Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'solar panel'.
-
i have 3x 110Ahr new domestic batteries and a smaller starter battery. i have a 295 W solar panel with a 20 A MPPT charge Controller that has a feature to turn on a load for an hour before sunrise or an hour after sunrise, (probably for lights). i lay the boat up for winter with all batteries fully charged; and the solar keeps the domestic batteries well topped up through out. but last spring the starter battery was down to 11.1V. so I'm thinking of using the load timer to top up the starter battery for an hour daily after sunset when the voltage will probably be around 12.5 V, I'll include a 10A fuse with 4m of 16A cable. will this work? and will it cause any problems/damage? some years i have permanently connected the batteries together with no problem, but if there was i would then have all batteries flat!
- 5 replies
-
- batteries
- solar panel
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hi. I'm sure this is a topic that comes up repeatedly but need advice. Bought my narrowboat nearly 2 months ago. Power set up was working well. Solar panels charging batteries seemingly well. Lots of sun etc. This last week I noticed that the batteries weren't charging. See pic attached. Would this suggest the leisure battery is kaput? The investor is also telling battery is low so I think that's an obvious clue 😂 I had been able to keep things going by running the engine for a bit but I work away from my boat everyday and so can't do this consistently. Came back late last night to find it was completely flat. Any advice welcome. Ps 1 I have no experience when it comes to electrical maintenance so I ain't messing about with that! Ps 2 pic taken in the early hours of this morning but it's been the same alert at midday during very hot weather.
-
Hey guys, I've got an issue with my solar system. At the moment, I can leave my solar panel charging for 2 days, even with sun, and it won't go over about 70%. Even that will only last 2 hours watching tv or running 1 laptop. I'm now not sure if I got a controller that's too cheap (eBay job), if I don't have enough batteries, (2 x 110amp leisure batteries with 2 more on standby), or whether the panel isn't powerful enough (Highly doubtful) Maybe I might have not set up the controller properly such as setting the cut off voltage etc but I'm not sure what the settings should be. A (poorly drawn) diagram of my setup: If anyone has any advice on what I can try, I would be eternally grateful.
- 23 replies
-
- solar
- controller
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hey, does anyone know where to buy these? I've found one website but at £75 I'm hoping to find somewhere cheaper.
- 5 replies
-
- solar
- solar panel
- (and 4 more)
-
Hi there, I’m wondering if someone can help me. I’ve just installed 2 solar panels (in series) and they don’t seem to be charging my batteries. 2 x 320w panels (mono crystalline) 1 x 60A outback MPPT charge controller 4 x 6v Trojan t-125 240AH batteries in series and parralell connection giving 480AH in total. Ive checked all the connections. Seems fine. Battery monitor is saying the voltage from the charger is what the batteries are at. However the perctage on the monitor has stayed the same. Can someone please help?! I thought I’d have full batteries everyday with 640W of solar but so far nothing! Hope thats enough info, thanks in advance!
- 27 replies
-
- solar
- solar panel
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hi, Can anyone help. I disconnected the wires from behind my solar panel to enable removal. BUT I re-connected a + wire to + (correct) but the other - wire I connected to a + (wrong) will this cause a short, as when I corrected the error the diode on my charge controller does not light up, only the diode telling me of the battery condition. What have I done? Thanks
-
I'm getting ready to fit solar panels - starting off with a couple of 150w 'ers. I decided to keep them low and flat as opposed to adjustable, as I'm a single hander and can do without anything else to get the centre line caught in, at the crucial moment. So, I have seen plastic corners and mid mounts around £30 which seems expensive. I've also seen some metal brackets in a Z fashion with lugs as well that look like they would do a decent job. But then I'm thinking why not use bog standard small brackets (galvanised or ss obviously). Infact the main thing seems to be how the fixings will connect to the roof. I was planning on sticking them on with silicon or maybe something for the purpose like sikaflex. Then today I saw the high winds in the trees and started thinking maybe I'd be better bolting through the roof but not keen on that for obvious reasons! I wonder if anyone has a good solution for this? I suppose nuts could be welded in place or indeed the brackets themselves could be welded on, but I don't want to go that rout either - no welding gear, muck up the paint.
-
When I received my two solar panels, one was broken - the glass smashed all over though still in place. I have received the replacement so no problem there - but I'm wondering what to do with the busted one, seems a pity to just chuck it in the bin. I haven't tested to see if it still has output, but if it does I'm sure it wouldn't be long before water ingresses.