Murflynn Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 they're not cheap, but are the cheapest any good? I'm looking at 2 x 100W and the cheapest ones are about £99 on ebay. Also Bimble insists that MPPT controllers are much more efficient compared with PWM, but one of those would be another £90. Any views on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top cat Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 An MPPT controller will get more power out of your panels in cloudy conditions than PWM one, but not all controllers are created equal. Best read the specs of both your panels and the controller to ensure they match. Not all panels are equally efficient, it depends on how they are made again close scrutiny of the spec pays dividends. There are at least three different types and the more efficient ones cost more. Sadly there are lies damn lies and solar panel specs. A key parameter is how much power they loose as the temperature goes up, this matters more for flexible panels as they are often bonded directly to the roof which gets hot. Top Cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearley Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 I'm very happy with mine but cost a lot more than £99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barge Maria Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 ........................Sadly there are lies damn lies and solar panel specs................ Top Cat Nicely put!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamboat Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 We have just taken 2 flexible panels off our roof, they have been on 6 years, not easy to get off & found quite a lot of rust underneath Spent most of yesterday angle grinding rust off & treating with vactan. Got 2 weeks to get it undercoated & painted before Tim from Onboard Solar fits a new system for us. I could never now recommend stick on flexible after our experience - of course it could have been the way we fitted them that allowed the rust to form but we followed instructions & thought we'd done a good job at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 We have just taken 2 flexible panels off our roof, they have been on 6 years, not easy to get off & found quite a lot of rust underneath Spent most of yesterday angle grinding rust off & treating with vactan. Got 2 weeks to get it undercoated & painted before Tim from Onboard Solar fits a new system for us. I could never now recommend stick on flexible after our experience - of course it could have been the way we fitted them that allowed the rust to form but we followed instructions & thought we'd done a good job at the time. Could they not be stuck onto a curved sheet of steel, which is then bolted to the roof on spacers? That way you get the benefits (better looking) without the disbenefits (hard to remove and attached to a hot roof). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frangar Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Could they not be stuck onto a curved sheet of steel, which is then bolted to the roof on spacers? That way you get the benefits (better looking) without the disbenefits (hard to remove and attached to a hot roof). If you did that and fixed them with some high power magnets you wouldn't even have to drill holes into the roof….Id be tempted to use aluminium sheet tho. The only problem would be not having them pinched but Im sure with some thought that could be overcome too….. Im glad Im not the only one who finds the look of the fixed panels a bit much! Cheers Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil. Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 they're not cheap, but are the cheapest any good? I'm looking at 2 x 100W and the cheapest ones are about £99 on ebay. Also Bimble insists that MPPT controllers are much more efficient compared with PWM, but one of those would be another £90. Any views on that? MPPT come into their own above 170/180 watts. 90 quid for one is cheap so maybe suspect I would nearer 200, or for a good one 400/500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murflynn Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 I'll be fixing them to a GRP roof, so no problem with rust, but on your'all advice I would fix them without glue. My use is just to top up 2x110AH batteries that will be primarily used to power a small electric outboard (not the main power - it is auxiliary to the petrol outboard motor) that will only be used for short quiet trips or a bit of creek crawling. The boat is trailerable and the batteries charged up by mains hook-up at home. When I go for a few days' trip I would like to be able to replenish a bit of juice to allow more use of the electric outboard. In principle, the solar installation is not essential, but nice to have, so I don't really want to spend £400 on Bimble's complete kit. Any recommendations for reliable panels would be welcome. MPPT come into their own above 170/180 watts. 90 quid for one is cheap so maybe suspect I would nearer 200, or for a good one 400/500. at that price it certainly isn't worth it for my purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil. Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) MPPT come into their own above 170/180 watts. 90 quid for one is cheap so maybe suspect I would expect nearer 200, or for a good one 400/500. Edited for spelling. Edited March 20, 2016 by Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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