3/25/2015

Portablesolarchargingsystemforkayakingandadventure

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Portablesolarchargingsystemforkayakingand
adventure
Onmyfirstlongerseakayakingadventure,whenIwaspaddlingsolofromSloveniatoGreece,alittlebit
morethen1400km,myfatherandIdesignedandbuiltaverysimpleandeffectivesolarchargingsystem
thatwaspoweringallmyelectronics.Mylaptop,mobilephoneandGPS.
Thesystemisreallysimpleandeverybodywithascrewdriverandbasicsolderingkitcanmakeoneat
home.

Kitlist:
Flexiblewaterproofsolarpanel.
Waterproofcablegland.
12Vchargingcontroller.
12VAGMbattery.
12Vfemalesocket.
Waterproofcase.
Wires.
Adhesiveheatshrinkcrimps.

Detaileddescription
Flexiblewaterproofsolarcells

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Thisisthemostexpensivepartofthesystem.Ifyouwantsomethingversatile,Iadviseyoutolookfor
rollablecellssuchasPowerFilm,from10Wandup,dependingonyourdecksize.
Waterproofcablegland

Thewaterproofcableglandensuresthatthecablecanpassthroughthesideoftheboxandstillleavethe
boxwaterproof.IpersonallypreferIndexmarinecableglands,butanygoodbrandwilldo.
Chargingcontroller12V

Youcanbuythesmallest12Vcontrolleronthemarket,asthecurrentfromthesolarpanelswillbelow
(definitelylessthen10A).Ifyoucanafford,goforaMPPTregulatorandyouwillgetafewmore%of
efficiencyoutofit.
12VAGMbattery

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Thetrickypartistodeterminehowbigthebatteryshouldbe.Iusedthe10AhAGMdeepcycleand
didnthaveanyproblemswithit.Thebatteryisverytoughanditworksevenifyoudischargeherto
20%.Butyouwillgetamuchlongerlifespanoutofthebatteryifyoudontgobelow50%.
12Vfemalesocket

Useanyofthestandard12Vfemalesockets.
Waterproofcase

ForthewaterproofcaseIfirstusedPelicase,butthatwasanoverkillinmanyways.Itstooheavy,bulky
andexpensive.ThatwasmyfirstrealadventureandIwantedtohaveallthehardcoreheavydutygrade
equipment.Buttherealityisthatforseakayakingandotheradventures,lightersolutionsworkbetter.
NowIonlyusethesimpletransparent4clipwaterproofboxesfromLock&Lock(designedforfood
0.00
storage)thatyoucanbuyinanysupermarket.Ineverhadanyproblemwithsuchcases.
0items

Wires

Cart
Noproductsinthecart.

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Portablesolarchargingsystemforkayakingandadventure

Tinnedcopperwiresarethenumberonechoiceforthemarineenvironment.Tindoesntcorrode(doesnt
oxidize)andthushelpsthewiretolastmorethen5timesaslongerthananormalcopperwire.
Adhesiveheatshrinkcrimps

Themostexposedpartofwiringaretheconnectors.Alwaysuseadhesiveheatshrinkcrimpsthatwill
keepthemoistureoutofthevulnerablepart(thejointbetweenthewireandthecrimp).Checkherehow
toworkwithheatshrinkterminals.

Howmuchpowerwillyouget?
Thatdependsonwhereyouwillpaddleandhowyouwillpositionthepanels.Asaruleofthumb,ona
averageday(mostlysunny,withcloudsinbetween),froma15Wsolarpanelonyourdeck,youwillget
minimumof2.5Ah(Europeinsummer).Ifweputthatintoperspective,thisisaround1.5hoflaptoptime
eachday.Youcanimprovethatbychangingthelocationofthesolarpanelsduringtheday.Forexample
movingthemfromthereardecktothefront,ifyouarepaddlinginthedirectionfromEtoW,orthe
opposite,ifyouarepaddlingfromWtoE.

Construction
1.Fixthecableglandtothebox

Takethemeasurementsofthecableglandanddrillsuitableholesonthesideofthewaterproofbox.Put
thecableglandonitsplaceanduseSikaflex(orsimilar,butnotnormalsilicone,asitwontlastlong)to
sealthebottomofthecableglandtothebox.Detailedinstructionsarefoundhere.
2.Connectthe12vsockettothecontroller

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Usuallythe12Vsocketcomeswithawirealreadyattachedtoit.Cutthewiretoasuitablelengthandput
adhesiveheatshrinkcrimpstotheendofthewire(toboth+and).Connectthewirestothecontroller.
Onthecontrollertheoutputisusuallymarkedwithalightbulbicon.Theredwiregoesto+,blackto.
3.Connectthebatterytothecontroller

Cutthewirethethesuitablelengthandattachtheappropriatecableglandstobothends.Connectthe+
andtothe+andofthecontroller.Theinputstowhereyoushouldconnectareusuallymarkedwitha
batteryicon.Butchecktheinstructionstobesure.
4.Passthesolarpanelcableinsidethebox

Whencuttingtheappropriatelengthofthesolarcellcablekeepinmindthesetupthatyouwillusually
useforcharging.Forexampleyoucanputthesolarpanelonthereardeckofthekayakandthebox
behindyourseat.Cutthelengthofthecableappropriatelyandbetterleaveafewcentimetersmorethen
needed.Passthecablefromthesolarcablethroughthecableglandtotheinsideofthebox.
5.Connectthesolarpaneltothecontroller

Connectthe+andwireofthesolarpaneltotheinputofthechargingcontroller(usuallymarkedwitha
solarcellicon).
6.Fixthecontrollerandthebatterytotheside/bottomofthebox
UseglueorSikaflextoattachedthebatteryandthecontrollertothebox.Sotheywontmovewhenyou
rockandrollinchoppysea.
7.SprayallthecontactwithWD40orsimilar
Thelongeryouwillkeepthesaltymoistureoutofthebox,thelongeritwilllast.Beforeeverytripspray
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allthemetalpartswithWD40oranyotherwaterdisplacingspraysuitableforelectronics.

FAQ
CanImakethecable,fromthesolarpowertothebox,detachable?
Yes,Iwouldadviseyoutodoso,asthebox(withthebattery)willbemoreportable.Youcanuse
waterproofconnectorstomakethecabledetachable.Butbearinmindthatyouareputtingaweaklinkin
thesystem.
CanIuseaLiFePO4batteryinsteadofAGM?
Youcan,butyoualsoneedtouseacontrollerthatissuitableforcharginglithiumionbatteries.Youcan
buyasmallerLiFePO4astheycanbedischargeddeeplywithoutharmfulconsequences.
Whatisthemostimportantfactor(thatyouhaveundercontrol)thatdetermineshowmuch
electricalenergythesolarcellswillproduce?

Itstheangleonwhichsunraysfallonthesolarpanel.Ideallythepanelwouldalwaysbeperpendicular
tothesunrays(inwhichcasethepanelwouldcapturethemostsun).Thepanelsshouldfacetruenorthif
youareinthesouthernhemisphere,ortruesouthifyouareinthenorthern.

1Comment

1.
JamesCDecember4,2013
Thanks,itsexactlywhatIwaslookingfor.ImgoingonathreeweekunsupportedtripinYukon
nextyearandIwanttohavesomethinglikethis.
Reply

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