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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Solar panel

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WindDancer
1st Mate

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USA
34 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/05/2006 : 00:04:22

I'm looking at putting in a battery charging system in my 250 (2006). My current out board does not have a battery charger, so I'm looking at a solar system. Any ideas on what size panel, brand, wiring etc. Will I need a charger controller or battery conditioner?

Thanks,

Bruce

Bruce and Suzette
Five O' Clock Somewhere
2006 C250WB #861
Clearlake Ca

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 06:02:25

It has been posted, that 5 watts capacity is acceptable per battery if not controlled. You can't cook the battery as it only puts out 300ma.

If you have 2 batteries hooked up in parallel, 10 watts is fine.

If you go bigger, a charge controller is required. I think solar is the safest way to go on our modest boats. The charger is nice at the dock when you are entertaining.

Tom.

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 06:04:58

I forgot to add, Get flexible panels. The rigid ones break. Just do an ebay search for flexible solar panels.

Tom.

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Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 07:39:46

I took a different approach. I wanted to "charge" the battery not just maintain it. Charging requires more than a 5 watt panel and in fact it needs quite a bit if you are located in an area that cloudy days are the norm. I purchased a BP rigid 65 watt panel about 19" x 42 - quite large. It does require a solar regulator but those are only $29 (morning star I believe) The panel can (on sunny days) charge a battery from 50% to full in several days. Most cases I don't use up that much so the panel can bring the battery back from a days use the following day in the sun. The panel is quite large but sits on the cockpit floor "out of sight, out of mind" and I think is helped by reflection of the sun off the cockpit white sides. It also has a metal frame and is cable locked for some security. Could I have gone smaller? Yes. I sail 3-4 times a week. I could get away with a 30 watt panel, but it depends on the power use you have.

The glass "blue" solar panels are the most efficient especially on cloudy days. Most flexable panels I believe use the less efficient type solar modules "red" that do not put out as much power under cloudy conditions. If you have a lot of sun - the flexable red panels would be fine - they put out similar power in bright sunlight.

My panel fits nicely in the aft berth while sailing. I am considering selling it and purchasing 2 panels, one flexable and permanently mounted to the deck (where?), and one for the cockpit (30W) for "after" the sail. I hope this helps.

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conchjoe
Deckhand

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USA
7 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 09:02:28

I have two solar panels, flexible by Unisolar: 33 watt and 11 watt. They are connected to my Bimini. I have Raymarine st4000 autopilot and Waeco refrigerator as well as the other usual cruising stuff which consumes electricity. I also use a charging regulator and West battery combiner with two banks of 2 batteries each: 2 AGM 27's aft and two flooded 29's forward of the water tank. This allows me ample power on 3-day cruises, eg, Sarasota to Key West; however, the sun is bright here in Sarasota. Incidentally, I have used this setup for over 3 years, including several hurricanes (no direct hits, but hurricane force winds) without taking the panels down.

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 09:25:27

Joe,
any pics of your setup?

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conchjoe
Deckhand

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USA
7 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 09:40:16

Britinusa, I will get and post pics.

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WindDancer
1st Mate

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USA
34 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2006 : 22:46:39

Thanks for the info. Joe I like your set up. I'm looking foward to the pic (s). Who has the best price for the panels, West Marine, ebay????

Thanks,
Bruce

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mday
Navigator

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197 Posts

Response Posted - 02/06/2006 : 17:29:41

Bruce,

Check amazon.com. I just got a tool catalog from them that had some very nice looking 15W solar panels.

Be sure to plan on installing a charge controller if the panel doesn't come with one. Some solar panels will put out a voltage too high for a 12V battery, so check the specifications carefully. I had an old 35W panel that put out 20 volts in the sun, which was too high to connect to a battery without some charge control. I used a Morningstar controller (which somone else mentioned) that regulates the charging voltage to 14.1 volts.

If you want some other good reference info, see www.solar-electric.com.

Max

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3467 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2006 : 07:27:42

I am usually on the Cat 25 Forum or the Genral Forum but happened to take a look here and saw this solar panel posting. Take a look at my website, I have some photos on my setup.

There are pro/con to each of the various types of solar panels and I have comments buried on the other forums about that. While the rigid panels are susceptible to breakage because they are made of glass, they are usually mounted in an area where you can forget about them. Rigid panels generally put out more watts per square inch size compared to flexibles and big difference is the flexibles usually only come with a 3 year or at most 5 year warranty, whereas, the rigids small panels come with 10 year warranties and the larger ones, 25 year warranties. It is not that you would use a warranty but the warranty is sort of a guide as to what the manufacturer feels is acceptable for his product. On the other hand, flexible panels are easy to use and you can out them any where and even stand on them.

5 watts per battery is enough for trickle charging the daily loss. But to charge it for using the lights the night before, then you need more than 5 watts per battery. If you use more than 5 watts per battery, then you need a controller to keep the battery from eventually cooking the water out of it. If you do not have a meter to read battery voltage and you also would like that...well...some of the controllers have that feature built into them and so when looking for a controller, you can get a cheap one that does the trick or pay more with more features. Something to think about.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.