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Old 05-30-10, 02:52 PM   #63
Xringer
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Got them out in the sun. The tracker is working fine and we got first light
on the mount at 10:30 AM and shadows started in at 16:30.. A solid 6 hours.

I was using a 100W 120VAC bulb for testing. It put a light load on the panels.

Open circuit is 79V. With light bulb load, it was 77.2V. The bulb looked like
it was putting out 40 to 60 watts. Hard to say.

Oddly, the bulb stayed on a couple more hours after the shade came in..
There was no direct sunlight on the panels. Just what filtered in from the trees to the west.
No bight spots of light on the panels.
The voltage slowly dropped from the 70s down to 50 volts at 18:30 PM.
The bulb looked (and felt) like it was at 20-30 watts when I shut it down..



This pic was taken around 17:00, when the shadows were setting in.. The lamp was still seeing 77 volts..



Edit: Adding one last pic..


If you use these Home Depot struts, make sure to get bolts that will fit
under the lip on the backside of your panels. Not too long (you can't install them) or too short ( they won't reach the Block-Nut).

I used a spacer sandwiched between the strut and the PV, so the PV wouldn't bend, into the U-channel.

Last edited by Xringer; 12-29-10 at 12:03 PM.. Reason: Adding pic
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