Solar panel extension wires
We just bought a solar panel to help extend our batteries when dry camping. The wires provided with the panel are very short. I would appreciate recommendations for where to find extensions of 20 to 3...
Forum Discussion
ktmrfs wrote:
another note: You want (well I say need) the controller to be near the battery, not on the panel. Especially if the cable is very long. A couple tenths of a volt drop in the cable really reduces charge rate.
But most every portable panel mounts a controller on the panel. Consider either removing the controller on the panel and mounting it near the battery, or bypassing it completely and using an onboard controller.
.2 volts drop with 10 amps would be a 2 watt loss in the extension wires which is insignificant. Also as the battery approaches full charge the current drops so the voltage drop steadily decreases.
I have the controller at the panel and it is set to AGM mode which produces a max voltage of 14.4V. Measured, it is producing 14.47V at the panel and 14.4V at the battery with a 40’ 8 AWG cable set and 5-6 amps.
