Noob, New member - Please review my system

[mpj76]

Hello, finally decided to jump into solar. My plan was to build a small system and learn for larger future projects. I wanted to build my first small system that would allow me to play my car stereo and charge small AC adapter devices while camping for 3 days without having to keep turning on the truck. In the past I've drained my battery if I didn't keep an eye on it by starting the truck every now and then. The battery component of my setup is my car battery. I purchased an el-cheapo 20A controller from Amazon ($20), a small 300 watt sine wave inverter from theinverstore.com and two Suoki 100 Watt monocrystalline flexible panels. Everything is wired with 10 gauge wire. I've tested it in bright sunlight on one panel at it's able to keep up with the load and keep the battery topped off. I haven't tested it with the second panel yet. It will be hooked up in parallel to the second panel via one of those 3 way Y adapters. I metered the single panel at 18.7 volts, 5.7 amps. I figured I could use up to three of these panels and still be within limits of my controller. I still need to install fuses. Can you please recommend amperage ratings and fuse install location(s)? I'm thinking a 20 amp fuse inline on the panel wire and another one on the wire between the battery and inverter. What size should that one be? About 100 amps? Any other advice or commentary is appreciated as well. These things were just purchased so I can swap parts if needed.

[bcroe]

That was the plan here, build small, learn, build bigger, etc. Where you might get into trouble is with the 300W
inverter and a car battery. That could involve 30A currents, pushing your 10 gauge too. 100W panels work, but
a 250W grid tie panel will get WAY MORE energy per $ invested, and might get reused on bigger stuff.
good luck, Bruce Roe

[mpj76]

OK. I'll get a heavier gauge wire between the battery and inverter. The distance is about 12". I thought that 10 gauge would be too small, but it looks like wires that are on the battery clamps it came with is 10 gauge so I thought it must be all good. Guess not. My reasoning for going with the flexible panels was the light weight and thin profile. I figured I could throw one on top of my boat's bimini top as well.

[Laspher]

That was the plan here, build small, learn, build bigger, etc. Where you might get into trouble is with the 300W
inverter and a car battery. That could involve 30A currents, pushing your 10 gauge too. 100W panels work, but
a 250W grid tie panel will get WAY MORE energy per $ invested, and might get reused on bigger stuff.
good luck, Bruce Roe

I assume with a camping setup, he's looking to keep the flexibility of the 100w flex panels.

As for the car battery, I would honestly suggest finding a cheap 12v deep cycle instead. http://www.upgi.com/products/product...egory/?cat=SLA Universal batteries seem to be pretty cheap (I got mine through walmart for $64 for 35AH)

[Wrybread]

If you're doing this for the learning experience id highly recommend getting an mppt charge controller. That will let you experiment with higher voltage panels, which you'll find extremely useful when you get full sized panels (300 watts or whatever) in the future. They're cheap too. See the thead newbie tips for a bunch of links I posted to some cheap and good equipment.

And ha good idea with the boat Bimini. Curious how flexible and durable they are.