Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller
April 19, 2010 by SolarInfo
Filed under solar panels
| Brand: | Sunforce | ||
| Average Rating |
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The Sunforce 60012 7 Amp Charge Controller prevents overcharging of 12-volt batteries. It is intended for use with 12-volt solar panels, and can handle up to 7 amps of array current and up to 100 watts of solar power. The controller is easy to use with a charging light that indicates that your battery is charging, and a green light that indicates a fully charged battery. The 60012 measures 4 x 1 x 2.5 inches (WxHxD) and weighs one pound. more info
Does what it does.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It plugs in, it controls power flow, it does was it was advertised as doing. Perfectly satisfied.
Easy to use Charge Controller
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Two wires to the battery and two wires to the solar panel. It doesn’t get much simplier than that. Worked flawlessly out of the box. Yellow LED indicates charging while green LED indicates the battery is charged.
Product works well
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This item does control the charging of a 12 volt lead-acid battery. I use it with a 75 watt solar panel. The only criticism I have of it is that it doesn’t indicate a partial charge. It either indicates that the battery is charging, or that it is fully charged. However, for the price, it is a reasonable buy.
Works great Poor quality control
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Once I finally figurd out that it was wired incorrectly internally, the controller works as it is supposed to. The positive and negative wires were reversed and was driving me crazy trying to get it working. Finally I reversed my wiring an it worked.
Charge Controller
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The product really charges my two batteries and let me when they are getting low. Glad I brought the charger.
Must have Item
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Not a lot to write about the charge monitor as it is all sealed and all you have to do is follow the wiring on the unit. I installed it inline with a solar panel on my tent trailer. Works good
battery charge regulator
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
hooked up to electric gate six volt car battery, so far works fine mini lights comes on and off if the weather is good. works as it should..bwb
Sunforce 7 amp Charge controller
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great item has been working now for 3 weeks with no problem. I have it connected to a 15 watt solar panel and to a 75 amp hour battery.
Pictures can be deceiving
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This product works very well and the customer support was excellent. The photos indicate that the device is connected via screw terminals located under a cover at the bottom of the device. In actuality there are wires leading to battery terminal ring connectors on the load side and wires that need to be spliced to the line or solar panell side.
Charger
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have this unit connect to two automotive 12V batteries with three 15W panels connect to it. So far the charger works as advertised by preventing battery drain when the sun goes down and charging while the panels are producing at least 13 volts. It is pretty much an install and forget item. Additionally I have those same two batteries tied into one of my trucks 12V power points so that the batteries charge when the vehicle is running by way of the alternator. Even with this double charging set up, the charge controller appears unphased and shows a charge light in the daytime and has on two occasions indicated a fully charged green light.
Sunforce 7 amp charge controller
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So far this Sunforce controller has met my expectations. I connected it to a 10 watt solar charger and it tells me that it is charging. I have been using it for about 3 weeks without any problems.
works well
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been using it to maintain the charge on a car battery with an 8 watt solar panel and it has been working great.
Had to send it back, awaiting a new one
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
It died hooked to one Sunforce 15 watt solar panel, after 2 weeks (the unit was indoors! Their RMA service seemed good, but I’m wondering when I will get my new unit.
Needed item
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My old solar charge controller finally had bought it and I found this one on your site and it fits my needs just right. I will continue to look for items I need on Amazon as I tend to get good value for my money here!
Mark
Thanks Amazon for suggesting a product I didn’t need !!!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I CAN’T RATE THIS PRODUCT BECAUSE I REALLY DIDN’T NEED IT. UNFORTUNATELY I MADE THE MISTAKE OF BUYING IT BECAUSE AMAZON HAD IT LISTED IN THIER “BETTER TOGETHER” SECTION (JUST BELOW THE PRODUCT INFORMATION SECTION). APPARENTLY I DIDN’T NEED THIS CHARGE CONTROLLER WITH THE Sunforce 50012 1.8 Watt Solar Battery Maintainer. I FOUND THIS OUT AFTER READING THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CHARGE CONTROLLER, WHEN I RECIEVED IT.
I USUALLY RESEARCH MY PURCHASES THOROUGHLY. THIS TIME I TRUSTED AMAZON. I WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN!
NOTE: I ONLY GAVE THIS A 4 STAR RATING BECAUSE I COULDN’T SUBMIT A REVIEW WITHOUT THE RATING (4 STARS IS THE CURRENT AVERAGE RATING).
Sunforce 7 amp Solar Controller
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Bad:
Really cheap quality. Included instructions don’t provide enough information. Website is just as un-informative. Cheap connector wires (low current), and is not equipped with screw-on terminal junctions.
Good: Product works as advertised. Amazinlgly “regulates” the voltage to the required amount so as not to overcharge the battery. Beware though, in order to test the actual output voltage, you must apply a load on the battery end of the controller BEFORE. Failing this, the output can register volts as high as 20 volts !!! Apparently applying an actual load causes the controller to output the correct voltage range – lucky me, cause I bought 4 units ! The LEDS alternately flickers (fast for good voltage input and slow for low to no voltage on solar panel). The manual did NOT state the order of LED flashes.
(1) Fast LED flashes – good voltage/current
(2) Slow LED flashes – low/no voltage/current
(3) steady Green – fully charged
(4) steady amber – possible no load OR really low voltage/current
I recommend you go out and buy ‘em. The are a really good deal and does the job at the best price ! I use them in Jamaica, to provide my appliances with power during power outages (very frequent here). Used with solar panels and DC to AC inverter, of course. Considered using a generator, but too many accidents here with generators, too noisy, too bulky, and during hurricane aftermath, fuel is a problem. Solar is freely available, so it was the BEST option all round.
Hope this helps all readers !
Pretty Useful
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Good price, easy installation, and it seems to do what it’s supposed to. As noted in other reviews, the instruction sheet for this product is lacking — it doesn’t indicate what possible combinations of LED lighting may signify.
I installed the controller with a 15W solar panel also purchased through Amazon. The yellow LED stays lit continuously and the red LED that should indicate a full charge never appears. However, the battery appears to stay fully charged. We just returned from a week long camping trip in Eastern Oregon and never once had to run the generator to top off the battery. We only run lights each night for a few hours and a propane reefer. It probably also helps that we simultaneously installed a deep cycle battery.
So far, I’m totally satisfied with this purchase and recommend it for basic solar installations such as ours.
The Controller works great
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I received the unit quickly. Install it and it has work great. I did a lot of looking on the web and found this unit was the best value.
Solar Controller
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I installed this item with my solar panel and the two work well together. It was an easy setup and install.
What I expected.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Simple and easy to use product. I connected (2) 4.5 W panels to charge a 4.5 AH battery in a garden shed and it has worked great. I use this battery to power an RV pump to water our garden from a rain barrel set up. I couldn’t be happier.
Nice charge controller
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Nice little charge controller. Easy to hook-up. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a small controller.
Need better connectors!!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this product together with the Sunforce 50022 5 Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger. I have not done any electrical testing of it yet. However I am very frustrated that it has no electrical connectors on it that match the ones on the 5 Watt solar panel. Instead it simply has spade lugs on the battery side and bare cable on the solar panel side of the controller. So if you want to use these products together you will either need to buy some quick disconnect connectors that match the ones on the solar panel or splice this unit into circuit permanently.
I am using the 5W solar panel with the cigarette lighter adapter connector.
solar panel voltage regulator
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Functions just as advertised-please see my other reviews to see what you can use it for. Much better than jury-rigging an old auto voltage regulator as it automatically protects from overcharge or overload. A car regulator will fry unless its an old fashioned electro-mechanical and that would be less efficient than this product. Great item!
Works Well!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have had this for a yr and works great to charge my RV batteries during the winter and to add juice to my inverter batteries during the dry camping trips I take. I takes too many panels to fully charge batteries but it helps on dry camping trips. Very Nice!