60W Solar panels £199 at Maplin

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Boo2

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Hi,

Just spotted these 60W Solar Power kits as I walked past my local branch of Maplin this evening. £199 seems good value even if they are not the best available, no big deal if they get nicked at that price. Maplin's stock code is N23FY if the link doesn't work.

Boo2
 
From the minimalist techspec given by Maplins, it appears to be composed of 4 amorphous panels cobbled together on a frame, which probably accounts for its being x5 the weight and about x3 the size of a proper crystalline panel of the same output.

I usually buy Kyocera, and whilst they produce nothing quite as feeble as 30w the price/watts output is about the same.
 
charles_reed said:
From the minimalist techspec given by Maplins, it appears to be composed of 4 amorphous panels cobbled together on a frame, which probably accounts for its being x5 the weight and about x3 the size of a proper crystalline panel of the same output.

I usually buy Kyocera, and whilst they produce nothing quite as feeble as 30w the price/watts output is about the same.
Click to expand...

The panel I linked to is 60W not 30W, and the nearest equivalent Kyocera is 50W at a price of around £270 from eg here. The Maplin panel also comes with a charge regulator whereas the Kyocera panel is bare at that price. It is admittedly a lot bigger and heavier though but still a lot less nickable imho.

Boo2
 
80w panels on thE Bay

Last night , around 2030, my 2nd 80 w solar panel arrived by courier , on a Greek island for the princely sum total of £195 , £149 for the panel , remainder postage .

2 years back I bought the same 80 w panel for £249, so the good news is they are dropping in price , substantially.

Here is the link /ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130482932326
The original panel puts over 5 amps at 90 to the sun , midday , on test .

Recomended and tested .
 
grafozz said:
Last night , around 2030, my 2nd 80 w solar panel arrived by courier , on a Greek island for the princely sum total of £195 , £149 for the panel , remainder postage .

2 years back I bought the same 80 w panel for £249, so the good news is they are dropping in price , substantially.

Here is the link /ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130482932326
The original panel puts over 5 amps at 90 to the sun , midday , on test.
Click to expand...

The same vendor does also have a 60W panel at £140 (item 130494928327). I had no idea prices had dropped so low - they also sell a charge controller for £38 so a much better combo than the one I originally posted - thanks for the heads up.

Boo2
 
Boo2 said:
The same vendor does also have a 60W panel at £140 (item 130494928327). I had no idea prices had dropped so low - they also sell a charge controller for £38 so a much better combo than the one I originally posted - thanks for the heads up.
Click to expand...
The 60w panel you quote includes a 100w PWM controller in the £140 price - so even cheaper!
 
I replaced two smaller solar panels with a single 80 watt panel, from Ebay which cost £149 including free delivery. It was producing about 6 amps today when I checked it in bright sunshine. Good value for money
 
The same vendor does also have a 60W panel at £140 (item 130494928327)
Click to expand...

Many thanks for that - I wanted a 60W panel and have ordered one from this vendor - £139.99 including a 10A regulator, bypass diode, can of Polyfix and free P & P is a real bargain - to put the price drop into perspective, the 30W panel it will be replacing cost nearly £300 15 years ago! (the 30W panel is still working, gives about 1 1/2 A on a sunny day, but having added a couple of extra service batteries, I need a bit more charging power.)
 
grafozz said:
Last night , around 2030, my 2nd 80 w solar panel arrived by courier , on a Greek island for the princely sum total of £195 , £149 for the panel , remainder postage .

2 years back I bought the same 80 w panel for £249, so the good news is they are dropping in price , substantially.

Here is the link /ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130482932326
The original panel puts over 5 amps at 90 to the sun , midday , on test .

Recomended and tested .
Click to expand...

The maximum current according to the ad is 4.5 amps and at 12 volts that is 50 watts. To be 80 it would have to operate at near 20 volts which it cant do into a 12 v battery.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
The maximum current according to the ad is 4.5 amps and at 12 volts that is 50 watts. To be 80 it would have to operate at near 20 volts which it cant do into a 12 v battery.
Click to expand...

But surely with an MPPT regulator with 4.5 amps at 18volts at the panel, this converts to 5.5 amps at 14.4 volts at the battery? Give or take a few percent inefficiency.
 
Hoolie said:
But surely with an MPPT regulator with 4.5 amps at 18volts at the panel, this converts to 5.5 amps at 14.4 volts at the battery? Give or take a few percent inefficiency.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. You will only achieve the rated 80W if under ideal conditions you are able to absorb the 4.5A at 18V. In reality you may get 4.5A but at the voltage at your battery which if you have a regulator will be limited to, say, 14.4v. Hence a realistic maximum output of around 60W.

The panels have a maximum voltage higher than you would otherwise want so that they are still able to charge in less than ideal conditions.

Ideally you would have a very sophisticated controller which always absorbed maximum power from the panel and then converted to the desired voltage for charging. Expensive!

Edit: Sorry, missed that you were referring to an 'MPPT' regulator which apparently does precisely what I described. No idea how much they cost. I think the OP was referring to the much more basic sort of regulator which simply limits the charge voltage.

Vic
 
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I looked at their 15W panel recently. In bright but overcast conditions mid March its output read 23V. Any advice on what type of control kit is needed to use this panel for charging 12V batteries and if the 15W is sufficient for topup trickle charging 2 batteries each 70Ah? A larger panel would be too heavy and difficult to accommodate.
 
VicMallows said:
... ... ... Edit: Sorry, missed that you were referring to an 'MPPT' regulator which apparently does precisely what I described. No idea how much they cost. I think the OP was referring to the much more basic sort of regulator which simply limits the charge voltage.
Click to expand...
Although the regulator supplied free with the 60w panel referred to above (link) is not described as an MPPT controller, from the technical spec it seems to have all the characteristics of one. Either way it still seems excellent value at the price!
 
Advice sought installation of solar panel

Please excuse this slight diversion of the thread & I have searched the database !

I have ordered the 60w rigid panel from Ebay at £139.99. It is apparently sandwiched in toughened glass with an aluminium frame & supplied with Polyflex adhesive/sealant for fixing in place. On my boat I already have a Kycera 40w semiflexible permanently installed on the garage & I propose to make the new 60w a portable item. From the picture shown of the new panel, the aluminium frame looks fairly slender , and so I thought it should mounted on say an aluminium panel 3mm thick. The solar panel is 900 x 544 so if I made the alu panel 950x 600 I could then drill holes in the alu panel for fixing purposes. I was considering attachment to the guard wire (with maybe props to get 45deg orientation) or I could conceivably secure on top of my cockpit tent roof which is doubling as a Bimini. I really don't want to have a radar arch. I should emphasise that the idea is to make it demountable & probably only erected when at anchor/moored.

I would be most grateful for any comments or advice on my proposals. (is 3mm alu panel suitable ?)
 
Slowtack said:
I looked at their 15W panel recently. In bright but overcast conditions mid March its output read 23V. Any advice on what type of control kit is needed to use this panel for charging 12V batteries and if the 15W is sufficient for topup trickle charging 2 batteries each 70Ah? A larger panel would be too heavy and difficult to accommodate.
Click to expand...


A 15 watt should be ample for just top up trickle charging a couple of 70 Ah batteries, I use a 5 watt panel for just one, but it wont be realistic for re-charging them if more than slightly discharged

To get the maximum benefit from the panel you need a controller with maximum power point tracking ( MPPT) as mentioned above.
Next best just to prevent overcharging will be PWM (pulse width modulated) controller.
 
anniebray said:
I was considering attachment to the guard wire (with maybe props to get 45deg orientation)
Click to expand...

This is precisely the method of mounting I have been considering. I started off looking at 80W panels (as this seemed most cost effective way of achieving the output I consider useful to me, bearing in mind that you will only get that under ideal conditions, and usually much less). Now tending towards a pair of smaller panels for reasons of practicality.

Interested to knowyour reasoning behind mounting the panels on a 3mm backing plate?. In 'usual' use they would just be mounted on a roof as they are. Also the viability / desirability of drilling mounting holes in the panel frame?

Edit: re-reading (something I always seem to do after the event!) I am guessing you are planning to use the ADHESIVE to attach the panel to the backing plate? - makes more sense now.

Vic
 
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Interested to knowyour reasoning behind mounting the panels on a 3mm backing plate?. In 'usual' use they would just be mounted on a roof as they are. Also the viability / desirability of drilling mounting holes in the panel frame?

Edit: re-reading (something I always seem to do after the event!) I am guessing you are planning to use the ADHESIVE to attach the panel to the backing plate? - makes more sense now.

Vic[/QUOTE]
The aluminium frame around the cell doesn't appear to me to have sufficient strength to safely support the cell . Yes I was planning to use the adhesive supplied (Polyflex) which appears to be similar stuff to Sikoflex.
In addition to the guard wires & roof of cockpit tent, I meant to add also top of boom which in my case has a zipped sailcover. I could prepare the alu backing plate with attachments for strapping to the boom.
 
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