. The issue in chargi=
ng
sealed lead acid batteries is avoiding too much current (0.1 -0.3 X battery=
capacity initially are fairly typical charge rates AFAIK). Assuming sunligh=
t or
panel size aren't constraints, this makes charging SLAs substantially slowe=
r
than, say, nicads, some of which can accept much higher charging rates. A
blocking diode has some overhead, so if you are actively managing charging,=
you may not want it.
Bill R.
--- In Rob Danielson <> wrote:
>
> Thanks Bill (and Oryoki) I was wondering about the suppliers
> involved, how many they are, differences in quality etc. I've not the
> time to dive into the purchase research at the moment. Like others I
> bet, if you should come across a real bargain on a roll-up 20-40 watt
> panel, I will take your word that its time to invest. I need to do
> fairly serious charging. A diode,...duh! The possibility of the
> charge rate even becoming excessive is a good thing compared to the
> last time I used solar panels. They can crank out above 15.5 volts,
> as rated? Car alternators can get almost that high can't they? Guess
> you don't want to stress the cells either. Thanks again for sharing
> your expertise Bill. Rob D.
________________________________________________________________________
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"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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