2nd_apprentice
Well-known member
Fitted my rigid 50W solar panel and it seems to be working fine, yay!
Luckily the Marlec manual for the shunt type regulator mentioned the need for a blocking diode if a solar panel was added to the (useless) wind generator. The sparse solar panel documentation didn't say anything about it but a call confirmed, yes indeed I need one.
No problem, got a suitable diode from Maplin:
(Sorry, didn't write down the actual model number etc it just says "E3 P 60U A" on the diode itself).
Fitted that inline and seems to be working. At least there's no discharge now that the sun's gone.
However: do I need a heat sink, would it get warm during operation? At the moment it's simply screwed to a timber beam in the battery compartment. Potential fire hazard?
Luckily the Marlec manual for the shunt type regulator mentioned the need for a blocking diode if a solar panel was added to the (useless) wind generator. The sparse solar panel documentation didn't say anything about it but a call confirmed, yes indeed I need one.
No problem, got a suitable diode from Maplin:
(Sorry, didn't write down the actual model number etc it just says "E3 P 60U A" on the diode itself).
Fitted that inline and seems to be working. At least there's no discharge now that the sun's gone.
However: do I need a heat sink, would it get warm during operation? At the moment it's simply screwed to a timber beam in the battery compartment. Potential fire hazard?
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