TS15 - More solar panels and cable running (solar panel installation part 3)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Yes that's right we are still cable running, what a nightmare it can be. In the episode we finalise the solar panel installation and we are super happy with the way it turned out. The solar panels we used can be found in the link below, they are made by sunbeam and the models are listed also (we are not sponsored), purchased through seasea:
78w tough black
55w tough black long
www.sunbeamsys...
We hope this video gives you the confidence to do it yourself and gives you a good idea of what to look out for. All the best
Drill fill drill you know it makes sense
We have just found your channel and loving it. We sailed the Archipeligo last year and coming back this year. Oh, back to solar….we are going to add solar on our cabin top or at the rear and have learned a lot from your installation. How have they performed in Sweden? Has the sail and boom affected production? We can put fewer watts off the davits or perhaps an added arch, but we are thinking there would be less shading. Everyone we get solar advice from seems to be in the tropics….have you also considered adding wind?
Do it right use epoxy I was thinking the same thing protect the core
Yup, glad I did this now and didn't rush it in the end
Neat work, yes I appreciated the tip of sealing the underside of the whole prior to filling with epoxy using cardboard and string. I've always been able to get to the underside but clearly more modern yachts don't disassemble so easily.
You are weclome, glad I could help
Nice install. which panels did you opt for? Am thinking of getting 3 on my boat to plug into my bluetti ac200p.
We went with the Sunbeam carbon black panels www.sunbeamsystem.com/, so far they have performed really well. They are the 78W in the middle and two 55w panels on the sides. In hind sight I should have bought the bigger panel for the middle which is 100w or so. I hope your install goes well.
@@SailingAurora Thank you. Will take a look at these. The full black looks nicer than the sunpower black and white. Yes think a 120w is what I am after for the main coachroof one on mine. Will need it all to go past 35v for the bluetti to charge. Keep us all posted on your 4g and r-pi builds too.
I came back in time to watch this video as I will be updating my solar this winter when adding new B&G instruments. We are identical when it comes to the OCD thing but it pays off in the long run as long as you don’t pull out too much hair ..... that’s another thing we have in common....what hair😜. You have done a fantastic job with your solar and I have even ordered a endoscope camera after seeing how useful it can be.
Something I picked up on only recently that I hope may be new to you and help repay a small part of your many tips are ‘heat shrink solder butt connectors’. When I saw you crimping the wires together it made me think of them, basically a heat shrink plastic tube with low temp solder in the centre, insert your wires from either end and use a lighter or heat gun to shrink the tube and melt the solder. You end up with a watertight seal and a solder joint, no crimping needed and there very solid and inexpensive. I picked it up from Sailing Britaly as Chris did a video called ‘making wiring easy’ since he had used them on some of the oil platforms he worked on.
Hi Paul, Cool that you are dong some projects on the boat with some upgrades. I like the B&G system, although Raymarine are coming up with some cool stuff nowadays also in their Axium models. Glad I could help with your projects also and your right it's good to have OCS sometimes, just not too much, fallen into that trap a few times.
It's funny you mention those solders connectors, I actually bought some to test out but haven't got round to it yet. I will definitely be using them on any outside connectors, I think they may save some headache a some point. Shame I didn't have them when I did the panels. Thanks for the recommendation though also, appreciated, cheers, Chris
Great job, your are right to be a perfectionist when it comes to jobs like this. Going to really help living off the grid next year.
Cheers Jon, yes I think I have enough solar to meet my needs provided there is enough sun. Actually we have some plans to live on board while working in the summer, that could be fun, but also puts a requirement on the panels, we don't want to have to port hop all of the time. Hope all is well with you guys
Nice step by step! Are you concerned about slipping on the panels or do you not expect to walk on that part of the deck?
Thanks very much. The panels have a none slip surface on them too, which is pretty good so not too concerned about that. Will have to see in practice though
Hi Chris , great videos , very helpful! I am about to order some Sunbeam panels for my 355 , how have you found the performance of your array? I am looking at a 86w black plus 2 39w tough + for the hatch garage area. Thanks Matt
Hi Matt, thanks. The performance of the panels is pretty good, you probably won't get enough to actually charge the batteries but it will increase the time until the next charge. As for the sunbeam brand, they have worked flawlessly. One thing I plan to do is have separate MPPT chargers for each type of panel, the different sizes when run in parallel is not good to the same controller.
Thanks Chris , I had actually just sent Sunbeam a message about that very issue before reading your reply.
Chris, at 6,27 you say: parallel means more Voltage, less current.. I think you mean other way around: Parallel means more current, less voltage: if you connect in series: the Voltage goes up.
Ahhh crap, your absolutely right, I worked this out in the summer so when I said it a few days ago I got it the wrong way around..... gonna have to edit the video slightly :) Parallel does mean more current and not voltage. Thanks for the correction.
Just edited out that part in the video, nicely spotted
Wow Chris - the timing on your video production is great as I’m working through the solar design issues on our boat to be. The nice folks at Wendel and Rados next the Hanse factory have offered the same solar panels. I hope their installation skills are a good as yours. Where does one get a “snake cam”? I looked in my tool box and didn’t see one. It seems invaluable on a boat.
Great, good to hear, they will probably try to run the cables before the deck is bonded to the hull and maybe before the interior is glued to the underside of the deck also, well played, this will save you many hours and pain. Thanks for the compliment on my work, I don't think it's always perfect but I try my best. The snake cam or Endoscope is such an awesome bit of kit to have on a boat and is so useful, here is a link to the new one I have. If you are doing complex cable runs it might pay to buy 2 so they can meet each other and it will save a bit of time in some cases. Here is the link www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B082NLNJ9R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I hope the delivery of your boat goes well. Cheers, Chris
Sadly I don't think W&R will get access to the boat until it is all put together by Hanse. But I had them do a fair bit of work from me. If you are ever in Greifswald say hello to Sebastien for me!
Hi Chris, I'm about to start a very similar job tomorrow fishing wires through to coachroof panels ... your video could not have been better timed! Many thanks.
So glad it could help someone out. Did the project go well?
Yes thanks Chris, absolutely. Could not find any route down port side to nav-station so took wires forward past all the ceiling light fittings to bulkhead below mast then into the channel containing the mast wiring. A much longer route than you were about to take unfortunately but route was so easy I doubled the cables putting two 6mm2 cables in both positive and negative to offset the additional length. Also ran a two-core to position under the spray hood via the same route for a USB socket for iPhone/iPad charging. Your technique of borescope camera with hook from one-end and wireman's tape from the other worked a treat!! Probably 6-hours work? Many thanks!
Great! Glad you did it, shame you didn't find that channel, perhaps the glue is placed differently in some boats and it blocked you, it was a tough run. Good idea about the USB socket, I may look into that also 🙂
Looks great Chris 🙂👍
Thanks very much