Last piece of my puzzle! Anyone know how to make a "quick" connect/disconnect?

System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in General Solar Power Topics #1
Our plan is for long weekend dry camping.  I have all the answers I need as to panels, charge controller, wire size etc.  What we are planning on doing is ground mounting (I have addressed securing against wind and theft) the panel.  When we move the trailer we will want to disconnect the panel and stow it in the trailer until we arrive at our next destination.  I envision a connector on the outside of the trailer on the opposite side or the charge controller as close to the battery as I can to shorten the wire length. 

Or is there a quick connect/disconnect that can be done from the panel itself.  I have not seen what the panel looks like so until I have one in front of me I don't know what to ask.  Kyocera 130 watt solar panel, KC130TM

Does anyone have any experience or seen such a hookup before and can point me in a direction of a solution.  One idea I did hear was something called an Anderson connector.  does anyone know anything about that? 

I am open to most Ideas and would hate to be stopped after three weeks of resarch.  I refuse to believe I am the first person to try this.
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #2
    Re: Last piece of my puzzle! Anyone know how to make a "quick" connect/disconne

    Anderson Powerpoles are an excellent product, the single connectors will stack like Legos. I believe that they are available up to 350 amp capacity. They have been popular with the Amateur Radio community for years. The web site is:

    http://www.andersonpower.com/index.html.

    If you Goolgle "Anderson Powerpoles" you will get far more information than you need. One caveat: most of the common single connectors are made of polycarbonate (Lexan) and while very tough, it does not play well with gasoline (disintegrates almost instantly).
    I recommend them, although pricy they are well worth the money. If there is a Ham Fest in your area you can play with them and get them at a reasonable price.

    petyon
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #3
    Re: Last piece of my puzzle! Anyone know how to make a "quick" connect/disconne

    Another possibility is just to get a large AC connector (twist lock or not). Has nice strain reliefs and usually pretty good in sun/oil. You can also get versions with caps or exterior hoods. Most are different enough that nobody is going to accidentally plug into the outlet in a trailer park.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #4
    Re: Last piece of my puzzle! Anyone know how to make a "quick" connect/disconnect?

    with an AC connector It looks like I have a female plug in the side of my camper and a male plug to the Positive and Negative wires of my panel. this sounds too easy. There must be a catch that I do not see, like I need one set of plugs for positive and one set of plugs for negative. :?

    I guess the same sentiment applies to the Anderson connectors....

    Thanks,
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #5
    Re: Last piece of my puzzle! Anyone know how to make a "quick" connect/disconne

    Well, you probably would want the male on the trailer and the female on the panels (just one positive and one negative lead). You would not want to short the ends of the male plug if it was on the panel while in full sun. The Anderson connectors are both sort of shielded, so it is more difficuilt to short either plug with a straight piece of metal.

    Or, if it is just you doing the connecting, you could get one extra female plug to put on the panel male plug to protect for storage (roughly 11 amps at 12 volts). Sometimes it is hard to find a panel mount male connector assembly. Although, many RV folks just use a trap door and cord set stored inside the trailer and you would keep the short pig tail on the panel... Makes the panel a bit easier to store without 10'-20' feet of cordage attacked.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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