Solar Panel- update

Time seems to have flown and it has been some time since I updated the blog .. such alot happened over the summer ..... but I will start with the solar panel update. Back in August...yes August I jury rigged a solar panel to help with power requirements generally, but particularly in view of an extended three week cruise that I was about to depart on.

At the London Boat Show I bought a Photonic Universe solar panel the dimesions can be seen in the panel below. There was a boat show discount so it was approx £120 at the time.

Details on reverse of panel for those that it means something to.....

For the cruise I left it jury rigged to see where and how the best fit would be. The kit comes with the panel, a charge control unit and about 4 m each of cable to connect panel to the unit and the unit to the battery. The panel has some water proof connectors fitted that allow a cable run to a point and then easy removal of the panel as required.  I left all the wire untouched, thinking I would trim it to the length required once I had established a final fix.

Points to note - the battery cables are thick -- to thick to fit into the screw fittings on the controller and require quite a bit of strand removal to get a good fit.

It is easy to wire the panel the wrong way - in which case you get a battery indicator light and that re assures you it is working...but closer inspection of the manual reveals you should also get a green condition light - either charging or maintaining the battery.

The panel worked very well, with the battery kept in tip top condition so thoughts started to turn to a more permanent fitting.

The starboard berth on my Shrimper is used for food and utensil storage in clear plastic boxes - so remains largely undisturbed  so I decided to fit the unit on that side away for day to day foot traffic as it were.

Fitted between edge slats and storage unit on starboard bulk head -
wires can just be seen disappearing behind the slats

The position allowed me to chase the wires into the recess behind the slats and from there down into the well area under the bunk support. From the well it is a short run to the battery but I was able to leave the wires uncut. The wires to the panel are also coiled here, with the connectors left visible so that I can pull out as much length of cable or push it back as required.

So far I seem to have settled for a short run of cable with the panel sitting just outside the spray hood butted up against the rear of the mast. However the flexibility with the cable has allowed me to trail it through the cabin and out through the fore hatch with the panel sat in the anchor well.

I have resisted the urge to fit the panel as I don't plan to take it with me on most trips, using it instead for maintenance whilst the boat is left for any periods. It can live in the car whilst I am sailing, although I have rigged some clips and elastic in the roof headlining area over the starboard bunk so I could  hold it securely against the inside of the cabin roof, out of harms way, if I did want to take it with me for any reason.

So far so good - my only regret - I have two batteries and didn't think or research to possibility of unseeing the panel to maintain both. It seems that they do controllers with a double battery in-put so It may just be a case of upgrading controller? we'll see...