Best Ridgid Solar Panels?

[Roniszoro]

Hi All;

What brand is the best solar panel manufacturer for use on a sail boat?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[newhaul]

There are so many good brands out there . We need some more information about your boat and expected power use/ needs. To give you a better answer.
I install renogy 100 watt panels ( mono panels using sunpower cells) on most customers boats anywhere from one to 4 panels. (Most are under 36 ft vessels )

[Tortuga's Lie]

I think you will find that most people will be happy with their panels although there are probably a few that are not built for the long haul. I had 2 Kyrocera's on my old boat and when I bought my current boat two years ago, one of the first things I did was to buy 3 Kyrocera 150 Watt panels.......they've come down in price so much that it almost doesn't make sense not have them, unless of course your one of those racer types
Cheers,
Tom

[Roniszoro]

My boat is a 35 foot sloop.

I want to be able to provide for my requirements when at anchor; LED lighting, Alder Barbour frig, stereo, VHF, about 6-7 amps. When voyaging I need to add the autopilot and perhaps a chart plotter so lets say a total of 11-12 amps.

Perhaps the panels can't provide for all of my requirements , but hopefully most of them.

[newhaul]

So somewhere between 40 and 100 ah thats a big range. how big is your battery house bank?

[Roniszoro]

420 Amps is the house bank.

When voyaging I usually run the engine twice a 24 day (every 12 hours or so) for about 45 minutes to an hour to bring the bank up to 85-90% full. I have a high output alternator. The chart plotter is the one new item I didn't have. I'd use the SSB to download GRIB charts when the engine was running so as to reduce drain on the batteries.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Roniszoro

420 Amps is the house bank.

When voyaging I usually run the engine twice a 24 day (every 12 hours or so) for about 45 minutes to an hour to bring the bank up to 85-90% full. I have a high output alternator. The chart plotter is the one new item I didn't have. I'd use the SSB to download GRIB charts when the engine was running so as to reduce drain on the batteries.

Ok I would recomend 400 watts of solar ( general rule of thumb is 1 watt per ah of battery bank)
Along with a decent charge controller. Should be plenty.
And no more need for the iron wind to charge batteries ( except long periods of no sun.)

[Tortuga's Lie]

On a 35' boat, you could have two mounted on the bimini, hopefully out of the shadow of the boom and if you have davits, that's where a third panel could go. Some people will hinge them of of the stern pushpit but that takes due diligence propping them up and taking them down when underway. A radar arch is also another option although they can be pricey, but could double as a platform for other things like a davit system, antennae farm, wind generator platform etc....... decisions, decisions.

On my 37 footer, I had two on the bimini for years without issue and with the MC4 quick connectors, I could remove both panels in under ten minutes for storm prep.
On my 41, I also have two on the bimini (could put 3 but worried about weight) and a third on the davits, they are out of the way and do not interfere with anything and no shadows. I did, however, had to re-locate my stern light but that was due to the dinghy blocking it when hanging from the davits.

[MARIADZ]

We have just undertaken this on our Moody 54. We added three Panasonic 240W HIT panels giving a total of 720W paired with a Victron MPPT and 880Ah of battery. They are mounted on a frame mounted on our davits (Simpsons 300kg).

https://mariadz.com/2017/09/01/bring...aysolar-power/