Semi-flexible solar panel install

[localboy]

There have been reports of biminis etc catching fire due to panels mounted on them. Scary stuff, for sure.



I finally bought one semi-flex 100 watt panel and installed a simple system this year. Only used it for one trip but it seemed to maintain our one and only house battery during the daylight hours just fine. Our only large draw is a Norcold refrigerator (and a Eberspacher heater in the cold). When all the power is off, like on the trailer, the system kept our batteries topped off. I have to do more real world testing to see if one more 100w panel is needed.
I went semi-flex for weight since our panel is not permanently installed. I put it up on the roof or bimini once we are in the water. We trailer, so having it mounted is not a real option.

 

[fryedaze]

Closer shot

 

[fryedaze]

There have been reports of biminis etc catching fire due to panels mounted on them. Scary stuff, for sure.



I finally bought one semi-flex 100 watt panel and installed a simple system this year. Only used it for one trip but it seemed to maintain our one and only house battery during the daylight hours just fine. Our only large draw is a Norcold refrigerator (and a Eberspacher heater in the cold). When all the power is off, like on the trailer, the system kept our batteries topped off. I have to do more real world testing to see if one more 100w panel is needed.
I went semi-flex for weight since our panel is not permanently installed. I put it up on the roof or bimini once we are in the water. We trailer, so having it mounted is not a real option.

A solar supplier at the boat show told me that a few years ago Chinese panel makers were buying the reject Sunpower cells that didn't meet Sunpower specs. Sunpower sold them the cells with the stipulation that the arrays would be no bigger than 100 watts. Mine were 150 watts. They believe that this was the cause of several fires on panels.

 

[firehoser75]

Hi Dave,
Just read your posts. I installed one Solbien flexible panel on the bimini of my sailboat attached much the same as you did. I too, ended up requiring the use of the plastic panels you show above to "add stiffness". I never had any issues with that panel. It did not get stiff or brittle, and it was still producing well when I sold the boat (after about 3 years of use).
On my tug, I have 2 - 275 watt solid panels mounted on my pilothouse roof. I too use the Morningstar controller and remote panel. I don't use as much power per day as you, as my solar setup brings my 6 golfcart battery bank to 100% most days by mid afternoon. On days when it is extremely cloudy or foggy til late, if I run the gen set for about 1 hour in the AM, the solar will often "top it off". Very happy with this setup after 2 seasons of use.
Good luck with your "experiment".

 

[localboy]

Where do you purchase that clear, celled poly panel shown in the pic?

 

[fryedaze]

Where do you purchase that clear, celled poly panel shown in the pic?

I bought it from Coastal Climate Control, BUT..... It is just green house material. You can buy it a lot cheaper on line with some research.

 

[Tolly Roger]

I installed 4 semi flexible Sunpower panels 2 seasons ago.
I did a blog post about it here:
https://tollyroger.com/2018/08/15/going-solar/

My application is different in that I just "deploy" them when needed so they don't sit outside all the time. Really happy with the performance.

If we are just out overnight and don't want to set up the bimini, we can even unfold them on one of the sleeper seats on the flybridge!

I recognize that this set up isn't for everyone but it works for us!

 

[boathealer]

Finally back on the hook out cruising.

We have ten 140W flexible Solara panels in 4 banks just glued down to the fiberglass pilothouse. They are 3+ years old.

Today was 30% cloudy on the St John's river and we made a total of 3220W of power during the day across all four banks.

Oh, and some drone video from the cloudy anchorage this morning -

Black Creek Anchorage



-

 

[fryedaze]

Closer shotView attachment 96072

We have had a few clear days on the West cloast of Florida in December. The panels produce 90- 100 amp-hr a day. Max output is around 220 watts at mid day. The rating is 160 watts/panel, they are only hitting about 75 watts. I was hoping for 300 watts peak. The old panels hit 345 watts in March when I installed them. The Renogy panels are definitely not kicking ass.

 

[FlyWright]

Dave,

I really appreciate your solid, honest representation of the panels you're investing in and testing (for all of us!).

Thanks for your honest, unadulterated experience. It's invaluable to the rest of us who have ZERO experience but a lot of interest for adding solar on a boat like ours.

You're the kind of guy I'd feel comfortable buying a used car from.

 

[healhustler]

Agree. I’vd been holding off on my solar investments till Dave figures it out.

 

[fryedaze]

Dave,



I really appreciate your solid, honest representation of the panels you're investing in and testing (for all of us!).



Thanks for your honest, unadulterated experience. It's invaluable to the rest of us who have ZERO experience but a lot of interest for adding solar on a boat like ours.



You're the kind of guy I'd feel comfortable buying a used car from.

You would do well buying my used cars. I foolishly run synthetic oil and change every 5K miles. Second thought forget that. I run them until the wheels fall of.

 

[FlyWright]

You would do well buying my used cars. I foolishly run synthetic oil and change every 5K miles. Second thought forget that. I run them until the wheels fall of.

LOL!! Me too!

 

[Wayfarer]

Ahoy Sir FryeDave,

I was just spending some of my free quarantine time pondering the possibility of adding solar to my vessel. I've got loads of room up on the cabin top, and was leaning toward flexible jobs that I could stick to the curved surface. I was thinking Renogy 160s looked like a good option when I remembered this thread.

How are you feeling about your setup these days?

 

[fryedaze]

Ahoy Sir FryeDave,

I was just spending some of my free quarantine time pondering the possibility of adding solar to my vessel. I've got loads of room up on the cabin top, and was leaning toward flexible jobs that I could stick to the curved surface. I was thinking Renogy 160s looked like a good option when I remembered this thread.

How are you feeling about your setup these days?

If you can install solid panels I would recommend solid. The price is better, the output is higher and they last longer. The Renogy 160 appear to be a good panels and should be the last ones I buy. They are constructed better than the other ones I had. Not impressed with the output although it is improving as summer approaches. I am now seeing around 265 watts peak and it is going up every week. I am currently getting 120 amp-hrs a day. My guess is we will hit 300 watts by mid May. That should be about normal for the 480 watts that are up there. I have read that if you get 70% of name plate you are doing well. I would need six panels to meet our power needs. The 120 amp-hrs is a nice supplement and eliminates genset runs if we stay on the hook less than 3 days. House bank is 940 amp-hrs.
Sorry about the rambling.

 

[Wayfarer]

If you can install solid panels I would recommend solid. The price is better, the output is higher and they last longer. The Renogy 160 appear to be a good panels and should be the last ones I buy. They are constructed better than the other ones I had. Not impressed with the output although it is improving as summer approaches. I am now seeing around 265 watts peak and it is going up every week. I am currently getting 120 amp-hrs a day. My guess is we will hit 300 watts by mid May. That should be about normal for the 480 watts that are up there. I have read that if you get 70% of name plate you are doing well. I would need six panels to meet our power needs. The 120 amp-hrs is a nice supplement and eliminates genset runs if we stay on the hook less than 3 days. House bank is 940 amp-hrs.
Sorry about the rambling.

Oh no apologies necessary. That's just the sort of rambling I'm looking for. The main reason I was thinking of going with the flexy ones was to avoid drilling holes in the roof for brackets if I didn't have to. I was hoping to stick them down, and keep them low profile. I was thinking six panels would be about right. I haven't yet seen a 24 hour period where I used more than 190ah, so that should cover most of my usage most of the time. I'd still have to fire up Genny to make hot water every other day or so, but that's no hardship. Much more calculation and research is needed.

I'm glad they're holding up better than the last set at least!

 

[boathealer]

Oh no apologies necessary. That's just the sort of rambling I'm looking for. The main reason I was thinking of going with the flexy ones was to avoid drilling holes in the roof for brackets if I didn't have to. I was hoping to stick them down, and keep them low profile. I was thinking six panels would be about right. I haven't yet seen a 24 hour period where I used more than 190ah, so that should cover most of my usage most of the time. I'd still have to fire up Genny to make hot water every other day or so, but that's no hardship. Much more calculation and research is needed.

I'm glad they're holding up better than the last set at least!

Ours are Solara 140W flexible panels. We have 10 panels total in four separate banks. They are just stuck down on our curved deckhouse with Silicone Adhesive. They are putting out rated power in perfect conditions 4 years on.

You can see them on the top in the middle section of our latest drone video here: https://youtu.be/FPl2zNd7E7Y

We get intermittent shading from the dinghy when it is stowed up top. Attached below is a general schematic and a winter's 2-day output in FL (you'll have to click each to get a large version in order to read the text).

 

[Frosty]

I've reverted to rigid panels, after finding the flexible to be less than hardy*. I have not put them on the boat yet, but have mounted a number to (solid) fiberglass RV roofs and painted metal vehicle roofs using 3M VHB tape (so no holes).

Prep is obviously key (basically alcohol and 3M scrubby), and I go for more foot area than some of the commercially available brackets provide (so more VHB contact area). I made mine from aluminum angle I sourced from McMaster Carr and then sent out to be anodized. On a surface with an angle (not a steep curve but maybe a shallow one okay), I used a two bracket combo, with a "knee" piece of angle attached to the underside flange of the panel and then another angle on the roof with a bolt "axle" so the panel could be flat and still accommodate the roof angle.

IIRC it is 3M VHB 5952 that is appropriate for painted surface (obviously the paint needs to be well adhered). Has worked on stock vehicle paint on steel and on baked on original two-part paint on an aluminum. YMMV of course, but just some ideas.

*I have not used the super premium flexibles, a la Solbian as the sizes didn't work for me; they may be tougher.

 

[NedZ]

Solar panels on a bimini

Closer shotView attachment 96072

Dave, I'm planning to mount two Renogy 160w flexible panels on my bimini. How did you do the final mounting? Velcro? Thanks.

 

[fryedaze]

Dave, I'm planning to mount two Renogy 160w flexible panels on my bimini. How did you do the final mounting? Velcro? Thanks.

A canvas shop put industrial Velcro lapels on the bimini and stitched Velcro to the panels. I the the canvas shop hasn't done it before they may be reluctant to stitch the panels but their machines can handle it easily.
Good luck

 

[Rebel112r]

Single 330 watt rigid panel, yesterday. Have seen better, near 26 amps, but that was a perfect day.

 

[fryedaze]

UPDATE!!!!!
Well, back in April I was getting peak output on clear days of 265 watts. I predicted 300 watts mid-May. Well it is May 7th 1pm light clouds and we are just over 400 watts. Feeling much better about these panels.

 

[cardude01]

I’m trying to decide on the much cheaper Renogy 160w flexible panels vs the Sunpower 170w panels. Supposedly the Sunpower panels will last longer? But they are $85 more per panel. $254 vs $339.

 

[firehoser75]

Dave et al.
Glad to hear that your solar system is now meeting your needs/expectations. I installed solar panels on the roof of my Nordic Tug 3 summers ago. I mounted them without any holes added by using SS piping attached to the existing roof level hand rails, effectively running support pipes across the rooftop. I used 2 rigid panels and the Morning Star "TriStar" controller (MPPT). We operate further north than many here on the forum, and still get great results in the spring, summer, fall. We don't use the boat in the winter (we could), so not an issue as to output then, but it would be much lower. I will attach a photo of the mounting setup for anyone that could be interested. I used short centre supports that are attached to the roof using only Sikaflex 291 with no screws. So far, so good!Sorry for the upside down photos??? and they were taken in the late fall, hence the green crap under the panels. I usually keep things a bit better than that.

 

[fryedaze]

Dave et al.
Glad to hear that your solar system is now meeting your needs/expectations. I installed solar panels on the roof of my Nordic Tug 3 summers ago. I mounted them without any holes added by using SS piping attached to the existing roof level hand rails, effectively running support pipes across the rooftop. I used 2 rigid panels and the Morning Star "TriStar" controller (MPPT). We operate further north than many here on the forum, and still get great results in the spring, summer, fall. We don't use the boat in the winter (we could), so not an issue as to output then, but it would be much lower. I will attach a photo of the mounting setup for anyone that could be interested. I used short centre supports that are attached to the roof using only Sikaflex 291 with no screws. So far, so good!Sorry for the upside down photos??? and they were taken in the late fall, hence the green crap under the panels. I usually keep things a bit better than that.

Nice clean setup.

 

[fryedaze]

I’m trying to decide on the much cheaper Renogy 160w flexible panels vs the Sunpower 170w panels. Supposedly the Sunpower panels will last longer? But they are $85 more per panel. $254 vs $339.

I just looked at the Sunpower specs. They look good. They appear to be made by Sunpower with their good cells. Some flexible panel are put together with Sunpower cells, but they may be rejects that Sunpower doesn't put in their panels.
BTW Renogy now has a 175 watt the same size as 160 watt.
Good luck with your project.

 

[Frosty]

I installed solar panels on the roof of my Nordic Tug 3 summers ago. I mounted them without any holes added by using SS piping attached to the existing roof level hand rails, effectively running support pipes across the rooftop.

Nice looking install and te rigid panels should just go for decade(s). I have a question on the (white) mounts between the panels and the tubing: It looks as though they could have gone directly on the panel flange and to the tubing (?) -- but you built a grid of aluminum barstock which placed them slightly inboard. Was this for aesthetics so as not to have to stare at the white plastic mounts? To protect them from UV?f Or some other reason?

Thanks,
Frosty

 

[firehoser75]

Frosty,
A couple of reasons. The panels did not come with any "good" surface for mounting those plastic "tube" mounts, but the outer edges on the bottom side of the solar panel frames had predrilled holes. It seemed that the whole system would be a bit more robust if I used the flat bar aluminum to attach to, and it ended up shielding the plastic from UV as well (at least partially)with very little additional weight. The panels feel solid, and even in high winds I have not detected any movement. I have not really checked them (visually) in rough seas, but have not heard any movement nor seen any signs after the fact. I really wanted no additional holes in the roof. The wiring enters the rear wall of the pilothouse through an already existing clamshell, so no extra holes for that either

 

[YukonRon]

Firehoser75,
Hi Tom. We are in Ladysmith and looking to put solar panels on top of our Ranger Tugs R25. Can you tell me which panels you mounted and where you sourced them? I'm sure ours will have to be smaller, but would like to find a local source for good quality rigid panel(s), MPPT controller, and hardware.

Edit: Oops, no longer in Whitehorse, Yukon. I will update the profile.

 

[koliver]

Firehoser75,
Hi Tom. We are in Ladysmith and looking to put solar panels on top of our Ranger Tugs R25. Can you tell me which panels you mounted and where you sourced them? I'm sure ours will have to be smaller, but would like to find a local source for good quality rigid panel(s), MPPT controller, and hardware.

Edit: Oops, no longer in Whitehorse, Yukon. I will update the profile.

Ron & Barb

Try these guys: wegosolar.com very close to where you are. We bought from them last year and are very happy with the product and their willingness to share their knowledge.