Little solar project

[psytechguy]

Found a bunch (8) of these little solar panel modules in the dumpster. They all worked and put out about 10 volts each. Apparently they came from a large array composed of lots of these smaller modules. There were some broken ones as well.

I framed up 2 of them wired in series so that they output anywhere from 13 -20 volts depending on the sun. I bought a cheap Morningstar PWM charge controller, and rigged up a solar battery charger for my iPad… or whatever else.

The device you see the iPad plugged into is a Blue Sea dual USB charger port that I've since installed in the frame. I've also installed a Blue Sea 12 volt cigarette lighter plug in the frame. I've used it to connect my Maha/Powerex 9000 charger and charge NiMH AA batteries. This rig will also work as a trickle charger for a car battery.

This is sort of a test run for the big 460 watt system I've got for an RV. Now I just have to find the RV!

 

[highdesertranger]

very cool. you never know what you are going to find in a dumpster. highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

Nice job.

Something to keep in mind as that solar panels can drain batteries slightly at night if there is no blocking diode or charge controller installed.

 

[psytechguy]

Yes, that's a Morningstar Sunsaver 6 controller in the pic. It's got the built-in reverse current protection. I'll have to check, but I believe these little PV modules also have diodes.

So, this is basically a little lab/proof of concept rig that I've been using to familiarize myself with solar. My next step is to get an AGM battery with appropriate capacity and see if I can't keep my ARB fridge running for awhile using just these panels. I have another set of them framed up and can combine them with the panel pictured.

My "big solar rig" that will go into the RV consists of 2 Sharp 230 watt panels, a Morningstar 45 amp MPPT controller, Trimetric battery monitor, and a Morningstar pure sine wave inverter. All that stuff is currently in storage, so while I'm doing the RV search I just play with this small setup. It's very basic and I thought it would give folks a better idea of what's involved.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Like your project. Similar to how I got into solar a long time ago with some salvaged (90%) panels. I'm not real good with the math part of it, so that gave me a good learning tool.