10w Solar Panel 10 Watt 12 Volt Pv Solar Module,solar Cell Panel, New

been using for well over a year now, keeps things charged

I had one of these before, but the one that came with a charge controller. I decided to buy just the panel alone to wire in parallel and use to charge/maintain two 12v sealed batteries of 9 AH and 20 AH respectively. I initially connected them to a Schneider c40 and got 19+v from the PV panels, but the C40 wasn't working so it didn't charge the batteries - I also wanted to test the C40 since I suspected it wasn't working. I connected the panels to another charge controller but it only registers in the 12.5v range for the panels but the days have been somewhat cloudy. I used to use the charge controller that came with the other panel, but the space between slots for panel, batteries and load is very narrow and what with moving it up and down the wires came a bit loose and adjacent ones touched and sparked! Have ordered another charge controller and will connect and see what voltage I get and how quickly it charges the batteries to maximum. Panels seem well made, are fairly light, not sure how water proof the connection box at the back is though. The hole in the box for the wires can hold speaker type wire, doubt it could take anything of a thicker gauge, even the strain relief has a very narrow diameter space and short screws. The back of the panel has 4 holes in the frame for attachment to roof or support. I bought some brackets but not sure if I'll use them yet. I'm currently resting them on an old shoe rack with wheels so that I can easily move it into and out of the house to get sun. Am toying with using the brackets I bought to install on roof but I like the idea of being able to move the panels around so I might not. UPDATE Oct 2018 I mounted them on the edge of the roof and have had them connected to one of the inexpensive blue fronted PWM 20A charge controllers sold on Amazon. I put in a fuse from the wire on the roof to the charge controller as well. I run two DC bulbs from the charge controller, I think I used two 7w ones and used the timer on the controller to turn them on and off after about 6 hours. I also hooked up a mini voltmeter display to the batteries and the 2 panels keep the batteries fully charged with the light load it's running. They've been through some very heavy rain and seem to be holding up okay.

No diode installed. Can't open the junction box to even install a diode. No holes to route the wire through on the side. Do yourself a favor and buy the futuresolar 12v 10w panel instead. It's 25% cheaper and comes with all those things this panel doesn't have.

These are almost cheapest 10w panels on Amazon, but are surprisingly decent. I guess the technology is there that it doesn't matter any more. I was able to get full output and then some with non ideal placement (although it was a bit cold~12c and not rated 25C which boosts panel efficiency). From 2 panels in series and Victron MPPT controller, panels tilted at 30degrees (winter -favoring setup) and directly south, I was able to get 19-20W sustained even before solar noon (optimal tilt would be somewhere ~55-60 degrees). If I were to guess manufacturer knows primary use of those is a simple PWM controller, which will lose quite a bit of power on conversion and oversized them a bit or it's just quality mono panels + purely temperature effect. May be edge of cloud effect. In any case, on completely clear patch of sky - 19W sustained for long periods at bad angle is remarkable. Was hitting 20-21 sometimes. Note that Vmp of the panel is 18volts which is insufficient to fully charge an AGM battery through MPPT so you need to have at least two in series. Which I did due to installation space constraints. Remains to be seen how the panels will work in winter and few years down the road but so far so good.

Update: Ordered another. Using to power my MIghty Mule MM317W. I have two gates, one running off a 5W GTO array. This one seems to be similar quality and puts out twice the watts for 20% of the price. However you have to buy a mast or make one. I bent a 1/2" EMT tube to 45 degrees and used 1/2" EMT 2 hole clamps. For my location, a more shallow angle would be appropriate to compensate for summer angles, but for as much power that is required, it really does not matter when pointing to the South. I drilled thru the clamp and the mast and inserted sheet metal screws to keep it from twisting in the clamps. Has sustained 35mph wind so far. I do not think Eco-Worthy should ship the wires stripped. Too easy to short out. I cut the bare ends off until I was ready to terminate to avoid shorts, and covered the array until it was connected. Shipped in a thin un-padded bag. I hate that. Bad protection especially for glass. Fortunately the manufacturers box was adequate this time and USPS handled it with appropriate care.