Curtech CT12-107 User manual

Solar Charge Controller
User Manual
Input: DC12V Solar Panel (Max. 25V)
Output: DC12V, 10A / 20A / 30A
Model Number: CT12-107 / CT12-207 / CT12-307
THIS MANUAL CONTAINS IMPORTANT SAFETY AND OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS FOR
THE SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER, DISTRUBUTED BY SOLAR CAMPING AUSTRALIA.

2
INTRODUCTION
•This solar charger controller is designed with PWM (Pulse Width Modulated)
technology.
•Common negative grounding design and 100% solid state (no fuses or fans).
•Suitable for 12V solar systems.
•Suitable for most rechargeable batteries:
oCrystal battery, Lead acid Flooded (WET), AGM, GEL, and Calcium
battery
oLithium ion battery type, targeted for the following 3-SERIES Li-ion
battery (see battery type setting on page 8)
oLithium Iron Phosphate, LiFePO4 (LFP) battery
oLithium titanite oxidized battery, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) battery
•Built in high efficiency smart regulator to prevent your battery from being
overcharged and undercharged, optimise the battery performance, permanent
connection to keep your battery fully charged.
•Coloured LEDs to easily indicate the charging status and battery conditions.
•Big Digital LCD to directly display battery voltage, charging current, charging
capacity (Amp hour), battery types, charging percentage, battery temperature and
fault codes.
•Includes a port for external battery temperature sensor. (Temperature sensor
optional)
•Water-resistant design, suitable for indoor or outdoor use, surface Mount or flush
panel mount options.
•Designed according to CE standard, EMC, FCC compliance.

3
WARNING: Risk of explosive gases, working in vicinity of a Lead-acid battery is
dangerous. Explosive gases develop during normal battery operation. It is important
that each time before using or connecting your solar controller, you read this manual
and follow the instructions exactly.
•To reduce risk of battery explosion, follow these instructions and those published
by battery manufacturer and manufacturer of any equipment you intend to use in
vicinity of battery. Review cautionary marking on these products and on the
engine.
•Lead acid, Crystal, Lithium ion, LiFePO4, LTO batteries can be dangerous. Ensure
no sparks or flames are present when working near batteries. Refer to battery
manufactures specific recommended values for battery type and charging rate
setting. Do not charge to an improper type of battery. (For example, do not charge
Gel battery with Calcium battery setting)
•Never attempt to charge a damaged battery or frozen battery or non-rechargeable
battery.
•Never smoke, use an open flame, or create sparks near battery or solar controller
during charging operation as batteries may give out explosive gas.
•Eye protection should always be used. Never short circuit the battery.
•Someone should be within range of your voice or close enough to come to your
aid when you work near a lead-acid battery or Lithium ion battery.
•If battery acid contacts skin or clothing, wash immediately with soap and water. If
acid enters eye, immediately flush eye with running cold water for at least
10 minutes and get medical attention immediately.
•To reduce risk of shorting, avoid dropping a metal tool onto the battery.
•Given sufficient light solar panels always generate energy even when they are
disconnected.
•Accidental ‘shorting’ of the terminals or wiring can result in sparks causing
personal injury or a fire hazard. We recommend that you cover up the panel(s) with
some sort of soft cloth, so you can block all incoming light during the installation.
This will ensure that no damage is caused to the Solar Panel or Battery if the wires
are accidentally short circuited.
•Always install a battery fuse on each circuit including the solar controller.
•Do not disassemble charger, take it to a qualified person when repair is required.
•Do not reverse connect the wires to the solar panel or battery.
•Appliances incorporating batteries contain materials which could be hazardous to
the environment.

4
FEATURES
•PWM technology, switching control by MOSFET
•Common negative grounding connection
•High efficiency and low power consumption
•Battery type setting and battery condition indication
•Smart charging control
•Charging time management
•LED indication for the battery condition and charging status
•Digital display charging parameters and battery settings
•Automatically activates the Lithium battery BMS protection and starts charging
•Thermal protection
•Overvoltage protection, Short circuit protection, Reverse polarity protection
•No sparks
•Water-resistant
•Solid-duty cables
•Corrosion-resistant terminals and connectors.
•Conformal coating supplied to the inside board against moisture
•Flexible cable connection method
•Rubber mask to protect the metal terminals

INSTALLATION
The Solar Controller is mounted as shown below
The quickest and easiest way to mount the unit is to use the two plastic spacers and
self-tapping screws supplied and mount the unit to a flat surface.
Wiring Connections
To protect the Battery and the Solar Panel, we strongly recommend that you place an
inline fuse on the positive wire on both the “Solar” and “Battery” Circuits. 40A fuse for
30A controller; 30A fuse for 20A controller; 20A fuse for 10A controller (As close to the
Battery/Panel as possible).
The Solar Controller has 4 terminals which are clearly marked ‘Solar’ and ‘Battery’.
The cable connection method is flexible, you have two options to connect the input and
output cables.

6
Option 1: Connect input and output cables by
Anderson connectors (#2 and #3 in the
drawing)
Take off the rubber mask, directly insert the
Anderson connector into the terminal box of the
housing case, the metal terminals of Anderson
connector will tightly fasten to the metal terminals
of the solar controller, when using the Anderson
connector, the rubber mask can be fixed at the
location #4 in the drawing.
Option 2: Use string wires
You can directly secure the input and output wires
into the terminal holes of the solar controller,
tightly screw the wires to the “Solar” terminal of
the cable #3 in the drawing that will go to the
Solar Panel. Tightly screw the wires to the
“Battery” terminal of the cable #2 in the drawing
that will go to the Battery. After tightening the
screws, do not forget to fix the rubber mask back
to the terminal box #4 in the drawing, this will
protect the metal terminals against rust or
moisture.
Optional external Battery temperature sensor:
The cable #1 in above drawing is an external temperature sensor, as an option, the unit
provides a port to connect the external battery temperature sensor. If the external
battery temperature sensor is connected, the unit will optimise the charging
performance subjected to the battery temperature detected and provide the battery
over temperature protection, in some cases, if battery over temperature occurs, the
controller will automatically stop charging.

7
WIRING DIAGRAM
Refer to the below drawing, please cover the solar panel before connecting cables.
20Amp Fuse (for 10Amp Controller)
20Amp Fuse (for 10Amp Controller)
30Amp Fuse (for 20Amp Controller)
30Amp Fuse (for 20Amp Controller)
40Amp Fuse (for 30Amp Controller)
40Amp Fuse (for 30Amp Controller)
Correct Wire Size:
Please refer to the wire size chart below to determine the minimum size wire needed
for each connection. This will ensure you get the best performance out of your solar
regulator.
Rated
current
The cable total
length one-way
distance
Solar panel -> Controller -> Battery (meter)
< 3M
3-6M
6-9M
9-12M
10Amp
The cable size
(AWG)
16AWG
14AWG
12AWG
10AWG
20Amp
12AWG
10AWG
8AWG
6AWG
30Amp
12AWG
10AWG
8AWG
6AWG
•The solar controller should be installed as close to the battery as possible.
•Use the stranded wires, tightly screw the wires to the “Solar” terminal on the back
of controller and connect to the Solar Panel.
•Use the stranded wires, tightly screw the wires to the “Battery” terminal on the
back of controller and connect to the Battery.
When the connections are completed, the Solar Controller will start working
automatically.

8
OPERATION - LCD DISPLAY
Please check your battery manufacturer’s specifications to select correct battery type.
The unit provides 8 battery types for selections: Crystal, Lithium-ion, LiFePO4, LTO,
Gel, AGM, WET (conventional lead acid), and Calcium battery.
Press BATTERY TYPE button and hold for 3 seconds to go into your battery type
selection mode, the battery type you select will be shown on the LCD meter, the default
setting is AGM Battery; the controller will automatically memorise your battery type
setting.
Li-ion battery shown in LCD indicates 3-SERIES Li-ion battery shown as below:
•Lithium Cobalt Oxide LiCoO2 (LCO) battery
•Lithium Manganese Oxide LiMn2O4 (LMQ) battery
•Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide LiNiMnCoO2 (NMC) battery
•Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide LiNiCoAlo2 (NCA) battery
Remarks: This solar controller is recommended to just work with 3-SERIES above
Li-ion batteries.
LiFePO4 battery shown in LCD indicates Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, LFP battery.
LTO battery shown in LCD indicates Lithium titianate oxidized, Li4Ti5O12 battery.
Caution: Incorrect battery type setting may damage your battery.

9
When the controller powers on, the unit will run self-qualify mode and automatically
show below items on LCD before going into charging process.
Self-test starts, digital meter segments test
Software version test
VARated voltage and current test
ºC External battery temperature sensor test (if connected)
Indicates the solar panel is connected
After going into charging process, the LCD displays the charging status as below:
Press VOLT / AMP button in sequence, the LCD will display in turn with Battery
Voltage, Charging Current, Charged capacity (Amp-hour) and Battery Temperature (if
external temperature sensor connected).
Display in sequence
VAAH ºC
Alternatively Display voltage and FUL when battery is fully charged
V
The VOLT / AMP button can be changed at any time during charging process.
The LCD also can be treated as an independent voltage meter or thermometer.

10
CHARGING STAGE
The unit has a 6-stage charging algorithm. Diagnose* - Soft Charge - Bulk Charge -
Absorption charge - Equalizing Charge* - Float Mode
Diagnose* - Only for Lithium battery type, subjected to the Lithium battery initial
voltage then determine going to Soft start or Bulk charge; if the Lithium battery is
protected by BMS, the controller will automatically send the signal periodically to the
battery terminal to activate the BMS against protection.
Soft start - When batteries suffer an over-discharge, the controller will softly ramp the
battery voltage up to 10V for 12V battery.
Bulk Charge - Maximum current charging until batteries rise to Absorption level. For
Crystal battery type, the charge controller will deliver two step level of Bulk charge,
when the first level rises the battery voltage up to 14.4V, then switches into the second
level of the 50% of the first bulk charge rate, until the Crystal battery voltage up to
14.7V.
Absorption - Constant voltage charging and battery is over 85% for lead acid battery;
a Li-ion battery, LiFePO4 battery and LTO battery will close fully charging after
absorption stage, the absorption voltage level will reach 12.6V for Li-ion battery, 14.4V
for LiFePO4 battery; 14.0V for LTO battery. 14.7V for Crystal battery.
Equalization* - Only for WET battery or Calcium battery type, when the battery is
deeply drained below 10V or every 28 days cycle, it will automatically run this stage to
bring the internal cells as an equal state and fully complement the loss of capacity.
(Crystal, Li-ion, LiFePO4, LTO, Gel and AGM battery do not run Equalization charge)
Float Charge or Re-Bulk charge - Battery is fully charged and maintained at a safe
level. A fully charged Lead acid battery (Crystal, GEL, AGM, WET battery) has a
voltage of more than 13.8 Volts; if the lead acid battery voltage drops to 12.8V at float
mode, it will return to Bulk charge; Li-ion,LiFePO4 and LTO battery have no float mode;
If a Li-ion battery voltage drops to 12.0V after absorption stage, it will return to Bulk
charge; if a LIFePO4 battery voltage drops to 13.4V, or LTO battery voltage drops to
13.2V after Absorption stage, they will return to Bulk charge.

11
LED INDICATION
LED Indications
LCD
Display
LCD
Backlight
LED Colour
RED
BLUE
BLUE
BLUE
BLUE
GREEN
WHITE
Soft-start charging
ON
FLASH
FLASH
OFF
OFF
OFF
Normal
Display
ON
Bulk charge (charged capacity < 25%)
ON
ON
ON
OFF
OFF
OFF
Bulk charge (charged capacity < 50%)
ON
ON
OFF
FLASH
OFF
OFF
Bulk charge (charged capacity < 75%)
ON
ON
OFF
OFF
FLASH
OFF
Absorption charging
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
FLASH
Float charging
ON
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
ON
Solar weak (At dawn or dusk)
FLASH
OFF
Subject to battery
voltage
OFF
In the night
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
Solar good, battery voltage < 5V
ON
OFF
FLASH
OFF
OFF
OFF
b03 / bLv
FLASH
Solar good, battery reversed
ON
OFF
FLASH
OFF
OFF
OFF
b02/ brc
FLASH
Solar good, battery over-voltage
ON
OFF
FLASH
FLASH
FLASH
OFF
b01 / bov
FLASH
Solar off, battery over-voltage
OFF
OFF
FLASH
FLASH
FLASH
OFF
b01 / bov
FLASH
Solar good, battery over 65⁰C
ON
OFF
Subject to battery
voltage
OFF
b04
FLASH
Battery good, solar reverse
FLASH
OFF
OFF
P01
FLASH
Battery good, solar over-voltage
FLASH
OFF
OFF
P02
FLASH
Over Temperature Protection
otP
FLASH
SAFETY PROTECTION
•Spark-free protection.
•Reverse polarity solar and battery connection.
•Against reverse current from battery to solar panel at night.
•Over temperature protection with charging current reduction.
•Transient overvoltage protection, a varistor or transient voltage suppressor (TVS)
at the solar input and battery output against surge voltage.
Safety and EMC compliance: IEC/EN 60335, EN61000-4-2, EN61000-4-3,
EN61000-4-4, EN61000-4-5 FCC Class-B, EN61000-4-6, EN61000-4-11,
EN61000-3-3, CISPR14-1
MAINTENANCE
Occasionally, clean the case using a damp cloth and mild cleaning agent. Check the
terminals are not loose and/or rusty; If connecting cable is damaged, replace the cable
by qualified person.

12
SPECIFICATIONS
Electrical Parameters
Rated solar panel Amps for CT12-107 / CT12-207 / CT12-307
10/20/30Amp
Normal input Solar cell array voltage
15-22VDC
Max. solar cell array voltage (output has no load)
25VDC
The controller lowest operating voltage at solar or battery side
8VDC
Standby current consumption at night
5mA Max
Maximum voltage drop - Solar panel to battery
0.25VDC
Charging Characteristics
Minimum battery start charging voltage
3VDC
Soft start charging voltage
3-10VDC +/-0.2
Soft start charging current (50% PWM duty)
Up to 5/10/15Amp
Bulk charge
By the maximum rated current
•Bulk charge level 1 for Crystal battery
By 100% maximum rated current charge up to 14.4V
•Bulk charge level 2 for Crystal battery
By 50% rated current charge up to 14.7V from 14.4V
Absorption charging voltage at 25C
•Crystal battery
14.7VDC +/-0.2
•Gel battery
14.1VDC +/-0.2
•AGM battery (default setting)
14.4VDC +/-0.2
•WET battery
14.7VDC +/-0.2
•Calcium battery
14.9VDC +/-0.2
•LTO battery
14.0VDC +/-0.2
•LFP battery
14.5VDC +/-0.2
•Li-ion battery
12.6VDC +/-0.2
Absorption transits to Equalizing or Float condition
•Charging current drops to
1.5Amp +/-0.1
•or Absorption charging timer timed out
4 Hours
Equalization charging active (Only for WET or Calcium battery)
•Battery voltage discharged to less than
10VDC +/-0.2
•Automatic equalizing charging periodical
28 Days
Equalization charging voltage at 25C
15.5VDC +/-0.2
Equalization charging timer timed out
2 Hours
Float charging voltage at 25C for Crystal, Gel, AGM, WET, Calcium
battery
13.8VDC +/-0.2
Restart voltage for LTO battery
13.2VDC +/-0.2
Restart voltage for LFP battery
13.4VDC +/-0.2
Restart voltage for Li-ion battery
12.0VDC +/-0.2
Voltage control accuracy
+/- 1%
Battery temperature compensation coefficient
-24 mV/C
Temperature compensation range
-20 to +50C
Protection
Against reverse polarity or short circuit at panel or battery
No reverse current from battery to solar at night
Over temperature protection during charging
65C
Electrical parts
Input output terminal
M5 terminals
Physical Parameters
Controller material
Plastic, Standard ABS
Power terminal maximum stranded wire size
#6 AWG stranded-16mm2
Power terminal torque
Up to 17 in-lb (0.2n-m)
Mounting
Vertical wall mounting
IP grade
IP65
Net weight
Approx. 300g
Environmental characteristics
Operating temperature
-25 to 50C
Storage temperature
-40 to 85C
Operating Humidity range
100% no condensation