Solar Wings

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LordElsinore
First Officer
Posts: 255
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:09 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Salt Lake City, UT - "As You Wish" - Suzuki DF60A

Solar Wings

Post by LordElsinore »

After trying a couple different places for solar panels on As You Wish :macm: over the years, I think I've settled on what OverEasy nick-named "solar wings". Well, "wing" for now, but I do plan to add a second one eventually.

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This is a big 200 watt glass panel that has 'deck hinges' bolted through holes drilled in the frame, and then attached with assorted bimini parts to a 6+ ft stainless steel tube which in turn is attached to the stanchions with more bimini parts.

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The whole thing uses quick release pins at the joints making it easy to remove when wanted. More parts bolted to the other side of the frame and some PVC-pipe legs with rubber chair feet on them pivot and swivel to prop up the panel at various angles.

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This placement keeps the panel out of the way, exposed to sun, makes it real easy to clean, and allows it to fold down with the edge resting on the rub rail. I've trailered with it in this folded down position for short distances and it's a big improvement over when I had this heavy thing hanging off the back of the mast support!

When the sun is shining, this one panel lets me run my fridge, GPS, autopilot, stereo and more all day with the battery staying at 100% the whole time! Here's a screenshot of it pulling in 172 watts!

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I'm using a Renogy Rover 20 amp MPPT charge controller. It lives in the storage space below the galley near my batteries.

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I've got some work to do to run the power cables better so that they aren't exposed along the deck, but I think I like this well enough that I'm ready to commit to that. Next year I will probably add a second wing in parallel to this one for more power and for, you know, symmetry.
User avatar
LordElsinore
First Officer
Posts: 255
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:09 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Salt Lake City, UT - "As You Wish" - Suzuki DF60A

Re: Solar Wings

Post by LordElsinore »

Well, I can now report what happens at on a big heel with this thing. :) When the wing is 'downhill' on the heel, the legs eventually fall out and the panel folds down flat. When 'uphill' on the heel, the panel eventually gets caught by the wind and stands up vertically against the life line. Neither was a big deal, but it did inspire me to make one improvement today and gave me an idea for another improvement to make in the future.

I now have small lines that attach to an eyebolt added to each side of the frame and clip onto the lifeline. In this way the panel is suspended from above and those legs aren't really needed any more. I'll leave them for now as I continue to experiment

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This keeps the panel from folding down when I don't want it to, but doesn't prevent it from flipping up when caught by strong wind when heeled. However, I plan to add another pair of lines from maybe that same eyebolt down to the stanchion bases - perhaps using a stretchy bungee-type material. That should keep it from flipping up and actually would keep enough downward pressure on it that the legs would not likely lift up and lose their footing like that.
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