Solar for dummies

Laysula said:
Sticking with the thread, "Solar for dummies" I have just bought my first panel. Question is does it matter if my panel is not connected in the sun whilst I mount it and sort out the cable runs?
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Assuming a modest sized panel no no concerns re it being in the sun when connected the current flow will only be in the order of an amp or so. (watts divided by 20) Larger panel perhaps cover it until you are ready. ol'will
 
colind3782 said:
That's ridiculously cheap if it's as advertised. I've ordered one anyway for my boat and, at £17.99, it won't be too much of a loss if it's naff.
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The regulator looks exactly like one I have. I bought it as an emergency spare and have used it once for a few weeks whilst waiting for some chips to repair my Marlec HRDi model.

I cant' remember the details but it might have been described as MPPT and also able to give details of Ah and Wh totals. Neither of these statements are true but I wasn't expecting that to be the case for about £8-£9. :D I think the description was changed to 3 stage PWM later.

It actually worked well and could be adjusted to the charge voltage I required. However, I only needed to to put as much as possible into the battery and reduce the current once it got to 14.9V. It did that and the Ah/day seemed very similar to the output of my HRDi. Performance was also close to my expensive MPPT regulator. Probably because it was mid-season in Greece. The MPPT would be bound to thrash it on cloudy days in UK. :D
 
I've always covered the panel when not connected, not wanting to damage myself or any other equipment. A 20w panel shouldn't do too much damage.
I think you're supposed to power up the controller before you connect the panel (or perhaps the other way round - read the instructions).
 
I know this is a bit late, but I have a couple of (now old) 2.5w (yes that's right) panels designed to keep batteries charged. When left attached to my 85aH start and leisure batteries, they remain good, however long I leave the boat. The advantage is that if the batteries are NOT sealed for life, 2.5w ain't enough to dry the cells out. My boat is also 26'. I keep them in the saloon window, facing south, so the degree of weatherproofing is immaterial. As long as you're not running anything constantly while the boat's unmanned like an alarm system I can't see any problems.
 
jamie N said:
I've got that on my boat, and have only 1 reservation concerning it, and that's the durability of the USB port on the back. Mine was outside and didn't do well over the winter. I repaired it, and it's now in the cockpit tent, working happily from there. I would simply spray a little WD40 into it, were I to buy anew. Works very well.
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Hi Jamie N,
I have just bought one of these. Did you rig up the controller, or wire it directly to the battery? They don't seem to have added wiring for the controller?
It's so tiny I'm wondering if it needs the controller, but I'm very ignorant...
Thanks,
Crisp
 
Laysula said:
Sticking with the thread, "Solar for dummies" I have just bought my first panel. Question is does it matter if my panel is not connected in the sun whilst I mount it and sort out the cable runs?
Click to expand...
Not in the slightest. Note that is essential to connect your charge controller to the batteries before connecting the solar panel. Pretty tricky if you cant have the panel outdoors before its connected.
 
Use MC4 connectors and have a couple to act as a cheap breaker, saves any spark issues connecting things.

Nearly finished my installation. 2x ETFE 180w panels fit snugly on the pilothouse roof, wired into a victron easysolar inverter / charger. Needs attaching to a batten at the front as they are rear wired and wont bend down flush but reasonably happy with it. May just screw it down anyway given my woodworking skills barely cover straight lines.WhatsApp Image 2022-05-11 at 2.57.57 PM.jpeg
 
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Captain Crisp said:
Hi Jamie N,
I have just bought one of these. Did you rig up the controller, or wire it directly to the battery? They don't seem to have added wiring for the controller?
It's so tiny I'm wondering if it needs the controller, but I'm very ignorant...
Thanks,
Crisp
Click to expand...
On STAKKR, I've got 2 X 20W panels wired into a controller, which is wired into the battery. This is repeated on the 2nd battery.
At the marina, I've set 2 panels facing SE into the morning sun, and the other 2 SW into the afternoon sun; 1 panel from each direction, to ensure that both batteries gets the same exposure through the day.
The batteries are isolated from each other, and all equipment, with the exception of 'their' automatic bilge pumps, which are separately wired to each battery.
On the very frequent 'dull & dark' days up here in the Highlands, the battery volts are never below 12.7VDC, or on the less frequent long sunny days, greater than 13.1VDC.
Whether the batteries really 'need' a controller? I don't know, but I feel better knowing that they 'have' one!
 
It's just a typical exaggerated claim on a Chinese web site. I don't think anyone would actually believe it.
 
As said that is a mind boggling exageration of performance. Does nothing for Ebay reputation. I notice they do not quote max current for solar panel which would be around 50 amps if it were a 1000w. More like 5 amps in practice. Could n't confirm the ad sourced in China but is very typical. (like amp hour claims for 18650 lithium cells) ol'will
 
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