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Hi all, So my solar cable got cut due to the way the cable was running through the bracket, I have gone to buy some solar connectors from maplins, can anyone confirm these are the right ones. The lady in the shop was surprisingly unhelpful... This is what I got : http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-cn40-a020-high-power-solar-connector-n55ln Is it as simple as just fitting this connector? or should I replace the whole cable Thanks for your help Martin

We have decided to get solar panels fitted as we plan to do more cruising now John isn't working. At the same time we'd like a Smartgauge (or similar) and it's also time for new batteries as ours are dying. We would rather get someone in to advise on options/capacity etc for solar and other electrical stuff, and do the fitting, than do it ourselves. Does the forum have recommendations for suitable suppliers who serve Birmingham? Looking for value for money and easy to work with rather than the dirt cheapest. Many thanks!

4 amps of solar? In Scotland?! Well, I'll be...

Hi there, I’m wondering if someone can help me. I’ve just installed 2 solar panels (in series) and they don’t seem to be charging my batteries. 2 x 320w panels (mono crystalline) 1 x 60A outback MPPT charge controller 4 x 6v Trojan t-125 240AH batteries in series and parralell connection giving 480AH in total. Ive checked all the connections. Seems fine. Battery monitor is saying the voltage from the charger is what the batteries are at. However the perctage on the monitor has stayed the same. Can someone please help?! I thought I’d have full batteries everyday with 640W of solar but so far nothing! Hope thats enough info, thanks in advance!

Does anybody have any helpful tips on powering our 60 by 10 wide beam to make us as off grid as possible. I need advice in all aspects and I'm not sure where to start. any websites, phone numbers or general advice will be gratefully received.

I've just installed a Tracer 4215BN MPPT 40amp Solar controller from Bimble Solar with a 255w panel feeding 4x Trojan T105 6v batteries. I've set up the user parameters as best I can but there are a couple I'm not 100% sure about... I have set the following which are as close to the Trojan recommended settings: Boost/Bulk Charge: 14.80 Float Charge: 13.50 Equalise Charge: 16.20 Under the section Battery AH should I put 225 or 450? I've currently got it at 225 but think that it should probably 450 as the total for the bank @ 12v? Other settings I've got but not sure about and would like some clarity are: Over Voltage Disconnect: 16.3 as this is 0.1 above Equalise Boost Reconnect: 13.2 (default) Low Voltage Reconnect: 12.6 (default) Under Voltage Reconnect: 12.2 (default) Under Voltage Warning: 12.0 (default) Low Voltage Disconnect: 11.1 (default) Discharge Limit: 10.6 (default) Equalise Time: 120mins (default) Boost Time: 120mins (default) Temperature Compensation Coefficient: -3mv/C/2v however the Trojan site says: Add 0.005 volt per cell for every 1°C below 25°C and Subtract 0.005 volt per cell for every 1°C below 25°C - so should I change the setting to -5mv? Many thanks in advance.

School boy question. I want to fit some solar panels to my boat but want to check that I'm going about it correctly as I'm pretty new to working with 12V electrics. Do I or can I connect the cables from the Solar Charge controller directly to the + and - terminals on my battery bank or to the isolator terminals? I know that the best way should be to have the batteries connected to bus bars but my system doesn't have these at present, the batteries are connected to the isolator with an Adverc battery management system and a constant feed to the fridge. See photos. Also is it ok to run the 12V cables from the panels across (at 90degrees to) other electric cables (12v and 240V) in my switch cupboard? Any pointers and advice gratefully recieved.

Haven't seen this posted here, and I hope the topic is acceptable. It appears that the government is looking to increase tax on solar panels. For more information and to sign a petition, go to the Greenpeace site: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/s/no-new-solar-taxes-v3?source=fb&subsource=20161214egfb02&utm_source=gpeace&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=20161214egfb02&tysource=8E691

Hi all, I have 2 x Trojan T105 6v batteries producing 12v with a capacity of 225 amps. I also have a solar panel that is now actually becoming useful now the sun has come out to shine! What settings should I set it at? Bearing in mind the table listed by Trojan below: Daily Charge: 14.8 Float: 13.2 Equalize: 15.5 The settings on the solar controller are: Load On (Voltage): Presuming this is the "Daily Charge" setting? Load Off (Voltage): Presuming this is the "Float"? PV Off (Voltage): No idea what this is PV: Showing the current amps the solar panel is producing Thanks in advance!

Hi there, I've got one of these (see pic below), but want to change it for something that can take more solar panels and is a bit more modern. We use it with a 60A alternator, and 1x 100w solar panel (although I think this regulator can only take up to 60w solar. We don't have a wind turbine. It only seems to produce a max of 14.1v when the engine's on (even after hours of cruising) and recently has been hitting 15.1v through the solar panel - which seems a bit high?! I'd like to replace it with a charger suitable for the alternator, and maybe solar as well. Do I need to get a separate charger for the alternator, then an MPPT charger for the solar panel (I also want to add either one or two 175w solar panel to make 275w or 375w in total). We have 3x 110ah leisure batteries and a starter battery, and a Sterling 1600W pure sine wave inverter that is yet to be hooked up.. Any advice, brands, models to watch out for etc, most welcome! Cheers, Alistair

Hello, Is it better to have multiple smaller solar panels, or a few larger panels? I'm looking at around 500watt and have the option of two 250watt semi-flexible panels or multiple 100watt semi-flexible panels. Cheers, Robbo

Hi everyone, I have just moved onto a canal boat and am looking to update my electrics and install some solar panels. I am a newbie so really appreciate any advice you can give. I have been attempting to do an electrical audit (using a template I found online) Firstly I wonder if someone could have a look over it and see if I have made any glaringly obvious mistakes?? I have done my best but I must admit I do find the electrics a little confusing !! I am continually cruising and my boat is 57x10 I am looking at installing: - 3x 260w or 305w solar panels (with the plan to add a fourth in the future) - 2x 40A MPPT controllers - Victron Multiplus Inverter/ Charger - A monitor of some kind recommendations apreciated! I will also have a Honda EU20i generator to top things up. The questions which I am struggling to find answers to online are... What is a good size battery bank to match this system? I have been told it's important not to go too big as it means lots of time spent trying to charge them up. Not to mention the expense. Is it a good idea to get a multiplus inverter and charger or a separate inverter and charger? I am thinking about purchasing a washer dryer which will need 2.1kw to run (not shown on audit) would it be acceptable / advisable to run this of my setup while the generator is running? So the batteries / inverter would only need to supply the extra bit of energy as the Honda is only rated at 1600w continuous. Is there any other major bit to the system I am missing. My understanding is Batteries / Inverter / Charger / MPPT Controllers / Solar Panels / System monitor. Do I need fuses or any other bits? Thanks in advace for your time. Look forward to hearing your opinions. (Please be gentle I am new and still figuring it all out) Martin just figured out how to attached the file hope that works ok : http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/boat.pdf

well I have mounted my panels and the suns out ( of sorts ) and leccy is flowing through the MPPT controller to the batteries . I am getting between 3 and 7 Amps in the current weather which seems ok ( I have 330 watts of panels ) . I am on shoreline so the solar is really just topping up the batteries in float mode with the main 12v drain being shoreline Fridge and Freezer , Toilet , extractor fan in mornings and the odd LCD light . What I am being a bit thick about is what does 3-7 amps mean how many amp hours does this equate to in battery top up terms ie if I get a sold 5 amps average for 5 hours is that 25 Amp hours into a battery bank of 4 x 135 Ah batteries is that a little or alot and how much money will that save me in shoreline power if I paying 10.5 p a unit or am I over analysing things and being a thicky I guess the panels will be more use when cruising this weekend but how much power am I getting and will it run the fridge and freezer or just help a bit ? I am guessing in high summer I will get about double this any how sorry for the ramble

i as wondering if anybody could help me with the following problem: When i've been if charging the batteries using the engine e.g. after cruising or in neutral the solar charger more often than not will not start charging again even if the batteries have been partly run down again unless after a normal night cycle (e.g. in the morning) or i reset the controller. i can understand after a long cruise it may not start charging immediately, but it doesn't if the battery monitor reads 12.3v. i have a tracer 30A MPPT controller, 390W panels and 675aH Gel Batteries. Anybody any ideas?. Thanks

Hi everyone, Can anyone recommend a good, well-designed ventilation fan for a bathroom that works both on solar and battery back up? Are solar fans powerful enough, do you think? Or would it be better to get a fan that connects to the 12v system? If so, any suggestions for this also? Thanks, everyone, for your advice. Alan

Hi all battery afficionados I am about to take new batteries down to the boat and do the change over. I have searched the forum and found some interesting things I did not know before. Now I would like some clarification. The old set up (six batteries 110Ah) was always a bit higgeldy piggeldy as we couldn't fit all the ends onto the terminals. When I had to buy new batteries at short notice we basically had to do the same again so Set 2 comprises 5 leisure batteries 115Ah I will label them A to E. Positive side Battery A currently has solar cable and one from the Isolator Switch and link to battery B Battery B has two links A and C Battery C has link to B and D as well as smartgauge Battery D has link to C and E as well as one to the Isolator Switch Battery E has link to D Negative side Battery E has link to D and one to Victron and one to the Mikuni Battery D has links to E and C and one to the smartgauge Battery C has links to B and D and one to the solar panels Battery B has links to A and C and one to Victron Battery A has link to B and one off to the Starter Battery Now the 4 new batteries 160Ah have a M8 bolt type fitting so no need for the terminal clamps as used previously so we hope that it will be easier to fit more cables to a single post. The proposed layout is going to be Positive side Battery A has both the Isolator cables and the link to B Battery B has link A and C Battery C has link to B and D Battery D has Link from C and solar and Mikuni and smartgauge (ie 4 one large and three small) Negative side Battery D has link to C and both large cables to Victron Battery C has links to D and B Battery B has links to A and C Battery A has link from B then the large one to Starter battery and the negatives to Solar Mikuni and smartgauge. I am reasonably happy with this BUT which order should I pile the cable ends for best connection (thinking smartguage here) (My reasoning for putting both Isolator switch connections to one and both Victron to the other is I am not 100% sure why there are two or if this is immaterial or not and if material and I put them the wrong way around it could mean that they are not going to pass through the whole bank. If you get my drift.) I have printed off the smartgauge info linked to in a previous post about how to correctly interconnect multiple batteries but a) this doesn't address the issue of all the other items connected to the bank. I have basically assumed that by having the charger going one way and the solar and everything else going the other way around that that is okay. Otherwise Everything would have to go onto two diagonally opposite terminals and b ) we don't have enough extra cabling to do the fancy Methods 3 or 4. Battery etc.pdf Schematic, what I drew, of current set up since oct 14.pdf

Hi Everyone I've been trying to work out how much Solar and batteries I need, ideally to be able to use the panels for most electricity even through winter. I have lots of roof space and I budgeted for a lot of Solar so I'm ok with the finance side. I have done the usage calcs based on 'worst case' or maximum potential use, and overspeced the solar needs by 100% to account for winter. However, the Bimble solar calc seems to suggest I need a 1166 AH battery bank!? I assume this is because I need double the AH I use so as not to run the batteries to 0. That's a lot of batteries though! Am I understanding this correctly? What do other potentially power hungry users have? Thanks Caitlin

Just thinking about how best to bring my solar cabling into the boat - I've seen it going into mushroom vents but I'm doubtful I'll be able to run it inside the roof space without taking half the ceiling down - it's a few metres. So I looked for waterproof junction boxes and found some for solar panels - with diodes already inside. That set me a thinking regarding blocking diodes and whether I need them! So, before I order the cheapest little plastic box with a grommeted hole, perhaps I could ask what others have used and whether diodes are necessary! ta

Hey so I have recently got myself a boat which is a norman 27 fibreglass boat. I am currently pondering how I am going to install solar panels onto this boat, I have heard that the best way is to drill them on but I dont really want to do that as I have heard fibreglass is fragile. These panels are big (1.6M X 1M) so the only 2 places for them are the front cabin roof and the back cabin roof. So is there any alternative way to get the panels onto the boat roof, I was thinking maybe there is some super strong industrial glue or even some sort of metal wire rope that anchors it at 4 points. I have no clue how I am going to do this so open to any suggestions. Here is the panels I have bought: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282164412810 2X 250w Thanks Tara

Hi all. I purchased a 2nd boat which came with 4 solar panels (unconnected) , with the following specs (see image). Do you know what controller I should buy to connect them to 12V batteries ? Many Thanks.

This has just come up on Facebook looking for money to fit solar panels https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/pillingslocksolar?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Yimbyprojectpage&utm_content=pillingslocksolar&utm_campaign=projectpage-share-owner&utm_term=ZWz4ZzmpP

Just starting to think about solar as otherwise I'll be missing out on "free" power this summer. Looks like I'll want an mppt type controller and a fairly hefty one at that. 60a Victron coming in at best part of £300, other much cheaper options available so I'm after your thoughts and suggestions, please. It may be that I'll be wanting to start of with one solar panel due to budget constraints and add them as I go - hopefully ending up with several 100/150w panels, or maybe more. That's if I can ever decide between flexi's and rigids. But the ability to just add on more panels would be good. I heard there is a thing called a combiner also? Or do some mppts do that too? Am I correct in thinking that you can have more power (in terms of panels) than the mppt can use, so it just goes to waste rather than damages anything? As I'm thinking that the main advantage of having lots of panels would be not so much peak output under ideal conditions, but to still get something worthwhile out of them at other times. thanks

Hi. I'm buying a boat (survey dependent) in Chester - currently moored near Tattenhall Marina. I'm based in the south and don't have contacts in the area. If there are some names you're happy to recommend, I'd be grateful. I'm also looking to have some solar panels fitted (with controller) and a security bar fixed across a bow door (steel doors, wood lined in inside and painted on outside). Again very grateful for any recomendations. Thanks all!

Just a quick headsup: Most 'MPPT' in this price range are in fact PWM, but this solar controller checks out as a genuine MPPT: Youtube linky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05IcvuI7kJ8 Charge voltage is fixed at 14.7V which may be a little high for some, though not high enough to properly charge or equalise traction batts, but will give them more than a tickle. Max solar input is 50V. Found a couple of links for these on Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MPPT-Solar-Charger-Controller-12V-24VDC-10A-20A-Battery-Regulator-USB-5V-Output-/142188324794 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5A-10A-12V-24V-MPPT-Solar-Panel-Regulator-Charge-Controller-100V-Input-DC-USB-JS-/181861868553 Not as good as the latest Tracers and may be not as reliable, but possibly a good budget option for a small setup.

I will be fitting a new solar panel soon. I only need 100w, to keep my batteries topped up. Just for the pumps and lights. The advantages of a mppt controller are well established, but is it really necessary for a simple set up like this? I am thinking of the difference between a 10a Tracer at £63 from Bimble or their 10a PWM controller at £8.42