Reviews of Battery Tender 021-1162 Solar Panel Charger Controller

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I've used it for 7 months now to charge alternately a 32AHr, 26AHR and 8Ahr deep cycle AGM batteries and it has done a great job. I have a 30 watt monocrystalline solar panel wired directly to it and connect it directly to my batteries using various quick disconnect connectors. I monitor the state of discharge (with a multimeter)and never let my batteries fall below 75% of rated capacity (as recommended by battery manufacturers for best practice and long life of battery.) The Battery Tender as described is a 3 stage charge controller and will put the most voltage out when the battery needs it and cuts back as it approaches full charge down to a trickle level. All the batteries quickly recharge even on partial sun days. Takes 3-6 hours of sun on the biggest battery less on the others. Keeping them topped off is easier (better for it), faster to recharge, and simple to rotate each bettery for its day or shared day of charging.

I've monitored its output to the various batteries and it does its job as described at manufacturers website.

Charge light lets you know when it is working and indicates what stage its at by color or flashing. Again just as described.

I use 12 volt DC LED lights and and connected to my inverter some AC CFL lights and charge all my phones and run my laptop a few hours EVERYDAY! If you have the right expectation of what wattage you planned to use and think about the set-up you can make a nice daily use (or emergency use) system with these components.

I am very pleased with the product to used for a small solar systems using a 45 watt panel or less. I plan to buy a few more and connect up lights, radios, in other rooms all over the house. My way of going green.

I also charge my AA, AAA rechargeable batteries with a DC connectable battery charger off my 32AHr battery too!

Saves me a lot of money on batteries and I use more battery operated devices now and the family enjoys the whole system. Use the Battery Tender only to charge batteries and do not try to run other things from it. That is not what is was designed for.

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1 YEAR LATER: Now Feb 2013 AND THIS PRODUCT IS STILL SERVING ME WELL AND AS DESCRIBED. GREAT FOR SMALL TARGET INSTALATIONS!

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I have installed 15 applications with this device and all of them have been working flawlessly.

I am charging Group 27 (85AH) deep cycle batteries with 30 watt solar panels. All of the batteries are being maintained at an ideal float voltage with no indications of overcharging (boil-out). The batteries are under heavy load on weekends, Tuesdays and Thursdays with full recovery by the end of the next day. The controllers have been subject to ambient temperatures over 100 degrees and under 0 degrees with no issues.

It is very important to understand solar systems when using this device as well as the limitations of the device. Always connect the battery first. It uses the battery voltage to initialize the circuit. Always disconnect the solar cell before disconnecting the battery.

PLEASE NOTE this is NOT an MPPT controller, it will require your solar cell output to be at a higher voltage than the battery for charging to occur. Under nominal sun conditions, it will properly go into a bulk charge mode for a battery that is heavily discharged. Once the bulk charging is complete it will take the battery to a float mode. If you absolutely have to use a solar cell that is marginal on the voltage output, you will need to use an MPPT charge controller. This type of controller has a DC-DC converter in it and can provide a output voltage that is higher than the input voltage. They are much more expensive.

Be sure to look at the specs for your solar cell before you buy it. Generally, you should see the following data:

Nominal peak power (Pmax) in watts

Maximum power voltage (Vmp) in DC volts

Maximum power current (Imp) in DC amps

Short circuit current (Isc) in DC amps

Open circuit voltage (Voc) in DC volts

The specs for the panels I use are Pmax = 30 watts, Vmp = 18.5 V, Imp = 1.79 A, Isc = 1.92 A, Voc = 22.2 V.

These are typical for a "12V" 30 Watt panel. Lower wattage panels will have less watts and current, but the voltage specs generally are the same.

There are cheap panels that are listed as "12V" and have much lower output voltage. I would avoid this type of panel. Looking at the specs will let you know if it will work.

I personally would never hook up a power supply to the input instead of a solar panel. Most power supplies will not put out clean DC. Many of them will have AC ripple on top of the DC voltage. This can damage a solar charge controller.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I have 15 installations in operation. I am installing another 10 systems and feel very confident in this device.

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$20 for this product. Easy connect, and does what it says.

Connected to a 5w solar panel which keeps atv batteries, lawn mower battery charged.

Honest reviews on Battery Tender 021-1162 Solar Panel Charger Controller

I use this device in conjunction with my solar battery charger to maintain my motor cycle battery during longer periods of storage. Works great and prevents overcharging.

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I have used these several times over the last year. They do fantastic even with a 5 watt panel. I imagine the two negative reviewers were confusing watts and volts.

Anyway this works as advertised. I have one wired to a Harbor Freight 45 watt panel kit and it does a fantastic job of keeping my battery bank charged.

I also have one on a 10 watt panel that I have installed on my kayak to keep my trolling motor battery charged. Great buy just like all Battery Tender products.