Hello folks,
I tried to make 2 panels of 18 0.5W 5.16A cells 18 cells per panel. I ran out of cells as most of them broke during the process. I managed to build only one panel. It has been sitting there ever since (3 years now). I would like to know how to connect the panel to nightlights.
I have 10W led lights. I would probably need some 10A schottky diode but do not know the serial number for the correct one for this panel.
I bought rechargeable nimh batteries but they were fake ones. Could I do this with some other battery? Has anyone got a clue on this? I wanted to initially charge a 12V car battery with it but this one panel is only producing 9V. How do I get to charge from this panel and power led lights?

 

I tried to make 2 panels of 18 0.5W 5.16A cells 18 cells per panel. I ran out of cells as most of them broke during the process. I managed to build only one panel. It has been sitting there ever since (3 years now). I would like to know how to connect the panel to nightlights.
I have 10W led lights. I have thermal grease.I would probably need some 10A schottky diode but do not know the serial number for the correct one for this panel. I have normal 1A diodes .1N4007 rectifier. I have HC-SR501 pir modules.
I bought rechargeable nimh batteries but they were fake ones. Could I do this with some other battery? Has anyone got a clue on this? I wanted to initially charge a 12V car battery with it but this one panel is only producing 9V. How do I get to charge from this panel and power led lights? What should I buy more?

 

I can buy a 6V 10Ah lead acid battery online. Would it be possible to use this with the 9V solar panel? Is there not some way to buy 2 of these and have them charged by the one solar panel? That way I could retreive somehow a 6V and a 12 V output perhaps??? I do not know i only ask.

 

First measure SP open circuit voltage & short circuit current in full sun; then you will know what you have to work with.
Find the specs. for the LEDs..A 6V, 10 Ah battery capacity is low for a 100 W panel.
You'll need a battery management system to disconnect SP when battery is fully charged & disconnect load when battery is
discharged..

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, otherwise boom. But apart from that I have no clue where to start. I tried to measure the panel and came up with very lame results. It is not near as good as the specs say. It does get the 9W output. But amperage low. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1N58xx_schottky_diodes One of these? Which one? SOlar charger controller? They work with 9W? 20Ah battery enough? Does the exess electricity have to be drained to perhaps a bucket of water? Electric circuits how to do this? I have for now 40 of these 10W leds ready to be set up. http://vakits.com/lm7806-positve-6v-voltage-regulator found this but only one amp.

 

How do you drain electricity to a bucket of water?

This isn't for you; Just buy the correct panel, charge controller and battery otherwise you will forever be going round in circles.

 

Still no specs on panel or LEDs available to us.

 

How do you drain electricity to a bucket of water?

This isn't for you; Just buy the correct panel, charge controller and battery otherwise you will forever be going round in circles.

you do by heat. transfer it to a heating element and it heats up the water. You can use the water to wash a cup or 2 on a sunny day.

 

Still no specs on panel or LEDs available to us.

Sorry, I see where you all get confused. I wrote W instead of V. My bad sorry. They are 0.5 V cells of course. 18 cells times 0.5V is 9V panel.
Panel is a bit difficult to measure. Official figures given when I ordered were bogus.
Size: 156mm x 156mm Type:2 busbar
Rated power: 3.6w-3.9w Thickness:200um

 

Why do you keep talking about diodes?

I applaud your spirit of "making" but you don't have much of a background in electronics at all. It's not really fair to drop in here and say, "how do I do this?" Get some basic books about electronics, or just look up tutorials on the web. Learn practical applications of Ohm's law and Watt's law, at least.

Then look up tutorials on small-scale solar setups.

There are "battery managers" which are little boxes that will transform the power from the panel, charge the battery, and provide an output that automatically switches between panel and battery depending on the state of output of the panel. These little gizmos also make sure the panels operate at maximum efficiency when they're in sunlight (if you try to draw too much power from a panel it will give you even less than it could...).

Let the specs on the battery manager (or "solar charge controller") guide you on selection of proper panels and batteries, according to the solar input voltage and battery-charging output voltage.

Here's one that works with a 12-24V solar panel and a car battery. 20A max.

You won't find one that works with your damaged 9V panel.

 

Jeez are you a hostile bunch. I happen to know a thing or 2 about electricity okay. As for Ohms law we learn that in basic school as standard. Now what you might not know some people know more about one part but less about another. Have you ever build your own windmill or solar panel? Thought so. As for my panel it is definitly not damaged. It is just one of 2 panels that I was going to make. And I am certain that I can make a good system with 9V panel. Why I want a diode? I don't. I want a schottky diode. It is to stop the little electrons in the wire from going back to the big cells okay! You assume that I have less knowledge than you. Guess what that makes you, when you talk down like that on me. I sure hope no other people who really build things instead of talking down on others do walk into your all about O. com

 

It will not be necessary to get a charge controller for the size panel that you have, which is perhaps 50 watts peak, if you use lead-acid batteries. It's possible to find individual 2-volt cells, and connect them to make an 8-volt battery. Or just use a 6-volt battery. You can probably connect the panel straight to the battery through a schottky diode, as you mentioned. Get a diode rated for at least 5 amps, and use an appropriate heat sink. If you can get one that is a stud mount, so much the better.

My guess is that your panel may be putting out 2 amps or less in service - not due to anything you did wrong, that's just the way it is with homemade panels. You can measure the current in service and see how much it is. If this was a critical system, I'd be recommending that you protect your batteries against overcharge, but for this kind of fun application, it will probably be all right.

 

Let remember that people come here for help and encouragement.

 

... Does the exess electricity have to be drained to perhaps a bucket of water? ....

This is known as a "dump load," and is only used on Wind Turbine systems, where running the system unloaded could be bad for the mechanical turbine. For a home-size system, people sometimes use an old water heater. For a photovoltaic system, a dump load is unnecessary.

 

Gleaning bits & pieces of information provided by OP, est. SP puts out about 12 W. Descent 15 cm cells should supply about 3.5A.
Another est., It will take about 10 hours or more to charge one 6 V battery.
Still no information on LEDs. Wild guess: LED will draw 1 A @ 10V?

 

Jobe Ha, you're jumping all over the place. You said most of your cells broke in the process of assembling the panel. Then you said the panel was at 9V but the "amperage was low," without telling us what it was or how you measured it, and then jumped into talking about specific specs of diodes without even saying what you wanted the diodes for!

You said, "I tried to measure the panel and came up with very lame results. It is not near as good as the specs say. It does get the 9W output. But amperage low."

Therefore I conclude that your panel is broken.

If your purpose is to light your garden with the LEDs from a battery charged by solar energy, forget this broken panel, and buy a panel that will work with existing, inexpensive, standard charge controllers.

If your purpose is to learn about the electronics of solar panels and charging, then settle down, don't get ahead of yourself, and answer the questions we ask. Yes, I'm a little irritated, but I'm still trying to help. Is this hostile? What about asking five unrelated questions in one post while ignoring the critical question asked in the last post? That's hostility on your part, or at least really taking for granted the intelligent people you have on this board.

So please, before considering anything else, measure the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of your panel in direct sunlight. If you don't know what short-circuit current means or how to measure it, just ask, don't just say it's "lame" and go on to an unrelated topic.

 

Let remember that people come here for help and encouragement.

Hostility goes both ways, Dick. I've designed power systems for solar power startups. I'm willing to help. But all the bouncing around of topics and ignoring of requests for basic information and ambiguous mixing of watts and volts has left me feeling abused just by reading it. I'm sorry if I don't engineer systems by hacking down batteries and throwing a diode on before I even know if the panel is working.