12 V 10 watt solar panel questions

[99yam40]

well I just found out I won my bid for the 10 amp con*****er at $4.26 with free shipping.
we shall see how this all goes after I do the testing on the panel itself attached to the tractor bat

[zenoahphobic]

You won't need that diode, that I suspect was there in conjunction with a fuse (at the battery end)
It could have also acted as a Zener diode, a simple regulator as already suggested.
I remember I had those 1 amp diodes that often had a reverse breakdown voltage of around 16volts. Weren't useful for most 12volt applications then, but I can see a use here with small solar panels.

[99yam40]

You won't need that diode, that I suspect was there in conjunction with a fuse (at the battery end)
It could have also acted as a Zener diode, a simple regulator as already suggested.
I remember I had those 1 amp diodes that often had a reverse breakdown voltage of around 16volts. Weren't useful for most 12volt applications then, but I can see a use here with small solar panels.

I am not sure if you are talking about the one in the picture or the 600V 1 amp one I installed between the solar panel + and the battery +. to keep the battery from discharging into the panel at night.

I installed the panel yesterday, but it was late in the after noon and the whole building where I installed it was in the shadow of a very large Live Oak tree. But it still had 24 MA heading into the battery.

This morning it was in direct sunlight at 8am , but it was early morning sun it was not real strong yet and was at a heavy angle to the panel, but did show 108ma going into the battery.
the panel should have good uninterrupted Sun until about 5PM as the sun heads to the horizon in the west behind that tree
battery was at 12.9V before hooking the panel up and also the same after a few minuets also.
I did not stay to check it later, was packing up everything to head back home on the TX coast.
I will check on it next time up to see what battery voltage is and current going into battery at noon with plenty of sunshine hopefully

[zenoahphobic]

The one in the picture and yours if you are using that regulator you won on EBay. I guess you haven't installed because you haven't got it yet.

Although I think your solar panel is too small to harm your tractor battery, if you do instal it put it immediately before your battery and not at the solar panel end as you often see on those portable panels. I have one of those where it is mounted behind the panel because it is practical, but it put hardly anything into the battery, but when I removed it and placed it at the end of the five meter run it actually produced somewhere what it claimed. Of course this is because, although the resistance is the same, the losses are less the higher the voltage travelling along the wire.

[boscoe99]

99yam, did you test the setup to see if battery power back feeds to the solar panel when the panel is not producing any electrical power?

If so, what did you find? If not, can you test it?

[99yam40]

OK,
Yes, you are correct, I have not received/installed the con*****er yet ,
Thanks for the info on placing the con*****er I will keep that in mind along with wiring size to help reduce losses if needed.

I plan on monitoring the panel output with just the diode for awhile anyway to see what the battery voltage goes to before deciding if I will hook up the con*****er.
I like the though of it having some protection, but not sure how well I like the sequence of connecting and disconnecting each time

If I do hook it up it will be housed in a box on a wall inside the building to keep the mud dobbers and other critters away from it with a 5- 10 ft cord heading to tractor battery.
might rig up a clear cover for box so the con*****er can be seen without opening the box up.
Thinking about this just now, I wonder is I should worry about heat inside a closed box?
(But then it is only 550MA max output from the panel and I am sure it will not be getting that much due to connections and other losses)

Probably put a switch on the pos + wire from the panel before it hits the con*****er so it can be disconnected/ reconnected easily and then just a normal electrical male/female plug going to the tractor battery.
Just have to remember the sequence of hooking up the battery before the panel connect and the opposite when disconnecting.
may need to hang a tag on the wire/switch to remind me or someone else if they use the tractor

[99yam40]

99yam, did you test the setup to see if battery power back feeds to the solar panel when the panel is not producing any electrical power?

If so, what did you find? If not, can you test it?

I did that here at the house while playing with it.
I did write that earlier,

"also wanted to report that without the diode in the + between the panel and battery and the panel turned upside down so not light could hit it,
it did show 5 or 6 ma heading to the panel from the battery.
so it would discharge the battery a small amount at night when no power was being generated by the solar panel

I actually watched the ma go from a Negative(-) number to a positive (+)one as I lifted the panel off of the counter and pointed it toward a light bulb"

[boscoe99]

Crappy reading skills on my part.

[99yam40]

I just thought about this thread, so I will update.

Went to farm last Thursday,
checked the battery voltage with solar panel still hooked up right about noon.
It read 14.23VDC .512 amps full sun.

disconnected panel and read 21.64VDC open circuit

Hooked up con*****er
Battery was reading 13.74VDC before hooking up panel and battery to the con*****er

Once all hooked up for 10 minutes or so the Con*****er put out 14.16VDC into battery at .504 amps

I do not see enough difference with the con*****er to keep it in place.

I would need to find a good way to mount the con*****er and run the extra wiring and mount a switch.

so I will leave the solar panel hooked directly to the battery with the diode in the positive lead from panel

[boscoe99]

Sounds like it is spot on without the con*****er needlessly being in the loop.

[99yam40]

I agree,
I thought about hooking up the con*****er anyway because it has an output that you can set how long to send out power to a light or something else once the panel stops putting out power.( at least that is what I think it is suppose to do).

I have a lowboy trailer in the same building that I put electric brakes on and it has a small 12V gel cell for the break away braking in case the trailer come loose from tow vehicle.
I need to keep that battery up also.
thought I might send 12 volts to it for an hour or so every 24 hours just to help keep it charged up also.

Now I wonder if I could tie the con*****er to the panel before the diode I installed and feed both the con*****er and the tractor battery.
then have the con*****er feed the small gel cell on the trailer all of the time also.
the con*****er papers says it is smart enough to realize what type of battery it is hooked to so it will regulate the voltage for the type of battery it is feeding.

I guess I have more playing to do when up there to see if it would be possible

[oldmako69]

Late to this thread and to be honest, I didn't read it, just skimmed it.

Last year I put a 100W panel on my T-Top to serve primarily as a battery maintainer. I don't have convenient AC power at my boat, and batts are too damn expensive to replace any more than necessary. And by necessary I mean 5 years at a minimum.

At any rate, these guys were fantastic with free information and enthusiasm and helped me get started ---->>

https://forum.solar-electric.com/cat...ginners-corner

At their rec, I upgraded my charge con*****er to this one ------>>

https://www.stellavolta.com/Mornings...SS-10-12V.htmI

I used two 10 amp Circuit breakers to control the flow. The one thing I remember is CB power to batt ON first, then con*****er ON second and vice versa when shutting it off.

Now when I show up at the boat I have 12.8V at a minimum every time, no matter how long I've been gone. I mounted the panel using casement window hinges. In winter, I flip the panel up to maximize its benefit. Very happy with the panel and install and highly recommend the panel.

I do not intend to hijack the thread, just provide links for those who seek more information.