48 Volt Charging

System

I am actually a long time user of solar power at my beach cottage on an island off of Connecticut. My new problem however is finding a solar panel that will charge the 48 volt battery bank in my sail boat which now has an all electric drive auxillary.

I have found a 60 watt panel that appears to have a high enough working voltage to charge and equalize batteries, the Kaneka GSA 60 Watt 48 Volt:

Specifications

Model: G-SA060
Nominal Power: 60 W
Open Circuit Voltage: 92 V
Short Circuit Current: 1.19 A
Maximum Power Voltage: 67 V
Maximum Power Current: 0.90 A
Maximum System Voltage: 530 V
Dimensions (L x W x D): 960 x 990 x 40mm
Weight: 13.7kg
Connector: MC

In New England we don't have to worry about high temperatures near the water ( the ocean temp is never above 70 F) Would this panel be enough to charge a 200Amp AGM 48 volt battery bank?

BB.

Re: 48 Volt Charging

It should be ok, just use heavier gauge wire to keep the voltage drop down.

I would suggest you look at using crystalline panels instead. You could fit several panels in the same space and get 2x the power.

Thin film panels are about 1/2 as efficient per square foot.

-Bill

Cariboocoot

Re: 48 Volt Charging

With all due respect to my esteemed fellow moderator and an up-front admission that I may not understand the situation fully, one 60 Watt panel will do squidly for 200 Amp hours of 48 Volt battery bank. On its own it won't even provide trickle charging (output would be less than 1 Amp). And the Vmp is actually too high for a 48 Volt system (usually charge Voltage around 57).

To fully charge that much battery you need about 700 - 1000 Watts of panel.
Can you not fit two (or more) high Wattage crystaline panels in and wire them in series?

BB.

Re: 48 Volt Charging

true enough. I was just speaking to voltage drop, Not to the fact of minimum charging current.

-Bill