I wired up the solar panel and alternator on Sea Puppy today. The solar panel is wired into the batteries before the 1/2/all/off switch so that it will still trickle charge the batteries even if the the power is shut off on the boat. The alternator I wired in on the other side of the switch so that it will run the system even if the switch is off.. ( I need to read up on this to make shure this is the correct way to do it. Not sure if the battery has a stabilizing affect on it vs running stuff from it without the battery in the link.) The rectifier on my engine was wired backwards from the factory and was putting out excessively high voltage. It took putting a volt meter on it and playing with it to get it right when I wired it all up. luckily my gps unit actually started warning me about an over voltage condition and I was able to shut everything off quickly and start troubleshooting it, also my next door neighbor at the dock took an interest as this was going on and helped troubleshoot it. Took about 5 minutes to figure out and fix with his help.
To mount the solar panel I went ahead and got the Sunsei Solar Grip mount from West Marine for $41 after they price matched Defender. I figured between materials and time i couldn’t build something that would tilt and turn any cheaper. It fit the mounting holes on my solar panel perfectly.
here is a picture of the wiring going to the engine from the transom.
Back of solar panel with wiring cable tied out of the way
Where wiring for GPS, solar panel, and engine all go through the transom and then forward to the electronics and electrical systems.
Solar panel as seen from behind boat.
How many watts is the solar panel, and how big is your battery bank on Sea Puppy?? If the panel is too large, you may want to get a small charge controller, like the NC-25A flexcharge, to prevent it from frying your batteries. 😀
Battery bank is 184 amp hours and the solar panel only puts out about 5 watts. On a sunny summer day it will add between 1 and 2 amp hours maybe…. it doesn’t track the sun so only during the afternoon is it getting straight exposure to the sun.
Scott
I am the designer of the solar grip mounting system you purchased from West Marine. Your site is the first time I have seen it in use and would appreciate your comments as to its suitability for the task.
Regards Chris
Chris,
It seems to work well. The solar panel fit perfectly with the way the arms adjust. In my installation I wish it had a little more tilt in the mechanism but it really isn’t the fault of the mount but more the fault of how much real estate there is at the transom for all of the devices mounted there. It’s a small boat and I have in a 20 inch space a fishing rod holder, gps antenna and the solar panel all mounted there on the rail.
The assembly was easy and attachment system also easy to use. I have only had it in service for a couple months but it is doing well. It even survived with no problem being towed down the road while installed at 45 to 50 mph.. so it is sturdy enough to shrug off high wind and bumps 🙂