Cam-
"I read this as you saying that ... Correct so far???"
Yes.
"If you take the 375 watt hours and divide it by 13.6V...that is 27 amp hours for the 4 hour peak period down south and less if you use the traditional bulk charging voltage of 14.4.
How do you come up with 73 amp hours ? I think that is a math error. "
OK, now I'm getting confused, too many notes and quotes in too many places. I see where I said "about 250 Watt-hours up here, indicating 375Wh down there in sunnier climes. Or about 73 Amphours at 13.6V here,". Let me try to figure out what I was thinking. 250 WH divided by 13.6V would be about 18 Ah. I think I *ed that up and multiplied out by four (hours) again!
And yes, I was reading/seeing the bulk/acceptance charge happening at 13.6 volts, not 14.4 volts, for what that's worth. Whether that's the charging algorithm, or a deception of reading PWM as DC, or whether that's really all the voltage you need to do this...Dunno.
"If I am correct..." And I think you are, "... then 8 hours of peak performance down south would result in 54 amp hours (2 x 27) and 12 hours would result in 81 but as you point out with your candlepower morning readings...there is really no possibility of getting 12 hours of full output. Do you agree with these numbers and that 80 amphours or more out of the panels per day is a dream?" At this point, and without complete testing, YES, I agree. I can't see any way to get 80AH, even 80AH at 13.6V, out of a 100W panel array.
80AH x 13.6V = 1088 WH, yes?
So given ten hours of screaming daylight and a panel set putting out 100W...it would still be a stretch. I don't think that's possible.
"You thought Brian had not claimed excessive output from the panels themselves and thought it was someone else...but here is his direct quote:...We were consistently able to exceed the STC rating of the panel in good conditions. "
"...it IS Brian making these claims.
Here is the link to his full exposition:
http://archives.sailboatowners.com/p...07096173139.65"
He does seem awfully optimistic about ouput, but then again he also says flat out "But given optimal conditions, 70-80 amp hours is a fair representation of the daily power output for the marine market." and I have to wonder, did he make the same mistake of double-converting that I did?? Or did he just make the mistake of confusing amps and watts? There's obviously SOMEthing wrong with the claims--which if you remember is how I got sucked into this.
I don't think it is hard to exceed the STC ratings of the panel IF (IIRC) you consider that the STC ratings are for flat panels, not tracking the sun. By tracking the sun, sure, you can pick up extra power. Whether that power can be effectively gained 1/2 hour before sunset...I don't know, it can't be gained around here. BUT, I also "read" that kind of power that late in the day, when I was just using a voltmeter and no load. I don't know if Brian is electrically astute enough to realize that when the panels are loaded (plugged into a charger) that bonus power can't actually be sucked out of them, the voltage plummets.
"I think he is merely mis-informed about their real output just like the people that have bought them."
One thing that he made clear is that he is not a techie. I'm no EE but I'm more astute about volts and amps than the average idiot, and I still found this "exploration" to be full of surprises. He does have an incredibly robust mounting system, and some technology that is "as good as it gets" for squeezing the power out of the solar panels though. (Unless there's another brand of MPPT controller that squeezes even harder.
)
"but you deserve major kudos" Thank you, all deposits to the First National Bank of Karma graciously accepted. I'll tell you, it would be both easier and harder to sit all day in the sun and test that thing, if there was an iced marguerita dispenser built into it!
And you deserve major credit for proofreading me and catching the errors! Maybe if the wx holds for this Sunday...I'll get a chance to make new math errors.
CPaul-
I have no idea what the military has available in testing. Bear in mind that Sandia Labs, which has a lot of photovoltaic testing up for public access, is also one of those places where you can get on wrong end of an M16 if you go in the wrong places. Sometimes, when the military needs a light bulb, they just send someone down the store to buy one. If it lights up, they buy more of 'em.