help me out im goin solar

[captjcook]

I just bought (3) 100w sun panels new from Sun Electronics for $258 each. I wil be building these into a fixed bimini and post progress and pics soon. Sale will last one more week for those interested.

[Bill_E]

Those are really good prices per watt. I'll have to call them and see about the panels, I've never heard of the brand.

I'll also do some quick calculations and will post later about my thoughts for going solar on my 37 ft Sunbeam. I'd love comments and suggestions. Thanks for the info that is already here.

Bill

[witzgall]

It seems like there are alot of lower priced panels entering the market, a good thing - if they will stand up to the marine environment.

Could you give us your impressions of the product when you get them, and maybe again when you put them in service?

Thanks,
Chris

Originally Posted by captjcook

I just bought (3) 100w sun panels new from Sun Electronics for $258 each. I wil be building these into a fixed bimini and post progress and pics soon. Sale will last one more week for those interested.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by captjcook

I just bought (3) 100w sun panels new from Sun Electronics for $258 each. I wil be building these into a fixed bimini and post progress and pics soon. Sale will last one more week for those interested.

What are the dimensions of those panels. I do not see that on Sun's website

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

What are the dimensions of those panels. I do not see that on Sun's website

and what is the panel weight (not shipping weight)? This looks like a smoking deal. The website says minimum purchase is 4.

Paul L

[fabricator john]

you cant mix solar panels can you?
john 2670 explorer..."IPANEMA"

[captjcook]

The dim's frame 20-3/4 x 40-7/8 x 1-13/16, approx. 2-1/4 frame plus junction box. The bathroom digital scale reports 13.6 pounds. The panels are black anodized. I have dealt with Sun Electronics for nearly 20 years, Inverters, generators, They have 12v squiggly flourescent standard base lamp bulbs for $12 too. They are a good company. These panels are their own brand and come with 5 year m/w, 10 year 90%, 25 year 80% warranty...industry standard. I would guess they would sell less qty. they have 300+ of these panels. More info on ebay. As for my my impressions...I couldn't be more happy unless you paid for them!
Jim

[Bill_E]

From my reading, with a good charge controller you can mix panels. Most panels have blocking diodes so cells that are not producing current don't rob the others.

But, some of the experts can probably contribute more information.

Bill

[Bill_E]

Here are my plans for solar on our boat. Any comments or suggestions are really welcome. I think I understand the basic parameters and the estimations of use. We will be cruising down the Thorny Path and I'm sure that there will be times when we won't run the engine or won't be on shore power for days at a time. I've got both a refrigerator and a freezer and I'd like to keep both of them running. We will also probably be using a laptop a lot for course planning, writing, and email (when possible). So with all of the other stuff, I estimate about 150 Ah per day, minimum. Our radar is also a pretty good draw but it will be used infrequently and at times when a lot of the other equipment isn't being used. I'm probably underestimating the draw. It seems that most people underestimate, until they start to make real measurements. I have 3 good house batteries. I don't know their details because the boat is in Fla and I'm in Puerto Rico right now. The aux diesel has a humungous Balmar alternator but I'm hoping not to have to run it very often. No genset. I will not run the A/C unless we are on shore power and in a hot marina.

I plan to mount the solar panels above the bimini. I've seen a couple of nice installations. There is a very good welder in the marina where we are presently stored and I'll have him reinforce the bimini frame and weld a frame to mount the panels above the bimini. I think that I can get 3 130w panels in the space, two running parallel to the centerline and one across. I'd like to have a way to adjust the angles on the panels, at least a bit, to try to get more efficient use in the mornings and evenings. (If anyone has any clever ideas about mountings with angle adjustment please let me know!!!!) Right now I'm leaning towards the Kyocera 130s. They are much smaller and lighter than any of the larger (say 185w) panels. They also have very good PTC ratings and a +-5% power tolerance. There are some slightly more efficient panels on the market but another advantage of the Kyocera is that it is waranted for mobile applications. I'm not really sure how important that is but it gives me a little more confidence. I'll run the panels into an MPPT controller. I haven't decided on the brand but I'm leaning towards BZ. If anyone has any experience with these, I'd love to hear about it. That system should give me about 120 Ah of production on a sunny day. So, I shouldn't be draining my batteries too fast and can probably make it between times when I'll have to motor anyway.

Any comments or suggestions? I'd especially love to hear any experiences with mounting systems for putting the panels above the bimini.

Bill

[witzgall]

Bill;

I am not sure that is an accurate statement. I think SOME panels have blocking diodes between each sell, but many do not. Those that do, are often refered to as shade tolerant.

Chris

Originally Posted by wlearl

From my reading, with a good charge controller you can mix panels. Most panels have blocking diodes so cells that are not producing current don't rob the others.

But, some of the experts can probably contribute more information.

Bill

[Paul Elliott]

I believe the per-cell diodes that let current flow around a shaded cell are called bypass diodes. The diodes that allow you to parallel multiple panels (or multiple strings within a panel) are called blocking diodes. For what it's worth, my (old) Shell Solar 100W panels have blocking, but not bypass diodes.