480 Watts of Solar for the Endeavour...

[Sumner]

After installing solar on the Mac....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-33.html

...and enjoying it so much we wanted to do the same on the Endeavour. Solar Blvd had a sale on 80 watt panels about a year and a half ago for $160 each and we bought some on sale. Of course later they even got cheaper, but panels are like computers....buy them and then don't look at prices any more :cry:.

I had some measurements that I'd taken at the boat and designed a frame where...

...4 panels would mount forward behind the boom and over the bimini with 2 more behind them. A slot was left in the middle of the front 4 so that we would be able to see the windex through the bimini window.

Here is a picture at home...

...with the 6 panels in the frame. Next a ....

...wood mount was made to use at the boat to hold the panels in place so that uprights could be made and placed under the frame. Before leaving a number...

...of different type mounting brackets were made to mount the frame for the panels to the cockpit coaming and pushpit rails.

At the boat the .....

..... wood mount was installed in the cockpit and then Ruth and I ....

...reassembled the frame and then ...

...constructed uprights and mounted them with the brackets that had been made at home.

When we left the boat we had one panel installed where the arrow is above and wired it to the junction box under that corner of the frame. Then down to the MPPT charge controller and left that hooked to a battery and a bilge pump. All other electrical was disconnected.

I'll post more when I finish all of the rest of the wiring when we return to the boat.

You can find the whole build and install at the link here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-electrical/electrical-index.html

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

 

[seadaddler]

Charge controller

What charge controller are you using for your 480 watts of panels,I very interested how you wired them also.
I am looking at 2 -230 watt panels from sun electric,shipping is the reason I would drive to miami to pick them up and save the shipping $$$$ from any body else.
Nick

 

[Bob J.]

Guess you won't need a bimni for shade anymore

Nice Job!

 

[seadaddler]

Florida

Here in Florida we need all the sun blocking we can get,But the panels will be over the bimini bolted to my arch and back rail of the bimini.
nick

 

[Sumner]

What charge controller are you using for your 480 watts of panels,I very interested how you wired them also.
I am looking at 2 -230 watt panels from sun electric,shipping is the reason I would drive to miami to pick them up and save the shipping $$$$ from any body else.
Nick

We had good luck with the Blue Sky 2512iX on the Mac, although nothing to compare it with. We bought the 3024iL for this application....

http://www.solarblvd.com/Charge-Con...AR-BOOST-3024iL-30A,-12/24V/product_info.html

... If the panels ever put out full power we would about max it out, but I talked to a tech at Blue Sky and he was very confident that the controller would work fine in the application. Being flat the panels are never 100% orientated to the sun anyway. Also he said that the controller is not hurt by more amps to it but it will limit the output to 30 amps.

With our 180 watts on the other boat last trip we saw a max of about 9 to 11 if I remember right. If we ever see 20+ I'd be real happy.

The panels are all in parallel and will all...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-electrical/page-6.html

...be wired to the bus in the junction box in individual fuses for protection. If a panel has a problem or the wiring to it the amps from the other panels trying to go to that panel would blow the fuse. If you have two panels I see not need for that, but might be wrong. There will be a 40 amp fuse on the other side of the charge controller between it and the batteries.

10 gauge from panels to box and 4 gauge from the box to the charge controller,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

 

[wonkodsane]

Nice pics and descriptions, Sumner, and great install/fabrication, it all looks great!

 

[flynfol]

You might see it max out on cool days after a cloud has blocked the sun long enough to cool the panels........when the cloud clears....MAX output until the panels heat up.......at least that is what I have seen with our 480 array( refraction/ edge of clouds different story). I have been using the RV products 2512 since '02 and it hasnt failed yet..;-) I started with 320 and added 160 after watching the output over time. The panel output has decreased over the years somewhat. MPPT works the best when the panels are cool.

 

[All U Get]

Sumner that's a lot of energy, are you selling it back to the utilities? I have to believe that you batteries will be on float most of the time. I'd be interested as to how it works for you.
All U Get

 

[flynfol]

How many batteries you planning on using?

 

[syoun10]

Very interesting, Sum - thanks for posting this! Is the frame aluminum? Did you think about allowing the panels to tilt towards the sun at all? Does anybody have any comments about how much more efficiency one gets from doing this?

 

[Sumner]

Sumner that's a lot of energy, are you selling it back to the utilities?..

I have to believe that your batteries will be on float most of the time. I'd be interested as to how it works for you.
All U Get

The funny thing is that 180 watts and two 12 volt batteries did fine for us over 90% of the time 2 months out on the Mac and now we are over twice that and the new fridge we built for the Endeavour probably uses less than 1/2 the energy as the portable we had on the Mac and it was the big user there. So I think you are right, at least hope so, and the batteries will be on float a lot.

Of course with more elect. we probably will get sloppier with the use of it for other things .

How many batteries you planning on using?

There are two 6 volt banks (4 - 6 volt total) and the 12 volt start battery. The four 6 volt will be wired as one large house bank and connect to the start battery with a Blue Seas ACR...

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|51495|299265&id=750182

The current house batteries are shot in the boat and will be replaced when we go back with either Trojan T-105 (about $92 each) or some Powertron 2000's that are about $20 less. They have a 210 amp-hour capacity on the 20 hour rate vs. the 225 for the T-105. So for two banks that would be 420 vs. 450 and if you figured on ever drawing them down 50% there would be about a 15 amp/hour difference in capacity. Not sure I'll be drawing them down to 50% but then again we might have days of clouds and we hate to run anything that makes noise for power if we can avoid it.

Anyone have experience with the Powertron's? I'd like to get one or the other as the prices above are delivered to the boat yard prices and the guy will help me get them up the ladder and into the boat and get the other ones out. That is starting to get important to me :cry:.

I know you have been running solar for some time. Who's batteries do you use?

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

 

[Sumner]

Very interesting, Sum - thanks for posting this! Is the frame aluminum? Did you think about allowing the panels to tilt towards the sun at all? Does anybody have any comments about how much more efficiency one gets from doing this?

The frame and all of the mounts are aluminum. If we were younger and were going to have the boat for a long period we probably would of invested in SS. Especially if the boat was in the water all of the time. The boat is almost like a trailer boat in a way and will be in the yard on stands a few miles from the ocean probably 6-10 months out of the year while we own her.

I think we are so over paneled that the need for max. efficiency isn't that necessary for us. I think that one would soon tire of trying to adjust panels during the day after a few days.

I did make ....

...the 40 watt panel above in the 200 watt array on the Mac adjustable to up at the angle shown, flat and down at the back at the same angle. I mainly did that as the boat sits on a trailer all winter with trees on one side and with the 40 watt like that it is aimed for the low angle (Utah) noonday sun. It and the others keep the batteries at full charge with no problem. That mod for the Mac is here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-33.html

You are right that the panels are never going to reach full output horizontal,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

 

[flynfol]

With the boat swinging at anchor all the time, it wouldn't be worth the trouble. Different story on land. Shouldn't matter with your total wattage available. I bought batteries at Sams Club.....golf cart(2000 or 2002). I couldn't tell you who they were manufactured by, but they are at the end of their operational life. The cabin is basically in a standby/ float mode until we show up. You have an awesome system for the boat and your batteries will probably last quite awhile.

 

[c_witch]

Hiee Sumner,

I'm curious as to what effect all those panels will have on the boat. I'm guessing that they will be about 7 to 8 feet above the waterline and total weight somewhere around 200 lbs. I know that the boat is big and heavy but still 200 lbs on a 8 foot fulcrum is a lot or seems so. I'd be interested in how things behave in heavy sea's (storms). I know none of us wants to be in that situation but as the saying goes if your sailing long enough its gonna happen.

As you know I/we are now looking for a larger boat 33/37 feet and will also be looking at going solar and will be full time live aboard. While we hope to be in the caribbean year round we may have to live in Nova Scotia for 6 months to retain some of our perks by being resident here for half a year.

c_witch

 

[Sumner]

..I'm curious as to what effect all those panels will have on the boat. I'm guessing that they will be about 7 to 8 feet above the waterline and total weight somewhere around 200 lbs. I know that the boat is big and heavy but still 200 lbs on a 8 foot fulcrum is a lot or seems so. I'd be interested in how things behave in heavy sea's (storms). I know none of us wants to be in that situation but as the saying goes if your sailing long enough its gonna happen...

I really can't see it being a big issue. Boat is over 20,000 lbs with 8,000 in ballast. We probably have 100 lbs.....

...at a similar height on the Mac and she is only about 3500 lbs total displacement and I can't tell any difference with her. We are cruisers and very conservative ones and aren't planning on crossing any oceans. Maybe to the Bahamas or up the east coast but in a very conservative manner. Hopefully we will avoid the heavy seas thing.

I'll report back if I feel that they have created a problem,

Sum

 

[flynfol]

Hail, bird poop, or my kids.......only issue I see.......;-). Better to have too much solar, than hear a generator running. Our neighbors up north start their gen when they show up, and it runs nonstop until they leave.......thank goodness for thick woods! You'll use it. At $4 plus a gallon......those panels will pay off quickly.