Solar to battery connection.

izwozral

izwozral

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I have a 100 watt briefcase solar panel with crocodile clips and it's a bit of a faff connecting it to the leisure battery, removing cushions, seating etc.

My thoughts are: run a positive and negative cable from battery to an Anderson plug [female] and secure to outside of seating. Fit the male Anderson plug to the solar panel.

I have two 90amp battery's running parallel and the solar panel has it's own mppt controller and inline fuse.

Question: What size Anderson plug and what size cable should I use bearing in mind I will need about 18" cable length to plug.

Thanks in advance.
 
izwozral said:
If that would do it Trev, I'd be happy with that. How can you tell a good quality one from a crap one though?
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IME it's virtually impossible other than by user recommendation. I've bought some expensive cr*p ones and some cheap good ones. However, DIN plugs and sockets seem to have more consistency. Have a look at https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk/c-12-accessory-plugs-sockets for an idea of what I mean. FWIW, I haven't bought either DIN or cigarette plugs and sockets from there but what I have bought has been consistently good quality. That said, I'll defer to Trev as he's probably a lot more knowlegeable than me.
 
I started off with a suitcase panel that was converted to roof use for same reason
It was from alpha and came with croc clips and Anderson connector so connection was simple
No more faffing around
 
trevskoda said:
It would be only 8 amps at best so whats wrong with a good qtly cigy plug male & female
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I've had a few melt at just 4 amps so would not use a ciggy plug personally, even if good quality it can still make a poor connection and melt.
 
The small Anderson plugs (30A maybe? About 20mm wide) would be my preference, with 4mm or 6mm cable. Don't forget a fuse at the battery.

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You can get a panel mount for them too.
 
st3v3 said:
The small Anderson plugs (30A maybe? About 20mm wide) would be my preference, with 4mm or 6mm cable. Don't forget a fuse at the battery.


You can get a panel mount for them too.
Click to expand...

I agree with St3v3, Anderson plugs and good quality cable, I have some 4mm solar panel cable that I got by mistake (wanted 6mm but didn't read the description right :oops:) your welcome to it if it will do the job for you?

Regards,
Del
 
izwozral said:
I have a 100 watt briefcase solar panel with crocodile clips and it's a bit of a faff connecting it to the leisure battery, removing cushions, seating etc.
...
Question: What size Anderson plug and what size cable should I use bearing in mind I will need about 18" cable length to plug.
Click to expand...
Buy the standard dual-port Anderson connectors.

They're rated for 30A which is well over the 8 amp max your panel could ever deliver. I have one for my engine battery, one for the leisure bank, one on the car. Amazingly useful.

I'm assuming you are connecting the portable solar's controller to the van's batteries. If you are connecting the solar panels to the controller on the van, I'd use the red "non-standard" Anderson connectors.

As far as the thickness of the cable is concerned, I'd use 16mm, but 6mm would be more than adequate unless you plan to use the connection for jump starting. But do crimp the connections on properly.
 
trevskoda said:
It would be only 8 amps at best so whats wrong with a good qtly cigy plug male & female
Click to expand...
I'll tell you what's wrong. They are designed to carry a fairly high current for just a minute or so. Not to be connected for hours on end.
 
The DIN type Hella sockets are made to flow power gor long periods. I used them on my bikes for years to power my sat nav and phone. Also had one hard wired in to connect an Optimate smart charger. If they work on a bike that lives outside all year round they are fairly weatherproof as well.
 
izwozral said:
If that would do it Trev, I'd be happy with that. How can you tell a good quality one from a crap one though?
Click to expand...
Good ones will e heavy with a knurled end and a fuse inside,you will know when you handle one, look at the ones for 12v tvs at about 7 pounds.
 
The basic design, depending on sideways friction for the negative contacts, means that the positive contact shakes loose to the point of bad connection. This is true of all of these plugs, because it's a design flaw. Well, not really a flaw. They're great for cigarette lighters, which is what they were designed for.
Hella plugs look similar, but they lock in place, so they are suitable for long term use
 
izwozral said:
I have a 100 watt briefcase solar panel with crocodile clips and it's a bit of a faff connecting it to the leisure battery, removing cushions, seating etc.

My thoughts are: run a positive and negative cable from battery to an Anderson plug [female] and secure to outside of seating. Fit the male Anderson plug to the solar panel.

I have two 90amp battery's running parallel and the solar panel has it's own mppt controller and inline fuse.

Question: What size Anderson plug and what size cable should I use bearing in mind I will need about 18" cable length to plug.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, what you are thinking of is precisely what I am installing on an Autosleeper tomorrow.
I have a 100W Folding Panel from Photonic Universe which came with Croc Clips. I have cut those off and used the 50A Anderson Connectors that I use for battery chargers, 2nd Battery Boxes, and various other things. Using the same connectors makes it very flexible to use the connections for anything.
On the Battery End I have the Anderson Connector, fitted with 6mm2 cable (more than enough but lets the customer upgrade to a bigger panel if he wants) and the other end of the cable are connections to the Battery (via a Fuse Box in this particular case).
As a point of note, Anderson Plugs are not (at least the ones I have used) Male or Female - the plugs are the same both sides and you just turn it over to plug in. Clever plugs :)
 
I think Jim (Maingate) had that setup Ral.

He's not actively posting at the moment but might be worth a PM. I know he was pleased with his setup.
 
I do exactly the same . the wire run from the controller to battery is about 2 foot with a inline fuse fitted i remove the fuse when when solar is not charging , this stops the constant drain from the controller when not in use . Always connect controller to battery before connecting solar , oh and check tyre pressures .😁😛
 
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wildebus said:
Interestingly, what you are thinking of is precisely what I am installing on an Autosleeper tomorrow.
I have a 100W Folding Panel from Photonic Universe which came with Croc Clips. I have cut those off and used the 50A Anderson Connectors that I use for battery chargers, 2nd Battery Boxes, and various other things. Using the same connectors makes it very flexible to use the connections for anything.
On the Battery End I have the Anderson Connector, fitted with 6mm2 cable (more than enough but lets the customer upgrade to a bigger panel if he wants) and the other end of the cable are connections to the Battery (via a Fuse Box in this particular case).
As a point of note, Anderson Plugs are not (at least the ones I have used) Male or Female - the plugs are the same both sides and you just turn it over to plug in. Clever plugs :)
Click to expand...
Am I understanding this correctly, that it's OK to connect directly (via a fuse) to the battery without going via a controller? So I could supplement the input from my rooftop panel which goes via the mppt controller with a portable panel? That would be useful at this time of year as the angle of the sun gets lower
 
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