Customer Success Stories: Marine & Off-Grid Solar Systems in Action

We have two of your 130 watt monocrystalline solar panels which were installed on the bimini of our 40 foot sailboat in the Spring of 2014.  They produce, or should produce, enough to power to accommodate our energy needs at anchor for an extended period of time, assuming the normal sunshine in the Northern Great Lakes.  And they have done a great  job of it.  The panels were producing a minimum of 5 amps early in the morning and an hour before dusk and upwards of 12 amps mid-day.  But something was missing--it was the regulator.  We had an old PWM regulator that just wasn't allowing the panels to give to the batteries what they were capable of giving.  After consulting with you, and running a few tests to make sure the problem wasn't the panels or the wiring, you recommended installing a new MPPT Tracer regulator.  It wasn't cheap (very little that is good is), but it made all the difference.  We  haven't done any calculations, but your estimate of a 30% increase in the efficiency of the panels is spot on.  Could be even higher.  The package is perfect for our needs--it allows us to avoid going into port except once every ten days or so and that is mainly for provisioning.   Also, just to let you know, the fridge is running and the panels/regulator is creating a positive charge to the batteries of about 8 amps.....and the sun is not yet at its peak.  We now have plenty of power at anchor and don't need to plug into shore power while at the dock.
Thanks for working with us to enhance our cruising experience.
Mel

We like to anchor out most of the time while cruising but found we had to run our generator at least two hours a day to charge our battery banks. The constant concern about the state of charge of our batteries and the noise of our generator running was undesirable to us.  As luck would have it, we met Tom of Custom Marine Products while cruising in the North Channel of Lake Huron and he had a solution for us.  Tom designed our solar system and provided us with the components.  Our local yard did the installation. 

Our solar panel system consists of:
  4 105 watt panels wired in parallel on the pilot house roof.
  2 controllers located near the battery boxes.
  2 monitors installed in the pilot house overhead

This summer we only had to run our generator if we had a long string of cloudy days which was only once.  What a wonderful improvement to our cruising experience. The monitors (controller remote displays) tell me exactly how the panels are performing and the state of charge in my battery banks.  For anyone reading this, I suggest you contact Tom. His email is tdtrimmer@gmail.com. You will find him excellent to work with, very knowledgeable and helpful.

TomI have been in the islands for the last two weeks using the new solar system. It generates so much power in these latitudes I am concerned that the 10 amp controller can handle it.  We have hit a maximum peak of 14 amps and regularly hit 11 amps at the highest point of the day   What has impressed me the most is a 7:30 to 8:00am and again as the sun is going down we see 2 amps.  Will the 10 amp controller break down under this load. Would the 20 amp be a more reliable solution?Thanks,Julian


Julian,
The 10 amp dual output controller will work just fine.  The circuitry in that controller is built to handle the load.  I have the same setup on my boat with the 10 amp controller and have seen 11-12 amps output and have had no problem for several years.  Also, we have yet to have a failure with that controller.  If you are concerned however, I will exchange your 10 for a 20 amp unit.

Tom

I recently completed an upgrade of my previous single panel system on SoLunaMare (Saga 43 # 27) and thought I'd share just a few points without getting into a deep technical discussion.

One of the factors that required considerable research for me was determining the maximum panel size I could install without undertaking a major structural redo and with minimal shading issues.  As you can see in the attached photo (before my bimini was reinstalled) positioning three 120W panels across the aft end of the cockpit worked well.  For that area, fairly free of shade, I wanted the highest output per square foot so I went with monocrystalline panels using SunPower cells.  These are very high quality cells that have the highest efficiency rating I could find.

I purchased the panels from Tom Trimmer at www.custommarineproducts.com.  We had numerous shipping hassles with Fed Ex damage but I have to give Tom a 5 star rating for both his customer support and his knowledge of system design.  Feel free to use my name as a reference if you communicate with him.  The offerings were not the cheapest per watt available (nor the most costly), but in the long run, like other gear, an extra 20 or 30%  up front for quality components would seem to make sense.

In preparation for long distance cruising I wanted maximum redundancy, so decided to go with a separate MPPT controller for each panel.  That way, any single failure will only degrade my overall performance by 33%.  I had used the Genasun 10.5A controller previously with good results, so bought two more of those and you can see the wiring layout in another of the attached photos.  Each controller costs only around $100 online.

​I was originally going to install an output display for each panel but space limitations and the additional wiring convinced me to simply wire inline on/off switches for each panel as shown.  When desired I can easily check each panel individually by flipping just one to the On position and using our Link system to evaluate output.

Overall, I'm very happy with the investment which came in at less than $1500 total, and would encourage anyone planning an extended cruise to make solar a primary contributor to your power needs.

Best regards,
Roger Neiley

Several months ago I posted a question about solar vs a generator and got plenty of opinions which is what I asked for. Decided to go the solar route but have some self-inflicted constraints such as: (1) no davits and no plans to add them and (2) have a bimini but only open it when it is raining.This makes it difficult to dedicate the space for a large bank of panels to keep my 290AH bank of batteries full on my relatively small 31 foot boat. After much research i decided to go for maximum efficiency and install a "pointable" panel to get max amperage with the minimum size panel. The pole mount off the stern was very easy to install and it clears the bimini (which was not an accident, it took several mock-ups with cardboard to determine the minimum pole length). Also installed an MPPT controller and battery monitor. The early results have been stellar. The main power draw is refrigeration and I first double insulated the icebox, replaced the Adler Barbour compressor & evaporator with a brand new more efficient unit. Now the batteries are down about 7-8% overnight and are back to 100% by early-mid afternoon if I do not rotate the panel and before noon if I do. When rotating the panel I can double the output. See the attached pictures of the amperage. These were taken within 2 minutes of each other at 9 am this morning with the only difference being I rotated and tilted the panel to face the sun. Input from the panel and output to the batteries more than doubled.

I am writing this just to give information to others because the amount of information on single, pointable, pole mounted panels is very limited compared to the banks of panels mounted to biminis, davits and even dodgers. The panel I purchased is a Bosch 120 watt and it is supposed to be very efficient (most efficient on the market they said) according to the company I bought it from (Custom Marine Products). They said to expect 5.5 amps from the panel and the MPPT controller would then deliver 7.5 amps to the batteries. See the pictures here it has already exceeded that. If anyone wants to know where purchased or anything else let me know and I will be glad to help. So far, this looks like a great solution for my specific needs but of course is not for everyone.Follow up question 4/27/16: I was just looking at your updated website and wondered if the new 120 watt SunPower panel is the one that I purchased? Worked very well last week on a one week trip away from the dock. Saw 8 amps coming from the panel and 11.2 amps from the MPPT controller to the batteries! New record. 
Thanks,
Bob

July 5, 2012 by Mark C - Hollywood, Florida

Hi Tom, here are a few pics. I am very pleased with the panel and mast.   The installation went smoothly.  Thank you for sending the bolts to replace the ones that jumped into the water. I finally found a quick-disconnect system that I liked (heavy duty, heavy guage, etc). I purchased the Marinco male and female 120 v plug ends. I waterproofed all the internal hardware of the plugs with liquid electrician's tape and will wrap this in a Sunbrella/velcro system that I need to make. The system connects and disconnects EASY. I have a feeling that this feature will be important when it comes time to taking the panel down in heavy weather. As you can see I felt that it was more seaworthy/ esthetic to run the cable through the mast itself as opposed to wire-tying it to the outside. This has worked great since I put a loop of cable at the base to allow for mast rotation. Regarding your blog: I believe that this only applies if one has a "smart alternator" right? I have a "dumb" 80A one so I don't think I need to shut down the panel while the auxiliary power is on. Is this correct?

Thanks Tom for a great product,

Mark C

Mark, 

Thanks for the pictures.  Nice installation.  I think wires inside the pole may become an option for us to offer as that is a request we are often getting.  I like your installation.  MC4 connectors do give you the ability to quickly disconnect the solar panel.

Regarding the conflict between your controller and your alternator - Two thoughts:

1. You will know if you have a conflict between your controller and alternator if your tach starts jumping around.  This would indicate a conflict due to pulse width modulation (PWM) of the alternator and controller.  2. If you see the alternator is not charging the battery bank, it may be due to artificially high voltage from your wind and solar your alternator regulator is seeing and thus putting it in float mode.

Tom

Hi Tom,Just got back into cell range. Thank you for all the help in designing our two panel solar system.  They are meeting our expectations beautifully.  The panels have sustained 35-40 knot winds with no trouble at all. 
Thanks again,

Tom,
Wanted to let you know that my solar panel mount on the pole off the stern survived TS Hermine which caused considerable damage in South Georgia.  There were 3-4 boats sunk and numerous docks destroyed in our marina and the marina next door in St. Simons.  We had no damage thankfully and the panel & mount withstood the 50-60 mph winds with gusts to 70 mph with no problems!

All the best,
Bob

September 15, 2013 by Brian -  Belleville, Ontario 

I purposely waited 2 seasons to really test my sol
ar panel installation.  Everything I was told has panned out.  I fully recommend CMP.  The mounting system works as planned and the solar panel performs beautifully.  It looks good on the boat too.

Brian

We attached our 100 Watt panels to a heavy screen material and then attached that to our bimini frame.  We can remove the panels easily for winter storage.  These panels, combined with our Midnite Kid controller provide us all the power we need for cruising.  We no longer have to run our generator 2-4 hours a day.  We love it!  We will be adding two more panels this year so we have plenty of power to heat our water with the excess solar capacity.

Hi there Tom, See the attached picture for our new configuration of six 100 watt solar panels.  We now have three groups of two series wired panels wired in parallel as you suggested.  The performance is terrific.​Below you will find the pre-solar and solar generator hours. 2013 ..   113.5 hrs, 2014 ...  103.2 hrs, 2015 ...    21.0 hrs, 2016 ...    18.0 hrs. Our neighbors in the North Channel anchorages were much more friendly in 2015 and 2016, even inviting us to happy hours and for dinner‼️  And we now have several unused generator filters on hand which will probably have to be offered to our non-solarized boating friends who haven't yet made the "sun power" leap.  Thanks for all your support and assistance. 
Kathy

Our second pole with the integrated engine hoist will help our aging backs.  Thank you for working with us as we get our boat ready for full time cruising. 
Note: Kevin and Lynn added a second 90W solar panel with a top-of-pole mount and the optional outboard motor hoist in preparation for their new cruising life style. Kevin used our 90 degree tab sleeve with our fixed sleeve lock to effectively strengthen the pole mounting system with struts so they don't have to rely on the strength of their stern rails.

October 28, 2013 by Henry - Wolfville, Nova Soctia - Freedom 32

Tom,
I am thinking of leaving the panel up all winter to charge the batteries. Is this considered okay? The panel will be snowed on and have alternating freeze/thaw cycles while the boat is on the hard at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.By the way, the panel worked brilliantly all summer.  I was fogged in for three days at Sambro and never had to start the engine once for electrical power.  I used it for everything except the fridge/freezer.  I even charged my Torqeedo electric outboard off of it.  And my batteries are not very large -- just 240 Ah of lead acid.If you look carefully in the photo you will see red tape near the top of the post. This is to cover the unused holes in the pole. With a wind up, the holes turned the pole into a giant flute that sounded almost exactly like a whistle buoy!

Henry,
 Yes, your solar panel should be just fine staying up in the winter.  Both the electronics and the panel itself are well sealed and the pole mounting system should be plenty strong to support a snow load.  I would tilt in panel at a more significant angle than normal so the snow will be more likely to slide off.  Face the panel south and you will have plenty of power to keep the batteries at full charge.

You are the first person to report on the musical talent of the pole.  I wonder if we can claim that as a feature.  :-)  I'll check into offering rubber hole plugs for the pole for those not using the crane option.  Thanks for the input.

Tom

Everything arrived in good shape. However, FedEx must be getting annoyed with Xmas season fast approaching because the exterior of the boxes were terrible. After all “Fragile” is Italian for stomp all over me. 

I mocked placement on just about every possible area and settled on the aft starboard corner just on the downward slope of the transom.   Pole is resting on the ball mount and I clamped the upper and lower rail mounts to the stern seat rails.  The pole is quite high and somewhat unstable toward the top, That's why I am requesting an additional locking collar to connect to the steel arch.

Running the wires was a non-event!  Access in the stern lazaret exposed an open 1 1/2’ PVC chase that had one ground wire running through it!  We pushed the fiberglass fish through and the chase terminated right at the panel and the batteries.  

We had a very clear and bright day for the installation and initial setup.  So, early data is better than expected or should I say better than I expected.

Voltage was consistently 21 + and noted as high as 22.5
Amperage was consistently 9.5 and noted as high as 10.5
That's about 210 watts being produced by our 160 watt rated panel.  Wow!

Once final connections were made, I shut off shore power and played with turning various things on. The center photo is with the entire 12v side TURNED ON, Bose Entertainment system (Captain Ron), freezer, refrigerator, all pumps, all lights (LED’s)  and the panel was still “adding” 0.3 amps to the batteries……

Once I turned off my shore power charger and used the panels to keep my battery charge up they really pumped out the power.  I was reading upwards of 7 amps on the meter.  They are smokin!

I ended up using stainless steel nuts/bolts/washers to attach my two 50 watt solar panels to my dodger.   I also had my canvas guy punch out two inch round black leather discs I glued to the underside for added lateral strength.  Next I placed a two inch nylon shoulder washer over it to further adhere the leather to the canvas and to gain vertical holding power. I sandwiched the canvas between the washers and secured them with a nut.  The 10-32 bolts fit perfectly through the panel gourmets.  As you can see, this made a very clean (and water tight) installation.  Running the wires in the canvas channel along the support tubing worked great.Previous email:

One question: my amp readout numbers yesterday were real low, around .5 and with a max of only 2.5 on a very sunny day.  I will check again later today.  The batteries were already in a fully charged state.  Is the readout measuring what is being sent to the batteries which would be minimum since no addition power is required?


Chuck, 
You are correct.  The meter shows what the controller is putting in the batteries.  When the batteries are fully charged, the controller shuts down the charge from the panels to protect the batteries from overcharging.  Turn off your shore charger and see what happens.Tom

January 25, 2013 by Vladimir - Westsail 32 - Cleveland, Ohio

Tom,

Thank you for the two 90 watt solar systems!  It was very convenient to have all pieces together (mechanical and electrical), mounting them was just “a piece of cake”!I've used you solar systems for over a year now.  On sunny days with the panels oriented to sun I have actually more energy than expected – up to 16 A from both panels (16x12 = 192 Wt), with clouds – 3 to 5 A.  I am able to run the fridge all the time, navigational laptop, radar (with “sleep” mode).  Fridge I turn off at night, but use ice packs, which are freezing at day time.

Thanks,

Vlad

September 10, 2012 by John of Murray Time an S2 36 - Duncan Bay, Michigan

Tom,
I am pleased to report that the 90 Watt solar panel performed as expected during our four week cruise this summer.  It supplied sufficient power while we were at anchor to power our refrigeration, lights and select instruments.  Only on those really cloudy days did we have to run our diesel to charge the battery bank.  The remote display that links to the dual battery bank solar controller is terrific.  It provided me with all the information I needed to monitor my battery banks and solar panel performance.

I'll send you my panel performance data as soon as I get it summarized.

Thanks,
John

August 19, 2012 by Tom of Melusina an Aloha 32 - Bemus Point, New York

Tom, Just returned from our three week cruise to the North Channel.  We got as far as Little Current after several nights at Baie Fine. It took us a bit longer to find our way up than I anticipated but great sailing none the less. The solar panel's performance exceeded my expectations.  It was out of the way and didn't interfere with sailing in 30kt+ on Lake Huron.  We sailed in those squalls that hit Goderich on our way to Sarinia. Thanks again for all the info on the North Channel. The GLCC membership was money well spent for the cruising guides.

Attached is a picture of Melusina in Baie Fine.

August 21, 2012 by Erich of Enchantress a Hunter 410 - Duncan Bay, Michigan

Tom,
This is the second boat you have done a custom installation for me.  Combining the solar pole with the outboard motor hoist has really worked out well.  I am impressed with the output of the 130 watt panel.  Thanks for another job well done.  Check out the pictures.
Erich

August 28, 2012 by Brian of Cat2Fold - Tetonia, Idaho

Hey Tom,

Panel mounts work GREAT!  So do the 90 watt panels!Check out these pics I got sailing this week in Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WyomingLast Sunday I reached 15 knots peaking at 15.8!Fastest this nos so experienced sailor has ever gone under sails!

Thanks,

Brian

May 13, 2013 by Dick - 1986 Pacific Seacraft 37,  Sacramento, CA

I purchased your 140 watt solar panel kit and liked the mounting system so much I purchased another one for my wind generator. A simple sleeve adapter was used to accommodate the pole diameter of the wind generator to your 1.5"pole.  I have included pictures of my installation.  
Thanks for all your help and advice.  Both systems are working great.
Dick

June 19, 2012 by Bruce of Okaga - Ontario

Hi Tom.  

We went out on the anchor for a day this weekend, and I played with the solar panel most of the day.  Every good sailor is a "type A" and needs to be fiddling, adjusting, resetting something and I am no exception.   Anyway as to results, much better than expected.  We left the dock fully charged, of course, with the panel connected and producing, under a clear sky.  I can adjust the pole setting from the helm as needed according to boat angle.  We ran fridge, lights, etc. over night while on the anchor.   The day on the anchor was a bright, full sun day in which I regularly adjusted tilt and angle for max output.  The panel charged at 20.2V; I clocked between 5.5- 5.9 A most of the day.   By 15:00 hours, the batteries were fully charged and the amps had dropped to 1.5A.  I am a well satisfied customer and I took the attached photos for you.

I do have a question.  After leaving the dock, I noticed that my engine Tach was bouncing around, non responsive.  ( I spoke to another boater with a large panel and an electricity background who had the same issue when his batteries were fully charged and the panel operating).  This effect disappeared on the return sail, when the panel and engine were actively charging.  Odd, ehy?

Bruce,

I recently had a similar experience on my boat and did some research.  Most high output alternators and many controllers charge batteries using a technology called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM).  The Tach uses PWM to determine the alternator (and thus the engine) RPM.  The two PWM sources may, at times, create an interference.  Thus the sporadic readings on the Tach.  The solution to this is disconnect the solar panel when the alternator is running so the controller doesn't function.  This can be easily done by putting a switch in the positive wire leading from the solar panel to the controller.  Alternatively, you could put in relay on this wire and wire it so the relay is open when the engine is running and closed when it is not.Another reason to put a switch in is this.  The smart regulator reads the battery charge condition and sets the output of the alternator accordingly.  If the solar panel is producing power, the regulator will see the net of the battery charge and the panel output and thus prematurely put the alternator in float mode.

Tom

August 11, 2012 by Christian B of Cobalt Blue - Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

Hi Tom, find some pictures attached. The custom bracket you made worked out great and the installation went smoothly.  Unfortunately I have not been able to perform a meaningful long cruise that really stress test the installation with a lot of appliances running. I am still mainly working on the boat to get here ready for bigger plans and just take her our once or twice a week for day cruise. I have two battery banks with about 1200 ah capacity which are always topped off since I installed the solar panel. I intend to go cruising for one or two week in September and expect to use the radar and the electric autopilot and overnight anchor light which should give me a better idea how much engine running in need to complement the solar panel.  Overall, the panel system has been serving me very well.

June 25, 2012byIan of BriCat -Bahamas

We cruise in the Bahamas and have always had power issues - we used to have a fairly useless Airex wind genny that never gave us enough power - so we finally decided on solar. Having done lots of research online we came to the conclusion that the best, most efficient and yet simple way to go was with Custom Marine Product's design! It was easy to set up and we flipped the switch on and got an instant 11amps! With just 2 or 3 adjustments a day, we're able to run our power thirsty fridge, our inverter and all the electronics without having to worry about power. It has transformed our lives! Other cruisers in the bay are always stopping by to admire the system, especially in the early morning or late afternoon when we can have them tilted all the way down for maximum power input. The system is outstanding value and we recommend it to everyone we meet on the water! Thanks Tom