Now that is has been a full 4+ months since my previous post I’ve finally made some progress with my solar power supply.
I have picked up several pieces that are key to getting a fully off grid low voltage power supply. I was able to get a Kyocera KC50t Solar Panel, a Xantrex c35 Charge Controller, a DC breaker box and breakers, interconnect wire, and mounting hardware.
I mounted a piece of 1/2″ plywood to my garage wall as a backer board, and there I mounted the DC breaker box along with the Xantrex C35 about half a foot above that. Then onto the wiring from there.
Wiring together all of the components took longer than I had expected. Due to the distance of my panel from the electrical components I needed 10g wire. I was actually right on the cusp of needed 8g wire and the cost jump was double, so I was happy to be in the 10g range. After some effort I finally got everything wired together.
So now I have 10g leads from my battery pair to a DC breaker in the box as a cutoff. From there more leads went to the Xantrex on the battery terminal and common ground. Then another lead from the PV Array terminal and common ground on the Xantrex to another DC breaker. From the other end of that breaker was my long lead up to the roof where the panel would be mounted. Also I have incorporated a ground wire interconnecting all of the pieces together with a grounding stake that is just outside my garage.