Solar

[huntergatherer]

Hello all

I have got a £500 budget for my solar panels/ controller

I will be running a 12 volt fridge a few lights on the nights I am not working and occasionally a 12 volt tv when I can get a signal

Batteries will probably be 110 ah starter 2 x 220 domestic

Stirling battery regulator

60 ah stirling charger

 

Any recommendations ......

Thank you

☺️

[Grace and Favour]

I think that Bimble Solar would be a good starting point

[Ex- Member]

You should get about 400w possibly 500w using 2 250w panels of solar for that if you fit yourself. Having said that even a single 250w panel will serve you pretty well with your described usage. I prefer the higher voltage panels. Bimble solar.

 

You could buy 2 of these which would give you 330w for under £200

 

http://www.bimblesolar.com/solar/165Wsolar

 

Their MPPT charge controllers are very good too and a reasonable price. Of course you'll need cabling and some bracketry to fix the panels. These panels accessories and a charge controller would be well inside £500

 

I would also suggest you buy a charge controller with enough capacity to add another panel if you require in the future that get's you up to 495w

 

A 40a Charge controller would suffice, the pedants will say 42a or over though. If a 50a isn't much dearer then worth the investment IMO

[Miemie]

Is it easy to install you own solar panels

[Paul C]

Is it easy to install you own solar panels

 

Its easy enough if you're competent at DIY. The hardest bit for me, was hiding the cables neatly. Some boaters seem happy enough to have them enter the boat through a mushroom vent though.

[Ricco1]

I'm just about to complete my own installation. 3 x 125 watt panels, 30 a MPPT controller and meter. Once I'd bought other bits and pieces; timber for frames, paint, drills etc. the total came to almost exactly £500.00.

 

Be careful if you buy the 125 watt panels Bimble are selling cheap at the moment. The actual size is bigger than stated on the website so if you don't bear that in mind you'll end up doing what I did i.e. building and fitting some frames that should have been spot on, but now need 2 more bits of 3 x 2 screwing to each frame!

[huntergatherer]

Thanks for the advice all

Bimble panels and controller it is .....

[Phil Ambrose]

Or look at Ebay, a few months ago I bought 3 X 100watt panels for £255 tracer controllor around £45

Phil

[TandC]

I bought a 250w Perlight mono panel brand new for £170, with some connectors and 10m of 4mm cable for an extra tenner or so. All from a local firm here in Oxford. Then I acquired an EP Tracer 20amp controller with remote from a Chinese eBay retailer - it cost £67 and arrived in 3 days. Very impressive, albeit there isn't likely to be much in the way of future customer service - so in that case, you pays your money etc etc... A strip fuse inline holder, plus some 16mm2 cable to connect to the batteries. Job done.