I have the voltmeter only version of this on my leisure battery along with a USB socket, works fine. I've just laminated a chart of voltage / charge % and put it next to it as i can never remember the numbers. I use a PWM at the moment with leds for battery level but the prices of MPPTs are under £15 and the MPPTs have a current readout so I may go that route for amps.
I use a PWM at the moment with leds for battery level but the prices of MPPTs are under £15 and the MPPTs have a current readout so I may go that route for amps
£15 MPPT charge controllers are just PWM, with MPPT on the box. You'll not get an MPPT for under £40, and on a small system with under 500 Watts of panels and 200 Amps of Pb batteries, MPPT is a waste. For small systems, an efficient PWM is all you need.
My charge controllers use under 1mA, so consume nothing from the battery, when there's no solar available.
My charge controllers have found there way to the Arctic on research stations, because they use so little power from the battery, they can function for 6 months of night time without draining the battery!