St Maarten, Caribbean, Marine, 1040W

Started by Aravilla, December 30, 2016, 09:49:59 AM

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Aravilla

We have just completed (Nov 2016) a 1.0Kw solar install on our sailing catamaran in the sunny Caribbean. Setup consists of the following:

- Midnight Solar Classic 150 (w/ WBJr)
- 4x Kyocera 260W (custom mount off bimini and davits)
- 4x Lifeline 210AH 12VDC
- 3000W 120VAC Inverter

We recently added 4 solar panels to our Leopard 46 sailing yacht in St Maarten. We were reliant entirely on generator power when off dock for charging. The setup provides 1.04kw of calculated power and 72.2A output in full sun. Our physical design fits perfectly with the width of the bimini and provides tremendous new shade for the cockpit. We have not run the generator in over a month now with daily inverter use and fridge/freezer on 24/7. (Update: we have recent seen over 1.110kw [from a rated 1.04kw system] of power midday with a peak of 85A into the battery bank...the combo of Kyocera and Midnite Solar seems to play well together!!)

We ran 2x 8/2AWG wire and each pair (port/stb) is in series/parallel to boost voltage while maintaining an ability to manage each pair individually (if/when needed). This also helps with partial shading problems which do occur while sailing/anchored. We sloped the panels to the stern. This means water runs off the back of the panel and not into the cockpit, and not pooling on the panel itself. The Wire is calculated to ~1.5% loss over our run, so a bit bigger than needed but hopefully future-proofed for possible upgrades. The controller would do all 4 panels in a single series run however the total voltage differential was far too inefficient for 12V batteries. All panels in parallel was considered -- wire cost for the additional two 47' runs, more bulky runs, and larger stainless tubes made our decision for us. Our controller sits in the salon locker beside the air conditioning units and inverter, and this minimizes the run to main bus bars.

In terms of functional use -- we saw sustained 70A yesterday in full rack mid-day sun in SXM (we required the toaster to be running to fully load the panels for the testing). Typically we see 200Ah+ a day easily which is 1/2 the calculated value. We hit float about noon so the panels are under-utilized the remaining hours. We've seen max voltage from the setup of 72V at panel and 69-70.5V on controller which is good given the 76.6V (2x 38.8V) rating with the oversized wire helping decrease drop I'm sure.

If anyone wants more specifics, just comment and I'll try to answer.

ClassicCrazy

system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

russ_drinkwater

Displaying my stupidity here, but how do you get 120 volts from 4 x 12 volt batteries?
Unless it is a typo and the inverter is actually 12 volt!
Just curious! :o ;D
Standalone. 20 Hyundai x 220 watts panels, 2 x classic 150's, Latronics 24 volt 3kw inverter, Whiz bang Jnr, 12 Rolls surrete  4KS 25P  batteries and WBJ.
Grid tie feed-in, 12.5 kw in 3 arrays generating 50 kws per day average. Solar river grid tie inverters

CDN-VT

Well vented battery box ? you can wire the Classic to auto turn on the venting fan on the AUX port.

Nice Job as well .
VT
Canadian Solar 350W 37.6 VOC  30.6 VMP 8.22 ISC 7.87 IMP ,-15 c +30c max  4 strings in 2 in Series for 24v Classic 150 -1020 Ah  Freezers & fridges ~~~ Second Array same panels of 3sx3 parallel for 24 V Classic 150 -440 Ah Outback Barns & out blds.
48Vdc almost done,11Strings up of 3s11P same panels

Aravilla

Quote from: russ_drinkwater on December 31, 2016, 04:41:23 PM
Displaying my stupidity here, but how do you get 120 volts from 4 x 12 volt batteries?
Unless it is a typo and the inverter is actually 12 volt!
Just curious! :o ;D

Not stupidity, likely a poorly written statement -- we run a 120VAC inverter off the 12VDC battery bank to supply household power to the boat :)

Aravilla

Quote from: CDN-VT on January 01, 2017, 05:37:16 PM
Well vented battery box ? you can wire the Classic to auto turn on the venting fan on the AUX port.

Nice Job as well .
VT

Batteries are very well vented, and external to the boat so it get's great airflow. We are currently using AUX2 for WBJR and AUX1 for cooling fans on dusk/dawn setting inside the locker that contains the charger, inverter, and solar controller as it can get warm during the day.