Cable Runs Solar Panel to Battery

[Teedee]

Does anyone have suggestions for cable runs from flexible solar panels located on the dodger and/or bimini to the battery? On my 38-200, the house batteries are located under the aft end of the starboard settee.

Tom Dudley
El Sueno

 

[Christian Williams]

My previous owner ran his solar wires through the cowl vents.

If I needed solar, I'd just drill convenient holes in the coaming as needed. And caulk.

 

[bsangs]

Does anyone have suggestions for cable runs from flexible solar panels located on the dodger and/or bimini to the battery? On my 38-200, the house batteries are located under the aft end of the starboard settee.

Tom Dudley
El Sueno

Our flexible panel is on a hard top bimini. The wires run through the port side cowl vent, down below through the engine room, and into the back of the solar charge controller, which is mounted on the Q berth wall. Wires from the controller are then run to the batteries in the port side settee. (One note though, we have a transom pole which holds our radar, GPS, etc. The solar wires are first routed down through that pole and they exit the pole near the cowl vent.)

 

[Kenneth K]

Search for "waterproof solar cable gland:"

 

[Marlin Prowell]

I’m using a ScanStrut DS-Multi cable seal for a flexible panel on top of the dodger. I remove the panel in winter even though the dodger is under a full one piece cover during winter. Strong winds almost ripped both the panel and the cover off the dodger.

 

[peaman]

I have a flexible panel on my dodger and I used this cable gland (without the fancy metal cap) on the outboard side of my coaming. It's very low profile: low enough that it is hidden by part of the dodger.