Solar panel question from the uninformed !!

[DeeJay]

I have been offered two BP Solar panels for next to nothing..


I understand they are a few years old & still in boxes & are the standard 1210x 540 panels.
What would I need to set these up - or just one- as a trickle charger for all these batteries in my 3 Land Rovers there are 6x 100 amp batteries but I would think I would trickle charge them 1 week in 4
An inverter through normal charger??


Thanks, David

[Vern]

Regulator, inverter, charger.
Or I think someone on here had a morning star ps15 for sale, this will do it

[Ralph1Malph]

Mate,
I have done this exact thing to an old BP panel I have!
I bought one of these:

30A MPPT Solar Panel Battery Regulator Charge Controller 12V 24V 360W 720W CE GL | eBay

Works a treat.

I actually mounted it on my roof and switch it through a relay to charge whenever the car is off.

Cheers
Ralph

[spudboy]

What's the VOC on the panels? It will be on a sticker on the back probably.

If they are household panels, they might have a high VOC (like 90v) which most charge controllers will not be happy about.

If they are 'vehicle' panels, they will have a VOC of something like 23v and an operating voltage of 18v.

A simple controller like this will show you how much power you panels are generating, how much you are using, and the SOC (State of charge) of the battery:

http://www.projecta.com.au/Products/Solar/SolarControllers.aspx#!prettyPhoto[iframes]/5/

They are about $150 for the 20A model. Monitor screen is another $25 I think....

http://www.rboutback.com.au/image/cache/data/Projecta/SC320D_1-500x500.jpg

[Vern]

Doubt the voc will be 90v, guessing 45 or lower.
I ran a 190w suntech household panel with a voc of 45.9 or something on my camper with a morningstar ps30m no dramas at all.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

DeeJay

Can I take an exception to your thread title?

I don't think you're ignorant although you may be uninformed about solar panels.

Would you mind if I changed it?

Diana :)

[DeeJay]

DeeJay

Can I take an exception to your thread title?

I don't think you're ignorant although you may be uninformed about solar panels.

Would you mind if I changed it?

Diana :)



Well I do have solar on the roof, but yes, I guess I am more uninformed than ignorant:)


I'm collecting the panels - gratis- on Wednesday & have offered to buy Pedro The Swifts
Morningstar controller.
Fingers crossed I have got it right.....

[Dervish]

Well I do have solar on the roof, but yes, I guess I am more uninformed than ignorant:)


I'm collecting the panels - gratis- on Wednesday & have offered to buy Pedro The Swifts
Morningstar controller.
Fingers crossed I have got it right.....

It sounds like you have some of the old 68W BPs, they were a reliable module. They should interface perfectly with the Morningstar and will work well for you almost indefinitely for your application.

Switching one week in four should do the job nicely.

[DeeJay]

It sounds like you have some of the old 68W BPs, they were a reliable module. They should interface perfectly with the Morningstar and will work well for you almost indefinitely for your application.

Switching one week in four should do the job nicely.


78 Watt
Yes, up and running, the plate says 4.58 amps & that was exactly the output yesterday, must have been made in the day of honesty in advertising.. so good in fact I will add another panel to max out the 15amp controller and probably run my TV, Computer etc in the shed via 2x 100 amp AGM batteries I got for some low cost bartering :cool:
I can see what's going to happen if I can convince my better half It's OK to run an extension lead into the laundry. The shed/ woodpile roofs could easily handle another 10 panels :twisted:

[blitz]

if you want to use more than one panel put them in parallel so you don't get to high with your voltage obviously paralleling ups your current so you need to match it to your inverter