310W Solar panel kit help

[Seamaster_newbie]

H alli, I really could do with some help and advice about the solar panel kit which I have put on my Seamaster 23 this week.
To be honest I haven't really got my head fully around how it works plus I'm also worried that I haven't got my batteries set up in the correct manner as they should.
I've attached some photos that will hopefully explain better. I have 1 starter battery and 2 leisure batteries. I connected the solar panel controller direct to the starter battery but I'm wondering if this is incorrect?
Any help or advice would be really appreciated. Totally newbie boater here. Thanks in advance.

 

[sarabande]

Magnificent panel, enough to keep the three batteries happily charged.


Assuming that the top (black) battery is your engine battery...

It looks as if you are only charging that battery from the PV panel via the controller, but the wiring is so unclear that I might be wrong.

If you have taken the pic during daylight, then the charge on the controller readout looks wrong. Did you connect the battery to the controller first, before connecting the panel ?

Good that you have a fuse on the +ve cable near the terminal. What value blade fuse is it please ?

The cabling (red and black) on the two domestic batteries looks rather undersized and flakey, particularly at the crimps. Is the red cable joining the +ve terminals solid copper or multi-strand ? (It should be multi.) Where does the black cable with the loose red tape) go ? Is there a corresponding -ve cable somewhere ?

If you want to charge the domestic batteries as well as the engine one, you need some form of switching to allow the PV panel to connect to the (paralleled) domestics and the engine, but the connections need clearing up and replacing with beefier, safer cabling as a start. You can use a physical (1 - 2 - Both ) switch, or a VSR (automatic one).

There are two cables running from the panel. but only one twin to the starter. That's a bit of a mystery.

The controller seems to have only one twin cable. Again the connections and routing are uncertain.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

Something isn’t wired correctly, I’d guess at your controller. Your remote meter is showing as no daylight or panel and the load is showing voltage which suggests something is wired in to it. Mine reads like this when working correctly. You’ll see no reading on the load side as nothing is wired in to it.

 

[stuartwineberg]

H alli, I really could do with some help and advice about the solar panel kit which I have put on my Seamaster 23 this week.
To be honest I haven't really got my head fully around how it works plus I'm also worried that I haven't got my batteries set up in the correct manner as they should.
I've attached some photos that will hopefully explain better. I have 1 starter battery and 2 leisure batteries. I connected the solar panel controller direct to the starter battery but I'm wondering if this is incorrect?
Any help or advice would be really appreciated. Totally newbie boater here. Thanks in advance.

Just checking you haven’t connected the batteries to the load terminals of the controller, that’s for If you were for instance running the fridge direct off the solar. Would be good to post a pic of your wiring into the controller

 

[plumbob]

Something isn’t wired correctly, I’d guess at your controller. Your remote meter is showing as no daylight or panel and the load is showing voltage which suggests something is wired in to it. Mine reads like this when working correctly. You’ll see no reading on the load side as nothing is wired in to it.

View attachment 141586

Currently looking at Photonic universe for a complete system. Seems good?

 

[stuartwineberg]

Currently looking at Photonic universe for a complete system. Seems good?

Yes definitely. Got all my gear from them. Presales advice was good and when they were o/s of the controller I ordered they gave me the next size up at the same price.

 

[Seamaster_newbie]

Hi all, thanks for all your replies. I will try and answer all questions that were asked across all the replies. As advised I have now taken the connections from the controller to the started battery and connected them to the 2 leisure batteries. To be honest as soon as I did it the penny dropped that I probably should have joined it to the leisure batteries and leave the started battery to be charged by my engine when in use.

I have now fixed the date and time on the MT50 controller monitor but I'm still having a lot of issues. The moon icon is still showing. From what I have found online this usually means there is a connection problem from the panel to the controller. I'm fairly sure I have wired them correct, which leaves me with a bad feeling that there is either a problem with the solar panel or the controller or I'm hoping something less serious like a setting on the controller monitor that needs changing. (Perhaps I should have tested it before gluing to the boat roof hmm?) So yea a little stressed and worried what I've done wrong or there is a major problem with the panel. I'm really not technically minded and I'm now regretting that I gave this a go myself instead of getting someone with more experience to fit it for me, it sounded easier to do than how it's turned out

Someone asked what blade fuse it was I used. I don't know. I didn't add any fuse myself. I didn't see anywhere on the instructions that said to. It mentions in the kit that the cables are fitted with a 20A fuse so guessed that meant they were safe to use as is?

Someone asked about the other cables from the batteries. I assume some of them other cables coming off the 2 leisure batteries are going to my fridge or TV/DVD player in the boat or lights?

I haven't had the boat long and it is my first boat so this is all a very steep learning curriery for me I'm afraid.

Thanks in advance once again. I really appreciate it!!
Mark

PS: This is the kit I bought if it helps.
12V solar panels charging kits for caravans, motorhomes, boats, yachts, marine

 

[Jamie Dundee]

Check that the positive and negative from the panel to the controller are the right way round and that the connections are secure, the controller is not recognising the panel for some reason as can e seen by the absence of the green led. You can always phone Photonic Universe, I’ve found them very helpful and knowledgeable in the past.

 

[PetiteFleur]

On my boat I have a Photonic Universe Dual Battery Controller which you can set to a percentage 75o each battery. I have 10% to engine battery and 90% to domestic batteries. All power goes to the second battery once one is full. Speak to Photonic Universe, they are very helpful.

 

[stuartwineberg]

Check that the positive and negative from the panel to the controller are the right way round and that the connections are secure, the controller is not recognising the panel for some reason as can e seen by the absence of the green led. You can always phone Photonic Universe, I’ve found them very helpful and knowledgeable in the past.

definitely do this, they will help. Can we see a photo of the wires going into the terminals of the controller. I can’t see one going to the battery negative connection

 

[sarabande]

Don't worry ! Everyone with DIY solar goes through a learning curve, especially when instruction manuals are not clearly written.

I note the advert says

" It can generate up to 20A charging current when charging 12V battery, which means that a typical 100Ah battery will be charged from 0% to 100% in only 5 hours of bright sunlight. "

This is total grade one bullshit if the panel is really a mono 310W. Please check the value of the blade fuse in the little rectangular 'box' in the pic in your first post. It will be printed indelibly into it.

Your close-up of the controller shows "Rate.Vol" as 24V. It's a possibility that the default setting for the controller is for a 24V charging system and you need to connect the components in the correct order as on P12 of the instructions. Starting with nothing connected to anything

1. Battery to controller: this tells it the battery voltage (in your case 12v from paralleled domestic batteries)

2. If you are not using the controller to provide some "load" e.g. to a radio or bilge pump, go to

3. Connect the panel to the controller.


Check the controller lights, bcs there is a possibility that if you have not done the connections properly to start with that the controller is damaged.

Have you really glued the controller monitor to the 'roof' ? Both the controller and monitor must be given lots of ventilation, with free space around th esides and back. Unglue and refix with screws with lots of space. Glue could be a fire hazard.

The instruction booklet is very very badly written (no surprise !). Start all over again, and tell us how you get on please.


BTW. Have you got a multimeter ? Essential for boat work. Cheap ones around £10. You can check the open circuit voltage when the panel is in the sun. V reading should be anything between 20 to 25v depending on the angle of the panel to the sun.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

The controller is polarity protected so easiest just to swap the connections to the panel and see what happens. The battery led is lit so battery connection ok. The controller senses 12/24v system from the battery connection an provides the necessary voltage.

 

[Seamaster_newbie]

The controller is polarity protected so easiest just to swap the connections to the panel and see what happens. The battery led is lit so battery connection ok. The controller senses 12/24v system from the battery connection an provides the necessary voltage.

So I swapped (the wires I was sure I wired correctly) from the solar panel to the controller and... the PV light starts flashing on the left and the moon is replaced with a sun and solar panel! Hmm sorry guys but thanks for all your replies and help!

A relief to see that it all seems to be working ok now. I took a photo of the different screen settings. If any of them look wrong maybe you can let me know. Still trying to get my head around what they all mean but I'll get there I'm sure.

 

[Seamaster_newbie]

My next question is do you think my 310w solar system would generate enough power on my 2 105ah leisure batteries for me to leave my batteries power turned on to run my little fridge/freezer full time? I also have a small tv but I guess that don't draw power unless I am on the boat and using it?

 

[sarabande]

It's difficult to give a definitive answer without knowing the amount of power your fridge freezer uses. Check the label and post the answer.

Typically a 12v fridge freezer is rated at 45W. If your PV panel system is 20% efficient (because it's horizontal not at right angles to the sun, the inefficiencies in the controller, the battery storage ability and the normal daily loss, and other power drawdown, and whether it's winter or summer, then the answer will be No.

The monitor page headed "Char. Energy" tells you how much the panel is putting into the batteries each day. That is a figure you need to track. The other useful figures are battery voltage at the end and start of the charging day, Those plus the fridge rating will tell if the fridge is extracting more than the panel is putting in.