Solar panels on a canal boat

[rpm]

Hi guys,

Sister is here for the holidays and looking at solar panels for her canal boat, anyone done it? recommendations etc, fixed or tilted? any input gratefully received thanks.

 

[zzzjim]

Sounds like may need "Sparky" advice on what to buy , potentially Hi DC volts and easy access ? Unless stay with low voltage Battery support gear !

 

[ShaunCorbs]

how many you thinking and what for as you can get diy kits

 

[rpm]

you can get diy kits

Not an option for sister who once tried to pour engine oil down the dipstick tube because the oil level was low!

 

[joni os]

Not an option for sister who once tried to pour engine oil down the dipstick tube because the oil level was low!

Better than a man, who couldn't start his lawn mower and thinking it low on oil poured oil down the carburettor.

 

[stevetheplumber]

THEY ARE VERY SIMPLE TO FIT most boats seem to use the flexible ones thet just glue down with sikafix or stixal, two wires to contoller and two wires from controller to batteries only thing to remember is it must connect to the batteries before the panel
you get better power output from mppt controllers but they are more expensive and with panels being so cheap now if you have the roofspace its more cost efective to fit more panels
ive fitted three two rigids on my own van and a flexible on my sons vw poptop

 

[stevetheplumber]

just reread the question there are some very expensive ones that track the sun other than those i would settle for flat as the boat will move and negate any advantage of pointing them at the sun unless were taking pernemantly moored boat here

 

[rpm]

just reread the question there are some very expensive ones that track the sun other than those i would settle for flat as the boat will move and negate any advantage of pointing them at the sun unless were taking pernemantly moored boat here

She has been told by other boat owners that the ones that tilt up / down are worth the extra money, can`t see it myself as would of thought panels on a flat roof would suffice. The boat does move around from time to time roughly every couple of weeks.

 

[Riley]

THEY ARE VERY SIMPLE TO FIT most boats seem to use the flexible ones thet just glue down with sikafix or stixal, two wires to contoller and two wires from controller to batteries only thing to remember is it must connect to the batteries before the panel
you get better power output from mppt controllers but they are more expensive and with panels being so cheap now if you have the roofspace its more cost efective to fit more panels
ive fitted three two rigids on my own van and a flexible on my sons vw poptop

The ones on your van Steve do you have a link and what do you power with them??

 

[stevetheplumber]

sorry should have said on my motor home rather than van
On a van theres many ways to wire them either to keep your van battery topped up or you could have a seperate battery wired just for internal lights or to charge stuff tell me what you think you want to do and i can probably explain what you need
generally you wouldnt need to top up the van battery unless it sits for long periods

 

[Riley]

I'm always interested in ways of powering stuff in the van so any thoughts appreciated

 

[stevetheplumber]

its easy enough best option would be an extra leisure battery which would be wired to a split charge relay to allow it to charge via the engine when running but isolates it when you stop this means youll never run the starter battery down a small invertor would give you 240v to power chargers etc
you could then add solar panels and a regulator to this set up to charge the extra battery whilst your parked up
you can power the interior lights of this either via a switch or if you use a relay triggered by the exising feed you can have them automatic via the door switches
my experience comes from my motorhoming most things can be powered but nothing that produces heat as the load would be to much but running led lights and drill chargers is ok
there is a trade of in so much as the more you want to use the bigger the equipment needs to be and you shouldnt take batteries down below 50%
as most batteries are 4ah max with a 100ah battery you could charge 25 times thats without no input in practice it would be less as the invertors are not 100%efficent
generally we try to run everything direct from 12v laptops you can get 12v chargers for and pads and phones are only 5v so you use either adapters or change lighter sockets to dual usb sockets
the tranit ive recently got rid of had an extra battery just for the lights in the back charged from split charge so you couldnt run out the main battery

 

[stevetheplumber]

our motor home has 180 wats of solar and 225 amps of battery we have yet to run out of power since we put it in and weve done 5 days in winter it powers all out lighting pump for water charges phones and laptops/pads and pumps all our water
heat,refridgeration and water heating is done by gas

 

[stevetheplumber]

She has been told by other boat owners that the ones that tilt up / down are worth the extra money, can`t see it myself as would of thought panels on a flat roof would suffice. The boat does move around from time to time roughly every couple of weeks.

i think once weve bought something we all feel its better than the others unless theres back to back testing for comparison how do the know?
angled is obviously better for a fixed location or they wouldnt angle the fields at solar farms but on a boat or a van you would have to be shifting them everytime you stopped and during your travels there would be losses and gains as the vehicle turned in relation to the sun
angling them to get max power whilst moored would fully charge the batteries at a time when you wasnt using them panels are so cheap now well under a pound a watt and given the roof space available on most canal boats i would think an extra panel will produce more per pound spent
the other thing is its ok getting the energy, its storing it that does get expensive i know fulltime motorhomers with a thousand pounds worth of batteries in large american rvs and they can run toasters microwaves hairdyrers via huge 600 pounds inverters
like most things its a case of balancing cost against performance and your needs

 

[Worcester]

Sorry guys been away over Christmas. Over on the electricians forum SolarFred is your guy, this is his specialist area - he lives and breaths it

He can help with all aspects, design, supply. install or just one bit of it

Call Freddy (aka Steve) at Hollybrook Power Supplies 01843 834570 Canal boat / Narrowboat Solar Kits -

 

[rpm]

Thanks Worcester, knew somebody would come through with help for her.

 

[Sparkgap]

Better than a man, who couldn't start his lawn mower and thinking it low on oil poured oil down the carburettor.

Or somebody I know who mistook filler caps on a small railway loco and poured 10 gallons of diesel into the gearbox! Cleaned it up nice tho'.

 

[rpm]

Or somebody I know who mistook filler caps on a small railway loco and poured 10 gallons of diesel into the gearbox! Cleaned it up nice tho'.

Man that`s one big gearbox!!! lol