On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:44:41 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:04:46 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news

It charged up the battery quickly today. I had been playing with
the
LED lights quite a bit for several months without a charge. The
panels were putting out 15+V during thick cloud cover. That made me
happy. I guess it's time to pick apart the HF charge controller and
figure out what it will take to fix it when (not if) it breaks.

This includes the schematic and data sheets:
http://solarpanelkitatharborfreight....eight-charge-1

Danke mucho, monsieur.


Got
any suggestion for inexpensive replacements? I keep reading that
the
cheap digital controllers (from everyone Chiwanese) are junk and
constantly breaking.

I'm satisfied with it, except for the current limit on the 12V outlet,
but a separate battery connection fixed that.

Yeah, I blew the fuse on the limited outlet with that heater. Luckily,
it came with a spare. Which reminds me to buy a few extras ASAP, or
install a breaker, which is a better idea.


The solar kit ran this laptop through a week-long outage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Halloween_nor'easter

Bueno. Did you have to clear the snow off the panels, or did they
self-clear? The dark color is good for that.


Now that the platform is built and the panels are installed, the
battery platform in and boxed, it's time to play Sparky in the
attic.
It's a good thing I wake at 4am...


An ammeter such as this:...
with in and out plugs is very helpful when you are setting up the
panels, and to monitor the current indoors afterwards. ...

_AN_alog? (rolls eyes Sounds like a plan.

The low-cost digital ammeters I looked at need their differential
current sense inputs biased to about half way between the power supply
rails, meaning a floating power supply separate from the solar input,
or a battery pack.
http://www.futurlec.com/Panel_Meters.shtml

The analog ones need electrical tape over their terminal screws. You
choose.

TAPE I got. Quicker/cheaper/less.complex/much.easier.


I put Andersons on the load side and didn't want to risk
cross-connecting them.

That's what I used on the back of my truck for the little winch
connections. $16 for the pair of 40A plastic housings/couplers + 4
terminals. They work pretty well. This is a much better price:
http://tinyurl.com/lmjs9ys

I buy Andersons surplus or at ham radio flea markets, the 350A ones
for my winch were $1 apiece. A small screwdriver unlatches the
contacts. Amazon just loads quickly on dial-up.

That's a great deal.

--
In reality, serendipity accounts for one percent of the blessings
we receive in life, work and love. The other 99 percent is due to
our efforts.
-- Peter McWilliams