Battery box sticker

[Banjo]

Just purchased 2008 outlook 31c. Inside house battery box sticker says to disconnect battery cables before using an outside charger. Can anyone tell me why. Seems it would be conflict with solar too. I plan on putting 2 100 watt solar panels to charge house batteries. Thanks

[Elkman]

Most likely the sticker refers to using an external automotive type battery charger and bypassing the Outlook's own battery charger powered from a shorepower connection.
The solar charge controller is providing 14-18 volts at much lower amperage than a car battery charger and not a concern.

With the solar charge controller however it may be good to have a battery temperature sensor connected to the charge controller to insure against overcharging when using lead acid type house batteries. Also a good idea to have a switch to disconnect the feed from the panels to the charge controller as otherwise the current is always on so long as the sun is shinning.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Elkman

Also a good idea to have a switch to disconnect the feed from the panels to the charge controller as otherwise the current is always on so long as the sun is shinning.

Although this might be nice to have for maintenance or some other reason, I don't see a problem with the current always being there while in the sun.

Your panels are going to put out power even if there is a switch, so you're not "saving" them and a good controller will be designed to operate without a disconnect switch and won't overcharge your batteries (that's it's purpose). Having my batteries always topped off is one of the advantages of my having solar.

On the other hand, protecting the controller with a properly sized fuse is a good idea.

https://www.renogy.com/blog/how-to-f...-solar-system/