SOLAR PANEL QUESTION.

[Bob23]

I have a small solar panel on my 23 mounted on the forward hatch. Is there a way to hook a small ammeter or some other kind of meter up to it to get an idea of it's output? I'm not looking for a permanent installation although the thought has crossed my mind. Might be nice to actually know the condition of the battery, eh?
Thanks, mates for your answers.
Bob23...the electrically bewildered.

[crazycarl]

i hear ya bob.

when it comes to electricity, i know 2 things, #1. i don't know anything about it.  #2. i don't have enough interest to learn about it.

lucky for me, my neighbors on either side are union electricians.

one of them tried to show me how to use my meter.  it all made sense to me until the next day.  zero retention.

he did show me that my solar panel was "pulse" charging the battery.  this i found out was a good thing.  it actually cleans the sulfide off the plates and reintroduces it into the acid.  basically it brought the battery that wouldn't hold a charge, back to life.

now, seeing that your in the construction field, i'm sure you have a relationship with an electrician that can help you with this.


carl

[skip1930]

Note the wood 2x4's on the pulpits to off set the mast. Must be getting ready to pull the boat for the winter.
If I was to do it again I'd move the boom vang about a foot closer to the back of the boom. There is a cable to the back stay holding up the boom with Q/D.

The solar panel has been over the hatch for years. And sits on four glued down rubber cane tips so cooling air can flow under it.
It may look like it but the head sail sheets do not become hooked under the cell.

As to output it's 19.3 volts in direct sun, less in cloudy days.
Amps are 300 milliamps. People tell me to regulate the volts to about 14.2, probably good advice. [My R/C airplanes use 300 milliamp battery packs]

If your not careful the cell will boil the water out of the battery over the course of a season [6 months] check and add water.

Now as to 'watching' the charge of the battery Fleet-Farm has a 5 LED monitor that indicates full, 2/3, 1/3, 0 charge left in battery. It's about an inch wide and two inch long and about 1/2 inch thick. Wire between the + and - terminal and glued or Velcro'ed to the battery case.

I don't think my cell does much but what the heck. If I splurge and buy a better [thicker] cell it might actually keep up with my microamp instrument draw.

skip.

[Bob23]

Skip:
   My dilemna exactly. I currently have a small panel installed on my forward hatch exactly as you described. (Great minds think alike?) but I suspect it may not keep up with the increased demands I have when I do the Chesapeake trip so I'm trying to be proactive.
CC:
   I think I know a bit about zero retention but I may have forgotten it! At the end of my season, my battery is usually still at or near 100% so my solar charger is working. But I use very little juice all season. I do know some electricians but they are usually well versed in residential or commercial stuff...not so much with low voltage marine stuff. Although one guy is a fellow sailor whom I'll be meeting with today about a new project we hope to start soon.
Bob23   

[skip1930]

Truly a gentlemen, B.J. is the former president of Palmer Johnson Yachts and had "the blokes" build him a 38 foot two mast'ed shallow draft, centerboard sharpie rigged like a Nonesuch boat. She is built out of scrap aluminum. The boat is truly unique. And comfortable.

Tragically B.J. has aged and is in an extended care facility in the 4th stage of Alzheimer's. Visits to see him are 'trying' and painful. He's only three blocks away from our house.

Anyway his boat, Dancing Bear, has a wind mill to generate juice. That boat has made two round trips to from America to England.
Wind mills are obsolete for powering large grids but make sense on boats.

skip.

[crazycarl]

bob,

i have a small flexible solar panel and have been looking at add ons to help replenish the batteries on long voyages.

this one interests me because of it's small size and price...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GUDCRAFT-15W-WIND-TURBINE-12V-WIND-POWER-WIND-GENERATOR-VERTICAL-/111173103854?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19e26ef0ee

this one you tow behind your boat, or hoist it up the mast when at anchor, too rich for me...

http://www.wire-wiz.com/id84.html

cc

[skip1930]

Hey, ... " tow behind your boat " buy a packaged Generack unit and tow it behind the boat in your dingy with an extension cord.
The ends do not justifies the means.

skip.

[MacGyver]

Skip,

"Wind mills are obsolete for powering large grids "

You haven't traveled south of Chicago have you lately? Fields of em GALORE powering the grids.
I believe that with time, efficiency and placed properly they work fairly effectively as a source of power. I am not saying green power is as efficient as fossil fuels, nor do I intend to enter that discussion, but someone felt it was a money maker or it wouldn't have been done up there.

About 5 years ago, when I was still in my pre-lightning youth, I made several round trips covering 24 hours with no sleep and lots of work up north and the fields of wind mills were plentiful. Id guess even more so today.

Mac

[crazycarl]

you have that right mac!

we have them to the north, west, and south of us.  1,000 of acres of them.  like you said, they must be making someone $ or there wouldn't be investors!


cc

p.s.  there's a spot in lasalle county where you can clearly see 2 nuclear plants surrounded by windmills!

p.s.s.  there is a large field of them between our house and our daughter's.  my grandson asked what the big fans were for.  i told him they make wind for all us sailors.  he asked why they are in a field and not around our lake!  smart for a 4 year old

[Bob23]

They've been in use in Europe for many years. We all know they work but the environ-wackos over here...aw, shucks- I'm stopping this right here! I'll not enter into this discussion.
Where were we? Oh- solar panels on my boat.
Carl: That is cool! I've never seen such a thing...and not a bad price. I may look into it although the nice thing about solar is no moving parts.
Bob23
   

[kahpho]

going all the way back to the original question......

"Is there a way to hook a small ammeter or some other kind of meter up to it to get an idea of it's output?"

Easy peasy. Just wire a meter into the solar panels "output" line (not battery output, panel output). If your panel fits on your hatch it's not very high output. I'd guess 12 VDC nominal (13.5-17 vdc actual) and likely less than a couple amps. If it's small enough to fit on your forward hatch it's likely in the hundreds of milli-amp range (basically a trickle charger).

For the former this would work http://www.adafruit.com/products/574. If it's a trickle charger I wouldn't bother. It might cost more power to monitor then the panel would be supplying. For that you could just measure once inline with a handheld multimeter. They are usually rated for 2 amps on current settings but be sure to check the rating first.

disclaimer: When it involves electricity always, always, always, have a good idea of what you expect to measure and make sure your measurement tool is rated to handle it with some safety margin. Your loved ones will thank you.

mel

[skip1930]

Mac ... I knew that I should have finished this quote -->"Wind mills are obsolete for powering large grids " let me addendem my quote to read; Wind mills are obsolete for powering large grids. What is the kW generated per acre and what does each kW cost as compared to mega watts generated per acre and what does each kW cost when a power plant sits on the same size acreage?

Yes I have 14 wind mills just 17 miles South of me on top of Brussel's hill near Lincoln, Wisconsin. You can see them from Green Bay when driving North. Most of the times they are not spinning. And recently somewhere in this Nation one of those blades fell to the ground. These don't generate enough kW to pay for themselves and ours in Wisconsin were paid for [subsidized] with state money from a past administration.  

Again, the power companies don't pay for the wind mills. Government subsidies do. There is no free market in control here.
If your lucky enough to have a CELL PHONE tower on your property your take is $500 per month in Door County.

skip.

[atrometer]

In northern NY and Vermont, the power companies are paying the farmers a lot of money to let them install them on their land - don't remember how much for sure, but seems like $1000/yr. per windmill.  Many getting rich.  Doubt the power companies would do that if they lost money!  So if they put in 50, the farmer gets $50,000/yr.

[Koinonia]

phone 035 by koinonia27, on Flickr

This victron battery monitor will tell you your battery status by percent, amp draw, amps going in, and other usefull stuff and can usually be had new on ebay.  Or for just an occasional check a multimeter will do just fine, and use the instructions.  a small panel like that wouldnt fry a meter.  If it did I wouldnt want a meter that crappy anyhow.