L
Leslie Newman
Guest
Well, I went on to the next project and installed Solar panels, charge controller. Just finished yesterday. This didn't take too long...last weekend I installed the solar panels on top the bimini and then six hours yesterday saw the wires routed and charge controller installed. Tied the output from the charge controller to the same spot the marine battery charger connects, which is to a terminal on the back side of the battery switch. So with the battery switch off the house batteries are still getting charge from the charge controller (sun shining of course).
I found these brackets from Gemini Marine (purchased at Defender) that allowed me to construct a rack on top the bimini. First I added struts to give the bimini more stability, then constructed a rack to hold three solar panels. Feels fairly sturdy. Time will tell. Two tubes front to back, then two side to side where the panels attached.
There were two existing holes through the hull where old GPS antenna had been routed, so used those for the PV wires from the panels.
I ordered 1" O.D. stainless steel tube from Great Lakes Skipper. Renogy solar panels from Amazon. Epever charge controller from Amazon. 30' of PV wire from Amazon.
Tubing fittings from Sailrite and Defender. Various screws and circuit breaker from local hardware store.
The panels are wired in series, which allows me to use 10 AWG PV wire. The charge controller is a MPPT type, so it takes the high voltage from the panels and generates charge current.
View attachment 27038
View attachment 27039
I try to add things in a way that the boat can be put back to original later.
This is a small cabinet in the stern berth that we never use. I removed the cabinet door and then mounted a piece of star board to hold the charge controller.
I did drill a hole in the bottom of the cabinet to route the PV wires, wires to the batteries and temp sensor wire. This can be easily patched later.
It seemed to be charging yesterday, though by the time I had all wired up it was very late in the day and the sun was low in the sky.
Looking forward to playing around with the system this weekend.
View attachment 27040
I found these brackets from Gemini Marine (purchased at Defender) that allowed me to construct a rack on top the bimini. First I added struts to give the bimini more stability, then constructed a rack to hold three solar panels. Feels fairly sturdy. Time will tell. Two tubes front to back, then two side to side where the panels attached.
There were two existing holes through the hull where old GPS antenna had been routed, so used those for the PV wires from the panels.
I ordered 1" O.D. stainless steel tube from Great Lakes Skipper. Renogy solar panels from Amazon. Epever charge controller from Amazon. 30' of PV wire from Amazon.
Tubing fittings from Sailrite and Defender. Various screws and circuit breaker from local hardware store.
The panels are wired in series, which allows me to use 10 AWG PV wire. The charge controller is a MPPT type, so it takes the high voltage from the panels and generates charge current.
View attachment 27038
View attachment 27039
I try to add things in a way that the boat can be put back to original later.
This is a small cabinet in the stern berth that we never use. I removed the cabinet door and then mounted a piece of star board to hold the charge controller.
I did drill a hole in the bottom of the cabinet to route the PV wires, wires to the batteries and temp sensor wire. This can be easily patched later.
It seemed to be charging yesterday, though by the time I had all wired up it was very late in the day and the sun was low in the sky.
Looking forward to playing around with the system this weekend.
View attachment 27040
Last edited by a moderator: