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solar charge controller for 6v solar panle & 4.8v battery

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moehao

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Hi guys,

I using a 6v solar panel to charge a 4.8v battery.
I want to use the solar charge controller to reduce the solar panel voltage and monitoring the battery voltage.
And if possible i also want to use the solar charge controller to stop charging the battery when the battery is fully charged or is discharged to other system.
Is there any suggestion which type of solar charge controller i should use or is there any alternative solution by not using solar charge controller?
 
Hello moehao,

can you answer these questions:

(1) What type is the 4.8V battery: lead acid (LA), nickel cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal hydride (NMH), Lithium Ion (LiIon)? The terminal voltage of 4.8V would imply a stack of four NiCd or NMH cells.

(2) What is the capacity of the battery (mA/Hours or A/Hours)?

(3) What is the maximum power output of the solar panel (Amps)?

To answer your question, in general you can either use a purpose designed off-the-shelf controller to do your job or possibly a switch mode power supply which, depending on your answers above, should be quite cheap and, in Singapore, should be freely available.

spec
 
Last edited:
Hi spec,

The battery is NiMH cell.
The capacity of the battery is 2550mAh.
The power output of the solar panel is show 300mA, and I measure by the multimeter is about 220mA.
 
Hi spec,

The battery is NiMH cell.
The capacity of the battery is 2550mAh.
The power output of the solar panel is show 300mA, and I measure by the multimeter is about 220mA.
Thanks Moehao- we like quick concise replies on ETO- they help us to find a solution for your solar cell application.

spec
 
Hi spec,

I found this solar charge controller: Wincong SX01-3A 3A 6V 12V solar panel light controller Battery Charge Regulators
i would like to ask is this solar charge controller good enough for my situation?


Thank you
 
Hi again Moehao,

NMH batteries are the most difficult batteries to charge and especially so at a current of capacity/10 or less. In your case, the solar cell produces around 220 mA and the battery capacity is 2550 mAh. An explanation is here: **broken link removed**

I hate to do this because you have not asked for it, but would you consider changing to a lithium ion battery. A single 18650 LiIon battery would give you 3.6V at up to 3400mAh or two in series would give 7.2V at 3400mAh.

Changing to LiIon batteries would give a much better and potentially cheaper system.

Could you describe what the NMH battery is used for.

Also could you describe how you are charging the NMH battery now?

spec
 
Last edited:
Unless portability is a big issue, even easier than LiIon to manage is a Sealed Lead Acid, like this one.
 
Hi spec,

The NiMH battery is used for store energy get from the solar panel. Then the energy inside the battery will use to run other item such as DCmotor.
The battery is new bought and havent been charge before。


Thank you
 
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