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I have two solar panels. I would like to use occasionally when sailing, and rather than any new hard wiring/re-wiring would like to connect the controller to the batteries using a cigarette lighter plug into a already present socket at the nav station
Is this feasible? Any risks?
So long as the controller produces a slightly higher voltage than the battery, it will charge the battery. A diode can prevent reverse flow. You may need something to prevent overcharging of the battery. The presence of a cigarette lighter plug is just a method of connecting the wiring. If everything else is good, it will present no problems. You can buy cigarette lighter solar panels
on Amazon.
Using a cigarette lighter plug may or may not work, the answer is IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH POWER YOURE TRANSMITTING, heres the deal:
Typical cigarette lighter 12 volt outlets and plugs may be rated for say around 200 to 300 Watts. At 12 volts that’s 17 to 25 amps MAX, less current at higher voltage WELL DUH.
SO WHAT IS THE TOTAL WATTAGE OF YOUR SOLAR PANELS????????
If you had lets say two 100 Watt panels, that’s 200 watts, so a 300 watt rated cigarette lighter plug and outlet WILL WORK. DONT SCRIMP ON WIRE SIZE if you’re transmitting 25 amps I would likely use 8 gauge (40 amp) wire versus 10 Gauge (30 amp) to reduce line voltage drop.
NOTE the two panels may be wired in SERIES (doubles voltage) or PARALLEL (same voltage but current can double). If there’s any chance of one panel getting shaded out versus the other, I would use a parallel configuration.
NOTE panels may be 12 or 24 volt?? and can be wired in series or parallel!!! A proper selected and equipped solar charge controller (not all) can detect the voltage and still charge a 12 volt battery accordingly. The voltage withstand rating of a typical so called 12 volt cigarette lighter is likely much higher then 12 volts anyway, check the specs to see.
The answer DEPENDS on how much total solar power you want to connect using cigarette lighter (may be 200 to 300 watts rated) outlets and plugs.
John T
Retired Electrical Engineer in IndianaI can’t even begin to disagree with the previous comments here.
I’m commenting here based on long term experience with boats in both ocean and inland waters. The experience I have is mainly with sailing boats of 30 feet or less, but I did help a friend for a couple of seasons who had a 44 foot ketch.
In my humble opinion and experience, the cigarette lighter type plugs are often not capable of handling heavy loads. (I’ve blown more than a few fuses in coming to that opinion-lol.) It may be due to the construction of the circuit or to the plug/sockets themselves. You may find it workable depending on all the specifics.
Since you are talking about using this on your boat, (you didn’t specify the type of boat or where/how it will be used) there is the issue of keeping your connections all dry. It seems that there is no place on a boat that stays completely dry all the time-LOL. I don’t remember the cigarette lighter plug/socket sets as being very good at providing an all weather service capability.
Even though it is more work/hassle, I would probably opt for wiring in a separate weatherproof/waterproof connector set. I realize that you said you didn’t want to do that, but there is the advantage that you can be sure that everything is properly sized to handle the loads and still maintain a comfortable safety margin.
Also, it would allow you to locate the connectors where it is convenient and where it is the most practical for sizing the circuit (i.e. wire gauge,
length of wire run from the panels to the batteries, etc…)Again, just my humble opinion.
I used Pippi’s calculations on how to figure my daily amp hours. Came up with 298,186! Doesn’t that seem rather high? Though not all of my appliances will be used daily. Trying to figure out how powerful of an invertor and how many batteries n panels I’ll need. Running a home freezer, washer n dryer (all 3 in my shed/utility room) Amish fireplace, then small kitchen appliances: food dehydrator, juicer, etc. Would love to get some feedback here.
I’m feeling so lost and overwhelmed.Tnx,
BonnieIs it possible to have solar on my RV that will power all my 110 electrical outlets through out my rig ???? If so would Pippi’s schematic work for my application.???
I am relatively new to the world of RV Living World I live in my RV 24/7 I have ALWAYS wanted a off grid solar living environment… I have recently started purchasing solar panel kits from Harbor Freight https://www.harborfreight.com/100-watt-solar-panel-kit-63585.html so my question is can I use the elctrical connections that come out of the RV from the back and hook up my solar system to those connections and use the coverter from inside the RV to implement the 120v power? if so how many batteries & solar panels would I need to power up a 32′ RV 1991 Keystone Hornet… I am so confused what to do and where to go for help we are not a financially sound family so I don’t have alot of money to hire a qualified electrician if someone is willing to teach/coach me I would greatly appreciate it I am on Facebook as MickieSanford and my phone number is 417-771-1279 any help/teachings/coaching would be GREATLY APRRECIATED
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