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Yeah, apparently more confusion because of the MPPT charging algorithm a mentioned before.
The MPPT controller they are using will not simply apply a conventional 14.4V bulk charge in th bulk phase--even if you are programmed for them. It seems to apply about 0.1-0.2V more than the battery voltage, at the highest amperage it can supply. This is totally contradictory to conventional charging logic, but apparently with PWM it works.
So if you did something foolish, or tried to test a hard charge, and started with a battery that was at 11.4 volts (i.e. dead) instead of the more typical 12.1 volts that some of us would never try to get below...
You'd see the SolarStik pumping out lots of "amps" and "amphours" instead of normal power.
Let's pull some numbers out of the air, suppose a 100W array put out 100W for 8 hours during the typical waterfront day in Hades. 800W-hours, total, presumably at the 17.5V maximum voltage for the panel. That would be something like 800/17.5 =45.7AH on a good day in Hell, right?
Now, take the same solar array in Hell and plug in an MPPT controller and a dead battery. After all, in Hell all batteries are probably dead anyway. The math hanges, 800/11.4=70AH!
Yes, the same array in the same conditions might be putting out 70AH or 45AH, depending on how many volts it was putting out at the same time.
And I think there has been a bit of confusion over that, which I would expect SolarStik to clear up. Their users are split between sailors (who shouldn't be cycling batteries down that low) and emergency powe deployments, like OEM centers, where the batteries will be ridden all the way down to "dead" on a regular basis if that is the criteria they are needed for. Heck, if I was running an OEM and needed full power 24x7, I might also say "run 'em till they die, we'll call in for more batteries when we can".
We've got the tests...they've got the feedback...figure a couple of months till they revise & replace all the ads and paperworks but I'd expect the claims will come in line with what the more extensive testing has shown: Different results for different users, in different markets.
If they were con men...they sure wouldn't have been dropping off Stiks and and saying "Here, beat on 'em and then talk it up". No body has tried to muzzle me, much less to bid on the six-figure dollar amount where I can be bribed. (gosh darn!)
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