http://www.amazon.com/Infomon-Monocrystallline-Portable-Folding-Solar/dp/B005WMD8VY/ref=cm_cr-mr-titleI've had this 120 watt portable panel for a few years & rarely need to use it. When I first tried it in optimum conditions it approached the listed 6.6 amps output. But that was using the battery clamp hookups. As my battery is under the entrance step the clamp setup gets in the way.So I bought this:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0022ZZULK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00I then hooked that quick disconnect up to the battery & trimetric shunt for my meter, and have it exit the battery box outside under my entrance step for an easy QD hookup. I made an 18' quick disconnect cord out of 10 ga wire. Since then, the few times I've tried it I've never reached 4 amps output.Today it's hazy & getting cloudy so not optimum, but I tried both hookups; with the clamps & using the quick disconnects (QD). My trimetric meter said the clamps gave 2.6 amps while the QD gave 1.6 amps. SO does this mean the QD battery hookup is losing amps? It is 16 ga., but only 16".What can I do to make the QD work as well as the clamps?I've also thought about getting the Solar 30 cc as it's adjustable. I know it's better to have the cc close to the battery & not on the panel as mine is, but there is not much room in my battery area.

Is your battery charged, or near to it?

Where is the controller? s/b within 18" of battery if possible.

The battery showed 78% soc on the trimetric when I started this test.SMK, I know the cc is better close to the battery, but as mentioned it is mounted on the back of the panel, the way it came. As that didn't change when the output dropped that would not be the cause of the output drop. I wish I had a way to mount a cc by the battery but there isn't much room. I'll try to post a pic of the batt box.

When connected and charging... what is the voltage at the controller output terminals vs the battery?

smkettner wrote:When connected and charging... what is the voltage at the controller output terminals vs the battery?With which hookup method? The trimetric shows both methods at 13.2 - 13.4 v at the battery. With the clamp cable it was 13.5 at the cc.

portable solar help | Good Sam Community

29 Replies

2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 14, 2015
steveh27 wrote:
I did look & saw you input 400 as a value for the height. I don't have a place to store my pics to make them available here other than another web sire I use which doesn't have much storage for images.
Well, I certainly didn't store your picture!! Just copy the code.
time2roll
Nomad
Jul 14, 2015
steveh27 wrote:
I did look & saw you input 400 as a value for the height.
The number is pixels or similar not inches.

I think I saw '4' & '10' entered on one of the images and that would be way too small.

If you use the 'image' dialog box in the 'advanced post' there is an input box to put the '600' width limit.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 14, 2015
MrWizard wrote:
where you store them does not matter..
just use the size option when you put the IMG link in your post
so THIS FORUM can do the work of resizing picture to fit the normal display resolutions
x2. Setting a height OR width will suffice.
MrWizard
Moderator
Jul 14, 2015
where you store them does not matter..
just use the size option when you put the IMG link in your post
so THIS FORUM can do the work of resizing picture to fit the normal display resolutions
hieght is Nt as important as Width
Width is the important one
depending on picture set width between 640 and 800..
no more than 800
steveh27
Explorer
Jul 14, 2015
2oldman wrote:
2oldman wrote:
Now, to see what I did, Quote this post and look at the code:
ok, don't.

I did look & saw you input 400 as a value for the height. I don't have a place to store my pics to make them available here other than another web sire I use which doesn't have much storage for images.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 14, 2015
2oldman wrote:
Now, to see what I did, Quote this post and look at the code:
ok, don't.
MrWizard
Moderator
Jul 13, 2015
cut a few inches heavy duty rubber water hose , and slide it onto the red wire to act as a buffer/bumper/protector for the red wire
steveh27
Explorer
Jul 13, 2015
Let me try to clarify my problem. When I was using the panel with the 15 foot clamp on cable I was able to get 6 amps output. The clamp on cable is less than 10 ga. Then I went with my 18 foot 10 ga cable with QD. The 12-16 inch 16 ga wire hooked to the battery & shunt with qd end goes out the side of the batt box, under the van so I don't have to have the box open. The QD way has never given me 4 amps output.

So I'm thinking the 16 ga wire, even only 12-16" long is losing amps. If I replace that with a short 10 ga wire for the batt QD I would hope to get the same amps as with the clamp on cable.

I know moving the cc closer to the batt is more efficient, but it worked well enough as is with the clamp on cable so that is not the reason for the dropoff with the QD cable.

Ninerbikes, that big red cable goes to a switch near the engine starter to allow starting with the house batt if the engine batt dies. There just is not enough room to move things around - I've tried.

As mentioned I am also considering getting the solar 30 cc to have adjustable settings. The current cc goes to float when the batt soc is 90%.
Shadow_Catcher
Explorer
Jul 13, 2015
I used 10ga wire but I have a high voltage panel (34V in the shade) so voltage drop is not a concern. A voltage drop calculator can help. Calculator
NinerBikes
Explorer
Jul 13, 2015

You have a problem with that wiring, there is no way that big fat red wire should be routed over the terminal end of that black wire at the battery, that is a rub through the insulation and a short out waiting to happen.

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portable solar help

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