DIY roof rack and solar installation

E

EJFCruisers

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
Messages
12
Fluid Motion Model
C-248 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT25521708
Vessel Name
Tortuga
MMSI Number
erjef8391
This past spring, I installed a roof rack and a 265W solar charging system on Tortuga, our '08 R25 classic. We were so impressed with its performance--it easily powered everything except A/C--while cruising this summer that I thought to share my amateur solar advice with any tugnuts who might be interested. With that in mind, I posted photos, a schematic, and a bill of materials on my Flickr account. You can access the info at https://flickr.com/photos/145246951@N04 ... 6607437454 or email me privately at ruppertee@icloud.com
I thank Norm on Blue Socks for encouragement and helpful information.
Ed
 
Nice neat work, glad it worked out for you. Where did you get the rack?
 
The rack is also DIY.
Ed
 
Ed

I have a 2009 R25 and am planning on doing the same setup. Can't seem to print out parts list and schematic. I guess they are locked in your accountt. Is it possible to get a pdf of this info
 
I found that I can click on the small photo to open it in a separate window. In the lower right corner is a symbol of an arrow pointing down over a line. That is the download symbol. A click opens the download options window.

Hope this helps.
 
Capt'n Steve, if Larry's suggestion doesn't work for you, send me an email (address In my original post) and I'll attach the two photos in my reply.
 
thanks all.... it was an issue with my Chromebook that prevented the print of this file
 
This last summer I built a rack and installed two 100 watt solar panels on Synergy our R 25 classic .I used 7/8 stainless fittings to assemble the rack. Parts were purchased on line from Fisherman's Supply in Seattle WA. I fabricated the panel mounting clamps from one inch thick starboard. Also another project also using 7/8 stainless fittings was a three step ladder mounted on the starboard toe rail in line with head, which allows easy access to the cabin top. I also built a jib crane for moving the 4hp outboard from the rail mount to the tender, I used 1 1/4 aluminum schedule 80 tubing and 3/8 flat stock for the arm. The crane mast is mounted in the exsisting pole holder and can rotate 360 deg. Now the next project is to locate and access the fuel level sending unit which as you probably know is located under the teak and holly main cabin sole. Andrew at Ranger gave me the locations. I suspect the unit may be leaking because when I top of the fuel I find small drips of fuel migrating from forward and the leak stops after using a few gallons.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all .
 
Thanks for the detailed photos and supply list.
Very nice work.
Glad to have the instructions.
Regards,
Larry
Lake Placid Fl
 
great work.

what voltage do you see at the batteries when charging and how long is the 14 AWG cable run from controller to the batteries?
 
The 14 AWG aux. cable run is ca. 8’
I’ll need to measure the aux. charging voltage at the start battery. I’ll respond by PM when I’ve made the measurement.
 
Thanks. From my internet research (and I'm not an expert) it seems the distance from controller to battery can really effect your solar charging performance as voltage drops due to resistance quite significantly. If it drops too far your effectively not getting enough volts into the battery to perform adequate charging. this is why large sized cables and a short run from the controller to battery is important. with 265W's of panel I bet you are not noticing it anyway but could be something to optimize in the future.

its less important from the panel to the controller because the panel (especially a 265W unit) is likely putting out quite a bit of voltage which if it drops doesnt impact the situation as its still above the charging voltage and with an MPPT controller it readjusts the voltage anyway. something that it cant do downstream unless you can set the output volts correspondingly high to adjust for voltage drop down to the battery?

(hopefully Im making sense)
 
Cutwater 28,
I’m not certain whether you are concerned about the voltage drop over 8’ to the house batteries (8 AWG) or the auxiliary output to the start battery (14 AWG). Either way, the voltage drop will be minimal at a controller charging voltage of e.g., 14V. At 1 Amp controller charging current, the V drop would be ca. 0.01V for the 8 AWG wire; 0.04V for the 14 AWG. Slightly higher drops occur as the charging current rises, but it does not exceed 0.5V in either case (up to 12Amp charging current. These drops are calculated, not measured, but I considered them to be insignificant when I planned the system on Tortuga. I will, however, measure the charging voltage at the batteries at my next opportunity and report the results to you by pm.
I should also mention that I wired the auxiliary charging output from the controller to the start battery because the controller provided that option and I had the materials available. On the other hand, that connection may be unnecessary because the ACRs would probably have kicked in and charged the start battery.
 
Ed,

Thanks for all the details you provided on your solar install. Based on reviewing your photos and notes I tackled this project myself for our RT-25 Classic. Just finished the last bit of wiring this afternoon. I used a 180 watt Grape solar panel and a Victron Energy 100/20 MPPT Bluetooth controller. All is working great.

This panel should double the duration of our four 100AHr house batteries to now give us up to six sunny days on the hook at good battery voltage without moving the boat or connecting to shore power.

Photos of my install in my album here:
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=70468

Thanks again Ed!
 
Getting great results from our new solar panel. Yesterday, while on a mooring buoy all day under mostly cloudy skies at Gig Harbor, we gained 55 Amp Hours to our 4 house batteries from the system. The 8 day average has been a gain of 41 Amp Hours per day.
Kicking myself for not having done this upgrade years ago!
 
Once again I copied the scross idea of adding a sec9nd solar panel. We initially took a low budget approach os simply adding a second panel (Solarland 160w) to our original Kyocera 140w. The was purchased from Arizona Wind and Sun who carried Kyocera before they were discontinued and could attest to compatibility. No change in controller at this point and I connected the phone in parallel. Wow what a difference. We arrived lake Powell after trailering for 2 days and this kept up with the refrigerator the whole trip with power to spare.

Anchored out last two days and wake up with just shy of 13 volts first thing in the AM. While I can always add an MPPT controller and connect in series, so far we are very happy with the initial results and will not be murdering our batteries anymore.
 
Where does the positive output lead from the controller go to? Can it go to any battery & the ACR will flip to the other batteries as they charge?
Thanks
 
The first thing the positive wire from the controller should go to is a resetting breaker like this:

gallery2.php?g2_itemId=70847

The to the positive terminal on a house battery. The ground wire from the controller can go straight to the negative terminal on the same house battery. The ACRs will do their thing and keep the engine and thruster/windlass batteries charged.

You could run the wires to a different battery but the normal battery bank that draws down first when not on shore power or underway are the house batteries.
 
scross":2xpt1exo said:
The first thing the positive wire from the controller should go to is a resetting breaker like this:

gallery2.php?g2_itemId=70847

The to the positive terminal on a house battery. The ground wire from the controller can go straight to the negative terminal on the same house battery. The ACRs will do their thing and keep the engine and thruster/windlass batteries charged.

You could run the wires to a different battery but the normal battery bank that draws down first when not on shore power or underway are the house batteries.
Click to expand...
Thanks,
This is what I did.
 
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