Solar panel Install
Hi I think a question is in order. I'm installing a 80watt gopanel with a 25amp reg. no where in the doc or what i found on the net is what i'm looking for. why is their no off/on switch when comin...
Forum Discussion
I installed a circuit breaker on the positive feed from the controller to the batteries and would have liked to have had the room to do so for the feed from the panels. Once the panels are energized they have a capacitance factor and can feed current even after the panels are not longer getting sunlight.
My Blue Sky 3024 controller's warranty is voided if the leads from the panels are reversed or shorted out in any way and trying to cram large gauge wires through the openings in their badly designed controller box and into the terminals is difficult and a short is difficult to avoid. With the feed to the batteries the outputs are protected by fuses which can be replaced but still best to avoid. With the Rogue 3024 there is no protection and a short will kill the controller and it is not covered by their warranty.
My BS 3024 controller needs to have its EPROM chip replaced as it has a bug in the firmware (Rev 3.30) and this means killing power from the panels and the connection to the batteries. With the batteries it is a simple matter of flipping a switch. With the panels it means climbing up on the roof and opening the C-box and disconnecting the wires.
I made the mistake of buying a C-box from Amsolar not realizing at the time that their design does not provide space for a switch. Would have been better to have adapted a high voltage panel box for this purpose instead.
As to mounting the panels to the roof I built a metal frame so I could fasten into the side tube framing. I phoned two different dealers and their tech's told me they use inch long #12 wood screws. The dealers' tech installation would have not held and would have been guaranteed to leak.
There are advantages to using a dealer or factory installed carrier rack as the platform for mounting solar panels. The rack on mine is installed over skylights and roof vents so it was not a good place for panels, but it is definitely the first thing to consider.
Overall the Amsolar products and kits are excellent. It is only their C-box that should be avoided.
My Blue Sky 3024 controller's warranty is voided if the leads from the panels are reversed or shorted out in any way and trying to cram large gauge wires through the openings in their badly designed controller box and into the terminals is difficult and a short is difficult to avoid. With the feed to the batteries the outputs are protected by fuses which can be replaced but still best to avoid. With the Rogue 3024 there is no protection and a short will kill the controller and it is not covered by their warranty.
My BS 3024 controller needs to have its EPROM chip replaced as it has a bug in the firmware (Rev 3.30) and this means killing power from the panels and the connection to the batteries. With the batteries it is a simple matter of flipping a switch. With the panels it means climbing up on the roof and opening the C-box and disconnecting the wires.
I made the mistake of buying a C-box from Amsolar not realizing at the time that their design does not provide space for a switch. Would have been better to have adapted a high voltage panel box for this purpose instead.
As to mounting the panels to the roof I built a metal frame so I could fasten into the side tube framing. I phoned two different dealers and their tech's told me they use inch long #12 wood screws. The dealers' tech installation would have not held and would have been guaranteed to leak.
There are advantages to using a dealer or factory installed carrier rack as the platform for mounting solar panels. The rack on mine is installed over skylights and roof vents so it was not a good place for panels, but it is definitely the first thing to consider.
Overall the Amsolar products and kits are excellent. It is only their C-box that should be avoided.
