120 watts, 4x42ah, 42 watt yard light

[4321loco]

We'LL I am so pissed at these non bright 100 watt lights I said screw it today. My wife and I went to wash close at the laundromat and I told her I be back..Little did she know I went to HOME DEPOT..

I bought me a 42 Watt Flourex Yard light, it outputs similar to a 300Watt output, Anyways I compared it to my buddies 300 watter Mercury vapor and mine just look awesome, colors are very (perfect) see pics below...Anyways back on topic, I bought me 40 bolts, buts, washers, 1 4ft strip of 1/8 x 1.5" drilled strip to use as mounting....And bought me a drill bit after all the craftsman bits went to ****.

I got a 15 foot fence pole and used some spare parts to assemble a pole for the light...I ran the wire, a simple extension cord that's 20 feet long and rated for way more power..

The cord attaches to an APC back up UPS device that outputs max of 850 watts, it runs on 24 volts so I got 4 batteries and tied 2 in series and the other 2 in series then in parallel, each are Hawker Genesis ep 42ah, Might add 2-4 more this up coming week depending on test tonight...All teh battery wire is soldered in 4 gauge and used a 1/8" strip of metal to tie the batts that are in series, ran out of terminals for 4 gauge..

These batteries and UPS are in a tube that is predrilled on the side for gases or cooling purposes, I also added 2 small 2'' fans that use 12v at .o8 amps to keep a flow of fresh air if I need it, Since i am testing I will see what i need and not need..

I assembled 12 solarex 10 watt panels together, used a metal bed frame and had a hard time drilling it since all Craftsman bits I bought would wear out after 4 holes or so, The 120 watt panel is like 66 x 36 inches or so...

6 panels are wired in parallel and other 6 in parallel and then added them in series to bump up to 24 volts, the panels on open circuit go up to 34 volts, the peak is at 17.* each.....

I drilled 4 holes for the rack and used what ever little tar roll 3''x15" I had, need more but for now I don't think it I would have a problem...



Batteries were at 25.14 and dropped to 25.09 in about 1hr 10 min, I am not sure if batts were dead or charged, they were considered trash when I got them, charged them with teh APC backup at .2-.3 amps at 24 volts for 24 hours


I NEED A CHARGE CONTROLLER STILL, I THINK I AM GONNA BUT A 24V 20 AMP JUTA BRAND THAT HAS DIGITAL RED OUT...$75 ON EBAY SHIPPED OR $55 SHIPPED FROM CHINA...

20A 12V24V PWM Solar Charge Controller + $5.95 shipping..


Anyways here is some pictures...Pitch dark outside, 9:31 pm

[4321loco]

Here is a picture I had forgotten at 7:53 voltage was at 25.18, at 9:37 time of picture voltage was 25.03, so I lost .15 volts in about 102 minutes....This better last all night till 5.30 a.m..

The big alligator clips are holding my voltmeter leads, the cable on left rear is the power coming from solar panels, I have it disconnected due to no charge controller for tomorrow and it's dark...

Cable by volt meter is the quick connect cable to panel, other end nest to it...

The 2 white cables with alligator clips are to fans, The 8 gauge red/black is the supply to inverter or APC ups unit...Wire is not done but best I could do with spare parts, I need to build me a better compartment this is just for testing...






By the way I found a diode in my tool box, when I check one end it reads 34 volts but when I switch ot around it says 12 volts, is this diode the wrong type I need for use as a blocking diode....

ALso I only used 1 diode would this be correct 6 panels in parrallel and 6 more, then in series and that cable coming to battery bank has the diode, it's a mr824 if I recall correct..

[4321loco]

well I just did a short test before sun went behind trees, 2-3 hours before sunset, anyways panels gave me 35.30volts@2.4A=85watts, later it gave me 35.26v@1.8A=63 watts, bad thing I need to test on week end when I am here to keep track of power and meter the stuff every 30 minutes

Ok on battery load it was giving me 25.13 volts at 2.08 amps, about 52 watts of input, but again I think i tested to late, and I might need to change angle of panels..

[4321loco]

I had them temporary on roof but said screw this, rather be safe and be able to test different wiring settings down here...

Again 6 are in parallel and 6 in parallel then in series to 24+ volts...

I was expecting 100kwh from them, lol, just kidding, looks like they put out 80 watts once the sun starts going down, I need to test on week end or a day off from work..

I have 3 more of these 10 watt panels, I need another 9 to make an identical panel and try it at 48 volts on my batteries, have 6 batteries same brand but one is 2 more AH....

I want to try and get at least a total off 12 42AH batts before the end of the year, that way I can do test at 36 and 48 volts on my UPS units to see what voltage to stay at or to see what benefits me the most..










I need to try different angles on my day off to see were it benefits me the most,

[leroy.wang]

LOCO, impressive

more fun when design and benefit from them.

maybe you can use larger solar panel with larger watts,easy for install; and the cable more thicker, the less decline of voltage to the battery.

The most is around 14:00, try this angle....

[4321loco]

LOCO, impressive

more fun when design and benefit from them.

maybe you can use larger solar panel with larger watts,easy for install; and the cable more thicker, the less decline of voltage to the battery.

The most is around 14:00, try this angle....

14 degress?

Yeah, all the wire needs to be cut shorter so I can wire them all into a sealed junction box, I have thick wire I can use from 8 gauge to 1/0 car audio wire, I am a car speaker fanatic also...

I will test on the weekend at another angle, plus I have fun...

12x10 watt panels = 120 watts......

another test i did today late after peak hour and at bogus angle gave me, oh I also cleaned panels a little, still had smudges from being in the pile of metal outside for years..

2.6A @ 25.67 with load, charging batteries = 66.74 watts

3.2A @ 36volts, this is hooked up directly to fluke meter, short amps and open voltage gave me 115 watts...


Anyways I will try to see what I can do to improve this stuff more, I also need a charge controller since I can't, well don't wanna leave batts charging all day alone, don't know exactly if they be safe or fried with excess charging

[4321loco]

LOCO, impressive

more fun when design and benefit from them.

maybe you can use larger solar panel with larger watts,easy for install; and the cable more thicker, the less decline of voltage to the battery.

The most is around 14:00, try this angle....

SO The latitude is 27.506N. The longitude is -99.507W.

Would I simply add the 14-15 degrees to 27.5 then to be close to 42.5 degrees which should me my ideal angle..

[leroy.wang]

The 14:00 is afternoon time....

10w*12pcs, the connect wire also lack some watts and for bracket is also a problem, why you do not test of 120w for just one pcs.

The controller, my advice is PHOCOS, also this is the best among all kind of my test.

[leroy.wang]

your Lat. is good for irradiation, and the sunshine direct around of the equator, so it is easy for to find the best degree to most irradiation.

I know some solar track system (MPPT), which can give you most power which can follow the sunshine like sunflower, also look like,haha. the problem is it is very expensive than the cost of solar panel.... a real problem.

[4321loco]

The 14:00 is afternoon time....

10w*12pcs, the connect wire also lack some watts and for bracket is also a problem, why you do not test of 120w for just one pcs.

The controller, my advice is PHOCOS, also this is the best among all kind of my test.

Thanks, I got all this free. I am buying some diode's, some taller poles to mount the panels higher, some angle iron already with holes so I can add the other 8 more 10 watt panels making it a total off (200 watt rating) I know our panels read 13-14 volts at 8 a.m in the morning,

we get more sun then i know what to do with it, to hot here in Texas

[4321loco]

Dang it, I some how got my photo bucket pictures deleted or moved..Something about upgrading and paying for it now lol....