Hi All,
Has anybody heard of a Universal Solar Monitor and Regulator with the Model Number USRM250?
It is a bright yellow box with a few buttons on the front and that is about all.
Any information would be appreciated - a manual would put you on the Christmas List

Cheers.

Hi,

Is there any other wording on the box which might indicate manufacturer?

Cheers

Andrew

Also would be good to know wattage/voltage .. and assuming it is for a house-solar panel setup?

No other names I can see - maybe on the back as it is screwed to the wall. As it is a friends not mine I don't want to mess about too much..... :o)
Cheers, Glen

It is a household solar system feeding through the magic yellow box into a 24 volt battery bank, then to a 240 volt inverter to the house. I have seen the magic yellow box indicating a charge rate of more than 20 amps on a cool sunny day.

Cheers, Glen

tried googleing it but it pointed straight back here... do you have a photo??? it may be a rip off of another brand

Stu

Thanks for your time :o)

It appears to be a standard type of solar regulator/monitor. 6 terminals, two to the solar panels, two to the battery and two for auxilliary power for other equipment, remembering that the total auxilliary power available is limited to the maximum from the solar panels. (Note that usually the negative battery and auxilliary terminals are common).

Are you sure you have the battery voltage correct?

In comparison to other similar regulators, the 250 in USRM250 probably refers to the maximum power that can be supplied to the battery. If you saw a current of slightly more than 20 amps this would indicate a battery voltage of 12 Volts. (Hence the query).

The regulator/monitor also shows solar voltage, battery voltage and current. When it is charging, can you see what all three readings are?

Out of interest why do you need the manual?

Cheers

Andrew

to me it looks like a diy kitset regulator or maybee a small home made unit that never really took off with production just looks diy because of the connector strip terminals and the buttons and leds all over the place,
sorry cant help you there but it looks like it is a non adjustable unit
stu

The USRM regulators were made by a Co called 'Inverter Factory' - I think in Sydney during the early 1990's. They are all analogue ie no microcomputer including the Ah meter where a sample and hold drives the DVM chip and LCD display. The regulator uses a heavy duty relay as the switching element. Inside there are two 3 position slide switches where you set whether you want 12, 24 or 48 volt operation (and lower maximum charge currents) . The quiescent current consumption (when not charging) is 50mA which is high by modern microprocessor based standards. They are well made and proved very reliable. A quirky feature is the SOLAR AUX terminal which can be driven from solar positive through a forward biased diode. Unless this input is driven the regulator won't switch the solar charge on. I suspect the relay coil may be powered by the solar power. I would be careful selecting BOOST with a small battery as I suspect the regulator won't resume normal 'regulation' until sunset. To reset the Ah in you hold in the select as well as the reset buttons. All the trip points are adjustable using trim pots but without instructions on setup there is a high risk of making things worse.

Hey thanks heaps Solar Guy - great info. Unfortunately it was after Christmas so you don't get the prize (see first post).