Solar Panels R-23

pdo

pdo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
Messages
82
Fluid Motion Model
C-288 C
Vessel Name
Selah
What are the practical pro’s and cons of adding the solar panel to an R-23? Just trying to determine if it is worth adding. Thanks
 
I was very pleased at how well the solar panel works on our 2018 R23. Last winter, it kept our batteries fully charged, which was a very pleasant surprise when I checked the batteries in the spring. But I think that was mostly due to the fact that our boat is stored outside on the hard. I'll be curious to see how well it does this winter as we have a boat cover this year. Time will tell.
 
I added a 200-watt panel and would absolutely do it again. We boater home a lot and without the panel, I would have no way of keeping the frig going and lights working. Also while on the hook we have plenty of juice to run everything. A must-have for us.
 
For the cost of the optional 90 watt factory option and, if you don’t mind the size of the panel, you can buy and install a great 180-200 watt MPPT solar system. The net cost of my 180 watt system was about $800 and took about six hours to install. An extremely useful and easy upgrade!
 
We added (2) 150 W flexible solar panels and put them on our Bimini. This freed up the top for our dinghy. My wife sewed fabric corners that hold them in place. I was able to route the cables into the main cabin and put the main controller beside the breaker panel. Cost was under $500 CDN.
 
Thanks everyone. Great input.
 
Curious if anyone knows whether the factory panel (90 watt) can be swapped out for a better panel. Can the existing cabling be used? How about the controller? I’m not sure who made the panel as the paperwork was not provided for the panel.
 
PDO,
If you want to better understand the benefits of having a solar panel vs not having one I’d recommend watching this webinar from Ranger Tugs.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj_am-ecSt4
I held off putting one on for several years because I thought it was too expensive and too hard to do. Prices have come way down in the past five years and it was an easy install. We can go almost indefinitely now without shore power. And we have left the boat on the hard for weeks in Burlington, WA with the refrigerator running and the house batteries never ran down.

Hamster:
You would need to get a full BOM (bill of materials) from Ranger Tugs to find out exactly the specs of the components of your solar system with regards to connectors, cable gauges, fuses and/or breakers, solar controller, etc. to understand if your existing system components would work with a higher wattage solar panel. In general you could always upgrade from a PWM controller to a more efficient MPPT controller with the same or higher capacity specs without any other problems.
 
Hamster":2cdraj06 said:
Curious if anyone knows whether the factory panel (90 watt) can be swapped out for a better panel. Can the existing cabling be used? How about the controller? I’m not sure who made the panel as the paperwork was not provided for the panel.
Click to expand...

Any panel can used with the existing controller as long as the panel voltage and current is within the spec’d range of the controller. If more than one panel is used they should have similar specs. The wiring also can be used if the max current remains within the safe limits of the wire gauge. A table of safe current limits for each wire gauge can be found easily on the internet.

I don’t know what controller is used on the R23. The Morningstar Sunsaver Duo has been used as standard on other models in the past. On our R27 Classic the wire size from the panel is 10 gauge if I remember correctly.

If you decide to change the panel it is a good time to consider if you also want to also change the controller. An MPPT controller, while more expensive, will yield better performance. The most efficient panel for an MPPT controller can be quite different (higher voltage) than for the stock PWM controller so it is best to decide on the controller first.

Curt
 
scross":29gogzu4 said:
PDO,
If you want to better understand the benefits of having a solar panel vs not having one I’d recommend watching this webinar from Ranger Tugs.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj_am-ecSt4
I held off putting one on for several years because I thought it was too expensive and too hard to do. Prices have come way down in the past five years and it was an easy install. We can go almost indefinitely now without shore power. And we have left the boat on the hard for weeks in Burlington, WA with the refrigerator running and the house batteries never ran down.

Thanks, this webinar helped tremendously. Highly recommend it for better understanding power management. Great job by the Ranger Tugs team communicating the concepts and practical aspects of power management in simple terms.
Click to expand...
[[/i]

Hamster:
You would need to get a full BOM (bill of materials) from Ranger Tugs to find out exactly the specs of the components of your solar system with regards to connectors, cable gauges, fuses and/or breakers, solar controller, etc. to understand if your existing system components would work with a higher wattage solar panel. In general you could always upgrade from a PWM controller to a more efficient MPPT controller with the same or higher capacity specs without any other problems.
Click to expand...
 
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