Buying Solar Panel

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by aeventyr60

The last time I checked the largest Kyocera was a 130 Watt. It is a real monster. Also the panels put out way more then 12V, hence the need for a good quality solar controller. I use the Sunsaver 20, which also has connections for wind power as well. As others have said "Fuses'! I prefer a high quality breaker, the inline fuse are too lightly wired and the connections are poorly made inside the fuse casing.

I just installed a 210 watt Kyocera on a customers boat a few weeks ago. Used a Blue Sky 1524iX MPPT controller to make good use of the excess voltage. The 1524iX is nice as it automatically detects system voltage and works on 12V or 24V systems. The 210W is a 24 volt panel but that just means more amps when running it of an MPPT on a 12V system.. Customer had plenty of davit space for the 210W panel..

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by casey1999

http://www1.cooperbussmann.com/pdf/9...04927394f0.pdf
Found above site that seems to do some explaining. I need to read it some more times to understand what they are saying and how it pertains to a marine installation. First look it likes like most marine systems would not need fuses on the panel out put leads. Bigger system require the fuses.

The side that needs protection is the side from the controller to the battery bank. Any connection to a battery bank should be fuse protected as close as possible to the battery. If those wires chafe you have a thousand plus amps and that cable won't handle that for very long..

[MacGyverRI]

I'm using one of these controllers and it's been working great.

Net Meter Solar Controller LCD30