New solar panel

Location, Home in CA

I started working on the solar panel insulation this morning. Several decisions had to be made concerning placement of the brackets which bolt to the roof. I am trying to maintain a footprint for a larger panel if that ever becomes a possibility, and I want to make sure that the smaller panel will be solidly mounted.

I found that the special wire used to connect to my junction box was too short. Fortunately, I had extra wire from the original Camper World installation. It required splicing the wires but a heavy duty soldering gun borrowed from my neighbor did the trick.

A temporary hookup of wires showed that the 50 watt panel added 2 amps to the charging rate. Total charging rate with both panels with a late afternoon sun angle was 7 amps. With high noon over head sun I should have about a 9 amp charging rate.

Both panels were bolted in place using a self leveling caulk to coat all bolt heads to insure no leaks and we are good to go.

I finished the day by picking 3 baskets of boysenberries. The berries are large but there just aren’t as many as we usually get.

Now for some NBA playoff action. Go Cleveland!