I drilled a hole in the side of the coaming and used a cable clam. My panel is mounted on the bimini and I simply ran the wiring down the bimini support. The MC4 connectors are mated half way up the support where they're firmly ziptied. In the winter when the boat goes away I've got coiled wires and the MC4 connector on the deck. Pros: it's easy to use, watertight and uncomplicated. Cons: Short piece of coiled cable on the deck in the off season, not the most graceful.
I have a 65 watt panel and I find it gives me 3 amps and up consistently at peak hours. My panel is actually slightly angled due to the slope of the bimini and not in my favour when at my mooring. I'm on a three point mooring so I'm fixed and I point south. Having the panel on the back section of the bimini puts me at a disadvantage because it's sloped away from the sun. The backstay and mast are between the panel and the sun. I think 3.5 amps is good considering. Steve Suhana, C&C 32 Toronto On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 10:00 AM, Rick Brass <rickbr...@earthlink.net>wrote: > The advantage of the MC4 connector is that it is waterproof and impervious > to corrosion, which the cigarette lighter plug will not be. Since you have > a removable panel you will be disconnecting and storing below, why not use > the MC4 pigtail and leave the end of the wiring inside the cockpit > lazarette? That way you can run the wire from the panel into the lazarette > and have a connection not exposed to the elements, and avoid drilling any > more holes in the boat. > > > > Rick Brass > > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] *On Behalf Of *David > Knecht > *Sent:* Sunday, January 12, 2014 9:01 AM > > *To:* CnC CnC discussion list > *Subject:* Re: Stus-List mounting solar panels > > > > Speaking of mounting panels, my new panel came with MC4 + and - > connectors. I have never seen these before and am not sure what to do with > them. I had planned on mounting a 12V receptacle (cigarette lighter type) > in the cockpit to run wire through to the charge controller. Now I am not > sure what to do. I guess I can remove or cut the MC4 and wire the ends to > a 12V plug, but I am wondering if there is some kind of MC4 connector I > should look for. Dave > > > > > > David Knecht > > Aries > > 1990 C&C 34+ > > New London, CT > > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > >
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