FYI on some solar panel sales

[mattm01]

Definitely exceeding specs. I got my 2nd 60W panel today and started putting together my folding setup. It's wired so I can choose series or parallel depending on my needs. Anyway, hooked it up and got serious power. Almost smoked my Goal Zero pack. Specs say I shouldn't go above 8amps with 2 panels in parallel. Well, the meter says otherwise and I caught it at 150W and 10.3 amps at one point. My Goal Zero 350 ( Max 10 amp input) had some light smoke coming out! Took it apart and no visible melted wires so hopefully it was just some leftover residues heating off.

Anyway, seems lie you get serious power for your buck. Just test them if you're close to capacity.

On a side note. The Extreme 350 by Goal zero seemed to have some tech inside. Looked like a temp sensor on the bat. Really curious if it's MPPT

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

mattm01, got a link to where you're getting these panels? We're trying to rig some up for a bank of trolling motor batteries and these seem like the perfect size.

 

[mattm01]

Link is on the first page of this thread. Several sizes to choose from.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Thanks man, I had went back a few pages but obviously not back far enough

 

[Herbie]

OK, this is seriously exciting - I'm pulling the trigger on SOME panel today. Quick question:

I know these panels (and a lot of others) fall WAY off with even partial shading. Being able to move the panel into full sun is great for efficiency. OTOH a large panel is hard to move. So, would I be better off with the lower efficiency of a LARGE panel mounted fixed on a pop-top roof (perfect if I park facing north, terrible if I part facing south, etc.), or higher efficiency of a SMALLER that I can store inside the van and deploy/move as needed?

Like say 100 watt panel bolted to the pop-top vs. a 60-watt panel that gets re-aimed a couple times a day?

EDIT: Let's assume I use the same MPPT controller for either panel.

Thoughts?

 

[mattm01]

I'd say it depends on what your goal setup is. My 60W x 2 is intended for family base camping / light overland use so packing up everyday isn't an issue. That and I can locate the panels in ideal spots and move throughout the day. All this is going to be stashed inside a roof box or tailgate. My gut says the fixed panel is more ideal for larger vehicle setups like RV and trailer use. I'm VERY new to the game however!!

 

[Herbie]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a 60W. My power needs are relatively light right now, just a fridge and LED lighting. Long run, I'll probably add a furnace, but I've got a 75AH house battery and I'm just looking to extend my stays.

I'm probably going to try to rig up a "best of both worlds" setup - something that will mount on the roof for everyday use but with a quick-disconnect mount so I can pull it down when I'm going to be base-camped for a while.

The 100W was tempting, but it was just heavy enough that I knew I wouldn't pull it down to re-position it, and with the pop-top roof I didn't want to have to choose my parking spot based on the solar angle...

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Can I get some help from someone who is smarter than me on this subject.

We're trying to put together a system where we can run our boat off a big trolling motor so when out photographing birds, we're simply using the electric motor and not idling along with a big gas motor causing a bunch of noise.

We've bought a 36volt trolling motor with the most amount of thrust available. We've bought 3 12volt Blue Top Batteries that we're planning on running in series to achieve the required 36volts of power.

I want to order one of those 80watt panels you linked to on the first page to keep the batteries topped off while the boat is just sitting at the dock. My question is how do I run the 12volt solar panel to get it to charge all 3 batteries? Does the Charge Controller do this and if so, anyone got a link to a charge controller that will accomplish this without frying the batteries and will stand up to the rigors of being mounted on a boat. It'll deal with some serious weather since the boat stays tied to the dock 99% of the time and isnt taken out and put in a garage or covered

Any links would help

 

[teotwaki]

Can I get some help from someone who is smarter than me on this subject.

We're trying to put together a system where we can run our boat off a big trolling motor so when out photographing birds, we're simply using the electric motor and not idling along with a big gas motor causing a bunch of noise.

We've bought a 36volt trolling motor with the most amount of thrust available. We've bought 3 12volt Blue Top Batteries that we're planning on running in series to achieve the required 36volts of power.

I want to order one of those 80watt panels you linked to on the first page to keep the batteries topped off while the boat is just sitting at the dock. My question is how do I run the 12volt solar panel to get it to charge all 3 batteries? Does the Charge Controller do this and if so, anyone got a link to a charge controller that will accomplish this without frying the batteries and will stand up to the rigors of being mounted on a boat. It'll deal with some serious weather since the boat stays tied to the dock 99% of the time and isnt taken out and put in a garage or covered

Any links would help

The perfect situation would be four 12 volt panels (or two 24 volt) wired in series and a controller that was set up for 36 volts. The next best would be 3 panels with three 12v controllers applied individually across each of the 3 batteries.

To keep costs down with one panel you'd have to do one of two things:

1. manually move the charge controller connections across each of the batteries, maybe a couple of days on each battery?
2. or jumper the batteries in parallel and put the charge controller across all 3 of them. Not ideal but you would not have to move the controller connections

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Thanks for the info. Doing some more research, I also found this = LINK

It will allow one 12 volt panel to charge a bank of 36volt batteries

 

[youwillforget]

Every Miles A Memory

I wired a friends boat with 3 individual chargers for the 36v motor and it worked perfect. I would suggest spending just a little more on 3 of the 40w panels and wiring one to each battery yes it's a little more $$ but you get 120w total with 40w to each battery instead of 80w to the bank. It isn't that hard to wire and with a few relays you can make the system control itself. But if you are set on the 80w you can wire it to do what you want it to do.

 

[cowboy4x4]

I went to the site it seems the 80w and the 60w are not available any more.

 

[Butch1979]

Definitely exceeding specs. I got my 2nd 60W panel today and started putting together my folding setup. It's wired so I can choose series or parallel depending on my needs. Anyway, hooked it up and got serious power. Almost smoked my Goal Zero pack. Specs say I shouldn't go above 8amps with 2 panels in parallel. Well, the meter says otherwise and I caught it at 150W and 10.3 amps at one point. My Goal Zero 350 ( Max 10 amp input) had some light smoke coming out! Took it apart and no visible melted wires so hopefully it was just some leftover residues heating off.

Anyway, seems lie you get serious power for your buck. Just test them if you're close to capacity.

On a side note. The Extreme 350 by Goal zero seemed to have some tech inside. Looked like a temp sensor on the bat. Really curious if it's MPPT

What kind of connectors are on the panel when shipped? I need to know what I need to hook this up to my controller and then to the battery.

Thanks

Butch

 

[teotwaki]

What kind of connectors are on the panel when shipped? I need to know what I need to hook this up to my controller and then to the battery.

Thanks

Butch

They have two leads (pos/neg) and are using those funky cylindrical waterproof plug & jack connectors called MC4-2 on each lead. On the back of the panel is a nice junction box and you can remove the supplied leads and connect your own leads to the screw terminals

 

[mattm01]

They have two leads (pos/neg) and are using those funky cylindrical waterproof plug & jack connectors called MC4-2 on each lead. On the back of the panel is a nice junction box and you can remove the supplied leads and connect your own leads to the screw terminals

Yep. MC4s on 10AWG coming out of a junction box. I just decided to hack of the MC4s and added Anderson Power Poles (found on my Goal Zero). I might have voided the warranty but I think that it's a bit silly considering it's just some cable going to a junction box. Any problems would be BEFORE the wires going out!
I've read that you can just by a short MC4 extension cable and cut THAT in two and add that to the panel cables, keeping your warranty good. I didn't feel like having ANY MC4s in my system so chop chop.