christmas lights on leisure battery, charged by panels

[Noddy67]

Hi,

Got a few panels left over and wanted to see if I could power my outdoor LED's using Solar, but not sure on the charging issues for the leisure battery.

Can I use a panel with c30v MPP panel to charge two 12v batteries in series? Near enough? Is there a risk of overcharging?

Anyone?

Regards

R

 

[Aquinas_Quark]

Hi, assuming you mean 12V lead-acid batteries; a fully charged battery is about 13.8V, so you need a voltage regulator to limit voltage to say 28V (2 x 14V), otherwise the batteries can start to gas (electrolyse the water) after being fully charged. That and a diode so the battery can't discharge through the panels (possibly the panels have one already) should do it - a fuse in series wouldn't hurt if all else fails.

 

[Noddy67]

thanks Quark.... just what I need to set me off in the right direction.

 

[Scooby]

Not even expensive - as long as it does the job! 10A Solar Panel Charge Controller Regulator 12V 24V | eBay

 

[Aquinas_Quark]

Only up to 24V; see Maplin, LM337 3-Terminal Negative Adjustable Regulator : Voltage Regulators : Maplin Electronics
and their other voltage regs.