Amp Solar Regulator
The REDARC 30A Solar Regulator ensures the correct charge is supplied safely and efficiently to charge an auxiliary battery and is ideal when multiple REDARC solar blankets are used simultaneously. Available with Anderson™ SB™50 connectors.
REDARC’S newly designed 30 Amp Solar Regulator comes with the Anderson™ SB™50 connectors and is ideal for use when multiple REDARC solar blankets are used simultaneously. REDARC’s 30 Amp Solar Regulator acts as the go between to transfer power generated from the panels to the battery.
Featuring multistage charging; boost, absorption and float, REDARC’s 30 Amp Solar Regulator ensures that the correct charge is supplied safely and efficiently to the battery and will protect it from over charging.
It will work with multiple chemistry batteries including AGM, Standard and Calcium, is ideal for permanent installation or portable systems, and has multiple levels of protection including over temperature, over charge and reverse polarity.
What’s more set up is now even easier thanks to genuine industry standard Anderson™ SB™50 connectors. These high quality Anderson™ plugs are simple and fast to connect with no screw terminals and no risk of poor connections from frayed wires or loose terminals – just plug and play!
Battery default setting is AGM. REDARC recommends the purchase of the REDARC Solar Remote Monitor to change battery types and configuration settings.
Features
- Multi-stage charging- boost, absorption, and float
- Works with multiple battery types (REDARC Solar Remote Monitor required)
- Ideal for permanent installation or portable systems
- Multiple levels of protection – over temperature, over charge, reverse polarity
- Genuine Industry Standard Anderson™ SB™50 plug connection
| 9338628004188 |
| REDARC |
| 360/7520W |
| −31°F to 131°F |
| 1.2 lb (550 g) |
| 1.1 (28 mm) |
| 6 (153 mm) |
| 4.25 (108 mm) |
| Anderson™ SB™ 50 |
| 12V / 24V |
| 30A |
REDARC offers customers free freight on orders within the contiguous US states on all orders placed over 100 via the REDARC website. Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico have low fixed freight rates. All products have a 5 day lead time before shipment after which it will be shipped via our preferred shipping method.
Please note that your order will require a signature on delivery. Please monitor your tracking details to ensure you are present at your delivery address when your order is delivered.
Orders will be shipped from our distribution center in North Carolina, USA with delivery timeframes dependant on location.
Customers can contact REDARC at power@redarcelectronics.com for additional freight options and pricing. The REDARC site can only be used to ship orders to the US contiguous states, as well as orders to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.
The terms and conditions relating to ‘Return of goods’ set out in our Trading Terms will apply to all good purchased by you via the site. All goods purchased by you via the site also come with a manufacturer’s warranty found here.
A 100% Australian-owned company, we have met the needs of customers in transport and other industries through exciting, innovative thinking. We believe in total customer satisfaction and practice this by offering our customers:
Technical advice free of jargon and free of charge
Prompt turnaround of orders
Friendly, personalized, professional service and product support In the unlikely event that a technical issue arises with a REDARC product, customers are encouraged to initially contact the REDARC Technical Support Team.
Choosing the Right Solar Charge Controller/Regulator
A solar charge controller (frequently called a regulator) is similar to a regular battery charger, i.e. it regulates the current flowing from the solar panel into the battery bank to avoid overcharging the batteries. (If you don’t need to understand the why’s, scroll to the end for a simple flow chart). As with a regular quality battery charger, various battery types are accommodated, the absorption voltage, float voltage can be selectable, and sometimes the time periods and/or the tail current are also selectable. They are especially suited for lithium-iron-phosphate batteries as once fully charged the controller then stays at the set float or holding voltage of around 13.6V (3.4V per cell) for the remainder of the day.
The most common charge profile is the same basic sequence used on a quality mains charger, i.e. bulk mode absorption mode float mode. Entry into bulk charge mode occurs at:
- sunrise in the morning
- if the battery voltage drops below a defined voltage for more than a set time period, e.g. 5 seconds (re-entry)
This re-entry into bulk mode works well with lead-acid batteries as the voltage drop and droop is worse than it is for lithium-based batteries which maintain a higher more stable voltage throughout the majority of the discharge cycle.
Lithium batteries
Lithium batteries (LiFePO4) do not benefit from re-entry into a bulk mode during the day as the internal impedance of the lithium batteries increases at high (and low) states of charge as indicated by the orange vertical lines in the chart below and it is only necessary to occasionally balance the cells which can only be done around the absorption voltage. A related reason is to avoid the Rapid and large variation in voltage that will occur in these regions as large loads are switched on and off.
Lithium batteries do not have a defined “float voltage”, and therefore the “float voltage” of the controller should be set to be at or just below the “charge knee voltage” (as indicated in the chart below) of the LiFePO4 charge profile, i.e. 3.4V per cell or 13.6V for a 12V battery. The controller should hold this voltage for the remainder of the day after bulk charging the battery.
The Difference Between PWM and MPPT Solar Charge Controllers
The crux of the difference is:
- With a PWM controller, the current is drawn out of the panel at just above the battery voltage, whereas
- With an MPPT solar charge controller the current is drawn out of the panel at the panel “maximum power voltage” (think of an MPPT controller as being a “Smart DC-DC converter”)
You often see slogans such as “you will get 20% or more energy harvesting from an MPPT controller”. This extra actually varies significantly and the following is a comparison assuming the panel is in full sun and the controller is in bulk charge mode. Ignoring voltage drops and using a simple panel and simple math as an example:
Battery voltage = 13V (battery voltage can vary between say 10.8V fully discharged and 14.4V during absorption charge mode). At 13V the panel amps will be slightly higher than the maximum power amps, say 5.2A
With a PWM controller, the power drawn from the panel is 5.2A 13V = 67.6 watts. This amount of power will be drawn regardless of the temperature of the panel, provided that the panel voltage remains above the battery voltage.
With an MPPT controller the power from the panel is 5.0A 18V = 90 watts, i.e. 25% higher. However this is overly optimistic as the voltage drops as temperature increases; so assuming the panel temperature rises to say 30°C above the standard test conditions (STC) temperature of 25°C and the voltage drops by 4% for every 10°C, i.e. total of 12% then the power drawn by the MPPT will be 5A 15.84V = 79.2W i.e. 17.2% more power than the PWM controller.
In summary, there is an increase in energy harvesting with the MPPT controllers, but the percentage increase in harvesting varies significantly over the course of a day.
PWM:
A PWM (pulse width modulation) controller can be thought of as an (electronic) switch between the solar panels and the battery:
- The switch is ON when the charger mode is in bulk charge mode
- The switch is “flicked” ON and OFF as needed (pulse width modulated) to hold the battery voltage at the absorption voltage
- The switch is OFF at the end of absorption while the battery voltage drops to the float voltage
- The switch is once again “flicked” ON and OFF as needed (pulse width modulated) to hold the battery voltage at the float voltage
Note that when the switch is OFF the panel voltage will be at the open-circuit voltage (Voc) and when the switch is ON the panel voltage will be at the battery voltage voltage drops between the panel and the controller.
The best panel match for a PWM controller:
The best panel match for a PWM controller is a panel with a voltage that is just sufficiently above that required for charging the battery and taking temperature into account, typically, a panel with a Vmp (maximum power voltage) of around 18V to charge a 12V battery. These are frequently referred to as a 12V panel even though they have a Vmp of around 18V.
MPPT:
The MPPT controller could be considered to be a “Smart DC-DC converter”, i.e. it drops the panel voltage (hence “house panels” could be used) down to the voltage required to charge the battery. The current is increased in the same ratio as the voltage is dropped (ignoring heating losses in the electronics), just like a conventional step-down DC-DC converter.
The “Smart” element in the DC-DC converter is the monitoring of the maximum power point of the panel which will vary during the day with the sun strength and angle, panel temperature, shading, and panel(s) health. The “smarts” then adjust the input voltage of the DC-DC converter – in “engineering speak” it provides a matched load to the panel.
The best panel match for an MPPT controller:
- The panel open circuit voltage (Voc) must be under the permitted voltage.
- The VOC must be above the “start voltage” for the controller to “kick in”
- The maximum panel short circuit current (Isc) must be within the range specified
- The maximum array wattage. some controllers allow this to be “over-sized”, e.g the Redarc Manager 30 is permitted to have up to 520W attached
Choosing the Right Solar Controller/Regulator
The PWM is a Good Low-Cost Option:
f or solar panels with a maximum power voltage (Vmp) of up to 18V for charging a 12V battery (36V for 24V battery, etc).
When the solar array voltage is substantially higher than the battery voltage e.g. using house panels, for charging 12V batteries
An MPPT controller will yield higher returns compared with a PWM controller as the panel voltage increases. I.e. a 160W panel using 36 conventional monocrystalline cells with a maximum power amp of 8.4A will provide around 8.6A at 12V; while the 180W panel having 4 more cells will provide the same amperage but 4 additional cells increases the panel voltage by 2V. A PWM controller will not harvest any additional energy, but an MPPT controller will harvest an additional 11.1% (4 / 36) from the 180W panel.
For the same principle, all panels using SunPower cells with more than 32 cells require an MPPT charge controller otherwise a PWM controller will harvest the same energy from 36, 40, 44 cell panels as it does from a 32 cell panel.
Solar Charge Controller Features and Options
Boost MPPT Controllers
“Boost” MPPT charge controllers allow batteries to be charged that has a higher voltage than the panel.
Combined MPPT and DC-DC Chargers
The MPPT function is a natural adjunct to the DC-DC charger function and there are several quality brands that provide this with more under development. A single unit can be used by itself, as it automatically switches between alternator charging and solar charging. For larger systems, our favoured arrangement is to use a separate MPPT controller for the fixed roof-mounted panels and use the combined MPPT/DC-DC with portable panels. In this case, an Anderson connector is placed on the exterior of an RV which is then wired to the solar input of the MPPT/DC-DC unit.
Note that the battery capacity must be sufficient so that the combined charging current from simultaneous charging from the alternator and the roof solar panels does not exceed the manufacturer’s recommended maximum charging current.
Cheaper Options
Cheap controllers may be marked as an MPPT but testing has shown that some are in fact PWM controllers. Cheap controllers may not have the over-voltage battery protection which could result in the battery being overcharged with potential damage to the battery; caution is recommended. Normally, due to the increased circuitry, MPPT solar charge controllers will be physically larger than PWM solar charge controllers.
Multiple Solar Chargers
Properly wired, it is possible to add multiple solar chargers (any combination of type and rating) to charge a battery. Proper wiring means that each solar charger is wired separately and directly to the battery terminals. This ideal case means that each controller will “see” the battery voltage and is unaffected by the current flow coming from other charge controllers. This situation is no different from charging a battery from the grid/generator at the same time as charging from solar. With modern controllers, the current will not flow backwards from the battery to the controller (excepting a very small quiescent current).
Dc to DC Chargers
DC to DC Chargers produce the right amount of charge and manage the charge sources of your dual battery system, including solar input. We supply a comprehensive range of DC to DC chargers from various manufacturers.
Projecta Intelli-Charge Dual Battery Chargers:
Deep cycle batteries cannot be completely charged from a vehicle’s alternator which only delivers a single voltage, typically 13.8V. This voltage (13.8V) under-charges and reduces the life of the deep cycle battery. The 3 stage charge delivered by the IDC range of chargers inputs a tailored charge specific to the selected battery ensuring increased performance and life of your deep cycle battery. The first stage (bulk) charges the battery faster while the second stage (absorption) ensures the battery is thoroughly charged. The final stage (float) maintains the battery ready for use and can be left connected indefinitely.
Matson DC to DC Dual Battery Chargers
Matsons MA20DCS 20 amp DC to DC charger with solar input offers sophisticated 3 stage Smart charging utilizing switch mode technology and designed to charge your storage/auxiliary battery using the vehicles 12V power source.
The MA30DCS DC-DC battery charger is the ideal companion for mounting inside the 4×4. Caravan. camper or RV for charging auxiliary batteries. The charger offers a strong 30 amp charging current with the flexibility of being able to be powered by both 12V from a vehicle alternator and up to 500 watts of solar panels simultaneously. The unit’s solar regulator uses Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technology to maximise the efficiency of the power harvested from the sun.The real strength of the MA30DCS comes in its versatility. The low voltage cut-out and chargingc cut-in voltages can be adjusted to suit most applications, making this unit ideal for vehicles with low or variable voltage alternators (Min cut in voltage 12.0V). The bulk charge and float charge voltages can be adjusted to suit different battery types, including Lithium (LiFePO4) and you can even decide if you want your solar panel input to take priority over the 12V alternator input. Note This charger is not designed to be mounted in the engine bay or externally.
REDARC DC to DC Dual Battery Chargers
REDARC In-Vehicle Battery Chargers feature technology designed to fully charge auxiliary batteries to a proven 100%. These unique DC to DC chargers ensure an auxiliary battery is able to achieve and maintain an optimal charge regardless of its type or size.
REDARC Lithium Iron Phosphate In-Vehicle Battery Chargers are suitable for use with a range of LiFePO4 batteries. They feature technology designed to fully charge an auxiliary LiFePO4 battery from the vehicle charging system and solar panels.
Description
The new REDARC Manager30 S3 is a 30A state-of-the-art battery management system designed to charge and maintain auxiliary batteries by incorporating AC, DC and solar inputs, ideal for recreational vehicles, caravans, and camper trailers with multiple battery banks.
The next generation Manager30 S3 model is the complete battery management system for charging auxiliary batteries used in recreational automotive and marine applications. The dual battery system incorporates AC, DC and solar inputs to achieve the best charge for an auxiliary battery.
Developed with ease of installation in mind, The Manager30 is compatible with all vehicles and alternator systems including variable voltage alternators.
Whether you’re charging Lead Acid, Gel, Calcium, AGM or Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, The Manager30 represents a complete DC to DC charging and maintenance solution. If you’re charging one auxiliary battery or more, The Manager30 will ensure they’re always fully charged, providing peace of mind when battery charge provides the power source for the comforts of home whilst travelling around Australia.
The Manager30 operates like 6 separate products, it charges an auxiliary battery from the vehicle while on the move, it’s a 240 volt charger, a solar regulator, a battery isolator, a load disconnect controller, all with a remote battery monitor, making it market leading.
Charging lithium batteries
Lithium batteries have improved storage capacity relative to size and weight. They do however require specific charging conditions in order to operate correctly and the battery itself must have an in-built cell management system. REDARC have designed a charging profile within The Manager30 to complement these in-built systems.
Green power priority
The Manager30 is designed to charge an auxiliary battery from multiple sources simultaneously. If 12 volt solar power is available, solar power will be used before topping up the output charging current from another source mains (if available) or DC vehicle power when on the move.
MPPT solar regulator
The built-in Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) solar regulator allows The Manager30 to deliver the maximum amount of power from portable solar panels, even during low light conditions.
Remote monitor
Designed to show you auxiliary battery information and charge status. You can customise how your battery is charged and monitor where the charge is coming from. A user-friendly, graphical display monitor lets you know what’s going on, keeping you in control at all times.
Features
- Multi Stage AC-DC Battery Charger
- Multi Stage DC to DC Charger
- Maximum Power Point Tracking Solar Regulator
- Battery Monitor
- Dual Battery Isolator
- Load Disconnect Controller
- Super quiet operation
- Charges AGM, Gel, Calcium content, VRLA, Standard Lead Acid and Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries
- Tested to mains power safety standards in Australia
REDARC BCDC Dual Input Chargers
The REDARC Range of Dual Input In-vehicle Battery Charger is a 12V 25/40/50A In-vehicle DC to DC battery charger System. They are the latest of the award-winning BCDC Dual range and features REDARC’s Smart Start technology.
Featuring a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) solar regulator, the BCDC series will charge from both solar and the alternator simultaneously. And, with built-in ‘Green Power Priority’ it will select solar charging first, meaning less load on the alternator.
Suitable for 12 or 24-volt vehicle systems, the units will also work with either standard or variable/Smart alternators.
The BCDC Dual feature the same patented charging profiles as it’s predecessor along with a new lithium charging profile making the unit suitable for charging AGM, Gel, Standard Lead Acid, Calcium and LiFePO4 batteries, perfect for pairing with a REDARC Lithium battery.
For most applications, the BCDC1225D is suitable for battery bank sizes of 75-200AH. For higher capacity needs of over 200AH, REDARC recommends the BCDC1240D or BCDC1250D.
Proven and Tested
The award-winning technology in the BCDC has been independently verified and tested to ensure battery life is maximised, charging your battery to a proven 100%.
Built in Australia and tested for our unique conditions, the DC to DC battery charger will work in the extreme heat of the Simpson Desert, up to 80°C and can handle deep water crossings at Cape York – water, dust and vibration are no match for this charger.
If you’re heading out into the bush and want to get there and back again safely – you can trust REDARC.
- Separate DC and solar charging inputs
- Maximises the performance and life of your auxiliary battery
- Simultaneous DC and solar charging with Green Power Priority
- Suits 12V/24V standard and variable voltage/Smart alternators
- Suitable for AGM, GEL, standard lead acid, calcium and Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries
- Suitable for use on vehicles with conventional alternator charging systems
2 Years Return to Manufacture
| “>BCDC1225D | “>BCDC1240D | “>BCDC1250D | |
| “>Input (Operating) Voltage | “>9. 32VDC | “>9. 32VDC | “>9. 32VDC |
| “>Output System Voltage | “>12VDC | “>12VDC | “>12VDC |
| “>Maximum Charging Voltage | “>15.3V | “>15.3V | “>15.3V |
| “>Output Current Rating (Cont.) | “>25A | “>40A | “>50A |
| “>Input Fuse Rating | “>40A | “>60A | “>60A |
| “>Type Approval | “>E-Mark | “>E-Mark | “>E-Mark |
| “>Output Fuse Rating | “>40A | “>60A | “>60A |
| “>Warranty | “>2 Years | “>2 Years | “>2 Years |
| “>Standby Current Draw | “> | “> | “> |
| “>Output Power | “>375W | “>600W | “>750W |
| “>Width (mm) | “>120 | “>120 | “>120 |
| “>Height (mm) | “>37 | “>37 | “>37 |
| “>Length (mm) | “>165 | “>165 | “>165 |
| “>Weight (kg) | “>1 | “>1 | “>1 |
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