12 May, 2014

Solar panel mount

We would like to use a compressor fridge on our boat, but that needs some power from the batteries. I've already installed the new charging coil in the outboard, but still we need more power especially during the sunny days. So we decided to install the solar panels around 50W of peak power. On the previous boat we had the solar panel mounted on the top of the cockpit arch, but this small boat does not have it and we don't plan to install it.
The best flat location is the area in front of the companion sliding hatch board so I will give it a try.
There could be just one more issue and that is the shade from the boom. The problem with the solar panels is that when only one solar cell is in the shade or dark the whole current of the panel is degraded. This is why I don't want to mount the panel permanently (I mean new holes in the boat) at this moment. Polyurethane glues are pretty hard to remove so I've searched the net and found the 19mm 3M VHB acrylic double sided tapes 49xx series which are UV and weather resistant.  Declared holding strength is around 6kg for 30cm of the tape which should be enough, since I will use 2x 40cm on the aluminum L-profile which will then hold the 5kg solar panel.

At first wanted some cool marine flat solar panels that could fit the desired area, but they are pretty expensive, but finally I bought the Victron Energy SPP51-12 50Wp polycrystalline panel with the dimensions of 540x670x35mm. As the charger I bought the Victron Energy BlueSolar MPPT 75/15, not cheap, but the best thing about this is that its all encapsulated electronics and suitable for marine use. This charger will be used also for the outboard charging and will be mounted in the new battery compartment in the cockpit.

Here you can see some photos of the installation itself.

back of the panel with the 2x2cm L-profile rails 40cm long and 3M tape installed

deck connected - 3 terminal (4x 1mm2)

Man, cables from the distribution panel to the mast step is almost impossible to pull through. The inner fiberglass is on some places mounted together with the outer skin so tight that it's impossible to install new cables here without drilling some kind of inspection holes. Luckily I was so wise and ordered 2x double line cables as a spare. Factory installed 4x 1mm2 which is too narrow diameter for the DC currents from the solar panel without significant voltage drop. So I put them together in parallel so the final profile is 2x 2mm2. Then I was able to install the 2,5mm2 cable from the distribution panel to the battery behind the carpeting which was not that easy anyway.
The boat is nice as you don't see any screw heads and all looks clean, but installing something additionally is a pain.
cables to the deck connector on the left (on the right is for mast lights)


final connector glued with sikaflex


final placement

screws holds the panel in place

The holes for the M6 screws are just tapped in the aluminum panel frame so the panel can be easily removed and stored inside the boat.
The future will tell how good this installation is but if not, I can move it to somewhere else, probably stern rails, and use the second mast connector for anything else.

Updated 5/20/2016: I've found out, that the deck connector was some kind of a fake cheap copy which lasted only one season. Its contacts totally corroded so I've replaced it. See my upgrade of the solar panels here.

3 comments:

  1. Umm.. nice upgrade.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It’s great to know that you’ve upgraded the boat by putting in some solar panels. I’m sure that those will help with conserving power immensely. Anyway, how is it holding up nowadays? Whatever the case may be, I hope things are doing well. Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a great day!


    Rachael Massey @ Auto Control Systems

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Rachael, thanks for the kind words. Solar panel is holding great and working perfectly, until there is a shade from the boom. We were with the boat at the Adriatic sea and the higher temperature required the fridge to run more frequently, so I was able to survive only week and half without charging from the shore. So the next plan is to install the some small additional panel on the pushpit.

      Delete