Solar Panels over Bimini
Sunday - May 24, 2009•Views: 8364••
Probably nothing new here, but for the record... I ordered two Kyocera 130-TM panels and a Blue Sky 2512iX controller from Affordable Solar, jaw-clamps and end fittings for the stainless tubing from marinepartdepot.com , and a 25' roll of 10/2 wire in a round casing from genuinedealz.com. The stainless bows were bent by a local canvas shop. The wiring of the "TM" panels could not be much easier and by locating the controller near the factory installed Charles shorepower charger, I was able to tie in to the charger output cables which go to the battery bank through a convenient breaker switch. The 10/2 wire with a round casing fits snugly in a 1/2" hole drilled to the outside cockpit coaming where the base of the bimini bow structure is attached. Two wires (10/2) +/- from one panel to the other, then to the controller, and then +/- from the controller to the charger output wires/terminal. The panels are clamped to the new bows over the bimini using "rail clamps" from West Marine and a few cross braces made from right-angle aluminum bar stock found at Home Depot. The measurements from one side of the panel to the other are not the same for clamp placement bow-to-bow. I did 95% of this installation alone, but placing the panels for clamp measurement would be best accomplished with two people !!
Powered by SIMGallery from SIMBunch