I think you would be better off running a separate duplex wire back to the controller near the batteries. It’s a long run, so the size of the wire will depend on the current.
Let’s assume a 25 ft length of duplex wire, then that's 50 ft of wire both ways. The tables for a 3% voltage drop recommends at least 6AWG for 15 amps. That’s good for about 250 Watts. Since most panels produce 16-20 Volts output, you gain by having the controller near the battery (higher voltage means lower current through the wire resulting more watt capacity). Having the controller up front would results in a 3% voltage drop of the regulated voltage making battery charging much less efficient. - Paul E. 1981 C&C Landfall 38 S/V Johanna Rose Fort Walton Beach, FL http://svjohannarose.blogspot.com/ > On Apr 4, 2019, at 11:30 AM, cnc-list-requ...@cnc-list.com wrote: > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 08:39:54 -0600 (MDT) > From: DON JONSSON <dbjons...@shaw.ca <mailto:dbjons...@shaw.ca>> > To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > Subject: Stus-List Dual purpose of windlass electrical wires? > Message-ID: <66e2a230-81ff-4185-8ce1-8c7ef4614...@shaw.ca > <mailto:66e2a230-81ff-4185-8ce1-8c7ef4614...@shaw.ca>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Hi All > > Sort of a weird question, but hopefully someone has some insight. > > We have been struggling with where to put solar panels on our C&C 34. We now > think that we will get a couple of flexible panels and leave them free, at > least for now. The plan would be to put them out on the fore deck when at > anchor in the beautiful BC sunshine. What we don't want is wires running all > over while they are sitting out. So we thought a couple of plugs mounted in > the chain locker with the wires running back to the battery inside the cabin. > That way when stopped we would place the solar panels in the most > appropriate spot on the fore deck with short wires running forward to the > plugs inside the anchor locker, and then long wires running inside out of > view to the batteries at the back of the boat. > > So there are already a pair of very large cables running from the windlass to > the batteries. Is there some way to leverage those cable for connecting the > solar panels. Just inside the front of the Vberth is where the cables > connect to the windlass controller. We could connect the controller for the > solar panels there which would then connect directly to the batteries, > through a breaker, and the ground bus bar via the existing cables. Or > possibly put the controller back by the batteries? > > Comments? > > Thanks > Don Jonsson > Andante, C&C 34 > Victoria, BC
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