Tweet
I found brand new 310 watt Solar panels on Craigslist for $130/ea. Did I do okay? I have no idea about this brand. Are these junk? Here's pictures of the front and back of the maker and specs. These panels are huge, like 7 feet tall. This is what I have plugged into my EPEver Tracer 4210. Right now I have two of these panels connected in series. My fear is that I have some inadequate wiring issues running from the panels to my room. If I had 8 of these panels hooked up to my Tracer 4210, what gauge wire do you think I need for about 50 feet or so?
-
Last edited by RenewablesRock; 07-04-2018, 07:52 PM. -
After I posted this, I saw another post talking about Trina here:
So I maybe got junk? -
With a Voc. of 45.7 and in series, you are pushing the max. voc. limit of your controller. On a very cold morning you may release the magic smoke from your 100 Voc. max controller.
Trina is one of the middle of the road brands, decent quality and with solar panels being a commodity these days I'd say you got a good deal on these panels. If you had the 4215 (150 Voc. max) version of this controller you would have more flexibility with them.Last edited by littleharbor; 07-05-2018, 07:37 AM.2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024Comment
-
Trina is one of the largest manufacturers, and in general makes a solid panel. You're price would be pretty good if you got it new from a distributor. Being used and knowing nothing about it's history, your price wasn't so great.Comment
-
Yeah, I never noticed that. So does that mean I should be using all of these panels in parallel instead of series? I put them in series to raise the voltage for the weaker cable running from outside to the controller. I looks like I am going to need at least another $1,000+ invested in hardware between the inverter, cables and mounts that I wish to put in the back yard. I don't want to mount these on my roof. Where is a good place to mount poles and mounting hardware that is not a rip off? And something that will deal with 130 mph winds during a hurricane?
Here's some of the specifics from the owner's manual of my EPEver Tracer.Comment
-
You, Being in Puerto Rico are possibly not going to get cold enough to max your Voc. You need to get data on the coldest temps and calculate with the temperature coefficient of your panels. Really too close for comfort. 6o0cell panels are the best match for MPPT controllers with a 100 volt max Voc.
No way to tell you the best location for your ground mount. As long as your array isn't too elaborate you may be able to remove your panels before a hurricane hits , then hook them up asap after the wind event. Flying debris is likely to damage your array even if it is up to withstanding the wind.Last edited by littleharbor; 07-05-2018, 11:00 PM.2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024Comment
-
Voc. is a very brief event when your controller first wakes up in the morning. It's not the amount of power being produced, fact is at that moment there is none. Just the high open circuit, (no load) voltage that is the problem.2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024Comment
-
Being that your controller has a max Voc. of only 100 volts, and you are powering a 12 volt system I wouldn't. The voltage of a single panel is plenty high enough to efficiently charge a 12 volt system. Run them in parallel.2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024Comment
-
I'll have to buy some of those MC4 connectors to allow them to connect parallel. Thanks for the feedback.
My concern was that my wire is too small. I think it's maybe 12 guage. It looks almost the size of a lamp cord. I didn't want to lose power so I put them in series. I will need to put 2 more panels out back so that I can have 4 of them humming along in parallel then. But then I will want to buy a box to connect them to and will need to have the wire running properly through the attic and what not. I will have to get an electrician out here to help me run conduit from the back yard to the closet where I am keeping all the batteries and stuff.Comment
Comment