diy solar

diy solar

Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Mono Solar Panel, Compact Design, High Efficiency

Actually we are all going to die due to electrolytic capacitors failing. We need to just give up.
 
I bought two of these panels and had one out in the direct sun today. Call me greedy, but the max I saw this panel deliver was 120 watts. I am talking Austin, Texas, direct sun at 1400 with the panel tilted to as close to perpendicular as I could get it with a straight stick. Temps were in the upper 60's to low 70's with a 5 knot wind coming at about a 45 towards the rear of the panel, so air was circulating behind the panel.

I bought 200 watts and I got 120. Am I being greedy or should I send it back?
what do you mean perpendiculer?
 
I bought two of these panels and had one out in the direct sun today. Call me greedy, but the max I saw this panel deliver was 120 watts. I am talking Austin, Texas, direct sun at 1400 with the panel tilted to as close to perpendicular as I could get it with a straight stick. Temps were in the upper 60's to low 70's with a 5 knot wind coming at about a 45 towards the rear of the panel, so air was circulating behind the panel.

I bought 200 watts and I got 120. Am I being greedy or should I send it back?
you can find what angle your solar panels should be at compared to your latitude or experiment
 
Re the caps not lasting 25 years - get out your popcorn or look away immediately for what is to follow...

One thing some of the data about them doesn't show if they have ever been cycled? Whaaat? You mean like tiny batteries with an anode and a cathode, and some electrolyte? (Yeah, NO they aren't batteries but you see what I mean.)

Spending much of my life in broadcast, we have some good $$ gear with great caps. But those devices, once placed in a rack, may be turned on and NEVER turned off for 10-15 years until a power-reconfiguration makes it mandatory. Some don't make it past a power-cycle, so we have to have an exact functional spare standing by.

So what is happening here? The caps,even though good, are only charged once, and sit at a steady-state full charge for a decade or more. They go high ESR. Functional while on, but due to lack of any chemical cycling, you can bet some won't recover from a power cycle.

The EXACT same unit, one that has been turned on and off or used temporarily for other projects, survives. Basically the caps were kept healthy by allowing them to charge and discharge from normal power cycling once in a blue moon. Doesn't take much. And no, I didn't keep a recorded schedule like I'm trying to take care of FLA's. :)

I know - sounds absolutely ridiculous, but that's been my experience.
 
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