S3A12 Tesla Solar Tracker 5

[jneo]

Hi Aaron

I forgot to ask you is there a third SG book coming out I have the first two that have been very helpful john

[Aaron Murakami]

Hi Aaron

I forgot to ask you is there a third SG book coming out I have the first two that have been very helpful john

John,

We are actually working on it now. If all goes well, we should be able to release it by the conference.

[jneo]

Aaron thanks wish I could be there . I am to far away. but I will be looking forward to the videos you provide thanks for keep us up to date.
Just another question the 2A12 charger that plugs in to mains power how is that one different to the same 2A solar tracker 5 version do they both charge up the battery on capacitor discharge method or does one have this newer dc linear method you have mentioned and if you did have say the mains plug in version could you run it through an inverter John C

[Aaron Murakami]

Aaron thanks wish I could be there . I am to far away. but I will be looking forward to the videos you provide thanks for keep us up to date.
Just another question the 2A12 charger that plugs in to mains power how is that one different to the same 2A solar tracker 5 version do they both charge up the battery on capacitor discharge method or does one have this newer dc linear method you have mentioned and if you did have say the mains plug in version could you run it through an inverter John C

John,

The 2A12 plug in unit is 2 amps, but the closest Tesla Solar Tracker 5 is the S3A12, which is actually 3 amps. The 2A12 uses caps and I'm not sure if that unit will move towards the newer linear regulartors or not.

Yes, the 2A12 plug in unit can be run from an inverter.

[jneo]

Hi Aaron
Yeah thanks for getting back to me that's what I meant to compare with.

Best Regards

John Coroneo

[bw1]

Can 2 of these units be 'stacked' together to get 6 amp capacity without modification?

[Aaron Murakami]

Can 2 of these units be 'stacked' together to get 6 amp capacity without modification?

Hi BW1,

No, the circuits will interfere with each other. It can only be done with some modified interface so they can be paralleled up.

[LutherG]

Hi Guys,

I have 2 of these (one for the solar panels and one for the bench) and they're great! They work really well with the little Harbor Freight Solar Panel Kit. I've been really pleased with it and am planning on getting a 10-amp Solar Tracker soon...

Best regards,

Luther

[Forrest]

Hi all, I just received an order for 4 of these units. I must say I am more than impressed with the way they work. I bought 4 of them for a neighbor friend, my two sons, and myself. Three out of the four work just perfect and stop charging right at around 15.12 volts....give or take. The fourth one will not stop charging even though the green the green LED is on. It goes right on by 16.5volts and keeps on charging.

The question is this and I know this might sound crazy but is there an adjustment to crank the voltage down or is this a send back unit? I can use it as is but have to keep close tabs from boiling away the water. Any help would be appreciated.

Bud

[Aaron Murakami]

Hi all, I just received an order for 4 of these units. I must say I am more than impressed with the way they work. I bought 4 of them for a neighbor friend, my two sons, and myself. Three out of the four work just perfect and stop charging right at around 15.12 volts....give or take. The fourth one will not stop charging even though the green the green LED is on. It goes right on by 16.5volts and keeps on charging.

The question is this and I know this might sound crazy but is there an adjustment to crank the voltage down or is this a send back unit? I can use it as is but have to keep close tabs from boiling away the water. Any help would be appreciated.

Bud

Hi Bud,

With the 16.5 volts - have you tested it on another battery that only goes to 15.12 to see if it does stop at 15.12?

If a battery is pretty bad, that voltage can jump right up from the high impedance.

[Forrest]

Hi Aaron, Yes I have checked all of the chargers on the same good battery. Group 24 new battery NAPA Legend series going into my wife's Saab. Three of them stopped right on the mark 15.1- 15.2 volts. The 4th one went right on past 16.5 volts in no time when I checked it with my meter. I verified by using several different meters.

Bud

[Forrest]

Hi again Aaron, Guess I should give you all the details. All four solar panels exact same size 30 watt...12 volt. In put leads around 10 feet long #10 wire with heavy jacket. Charge leads are 25' long #10 fine braided copper wire with big battery clip leads. Been using this setup for around 3 weeks now to charge up all my rolling stock. These units are great!

Bud

[Aaron Murakami]

Hi Aaron, Yes I have checked all of the chargers on the same good battery. Group 24 new battery NAPA Legend series going into my wife's Saab. Three of them stopped right on the mark 15.1- 15.2 volts. The 4th one went right on past 16.5 volts in no time when I checked it with my meter. I verified by using several different meters.

Bud

Bud,

Ok - it does sound like it is set too high for some reason. The units are usually "burned in" during testing and the settings are locked in place before they leave.

If you purchased it from Tesla Chargers, please send us an email (use the email in the banner in my signature) with these details. We can swap it out, but lets run it by Peter first.

[Forrest]

Hi Aaron, I ran another test with this unit yesterday all day long while I was at work. I put it onto a brand new "D" battery the previous night and let it run all day yesterday in full sun. When I check on the battery voltage around 5:00pm The battery voltage measured 15.6 volts which is OK. It was a very sunny day yesterday and it should have had full output capability during that time. I now have it on another 12 volt sealed 17AH battery to see how things work out. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Bud

[Aaron Murakami]

Thanks Bud, I'll look for the update.