Well I have had some time to work on some of the parts for TP&L. I have a Beta Charge controller for my project. I got to test it today and it looks very promising. I tested it using several configurations and I can say that it is a very solid piece of engineering. It is a MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker). This Technology allows the panels to collect at their maximum power potential and the controller does all of the conversion to charge the batteries.

TP&L is also going two axis solar tracking for better daily power. As my testing shows, I should be able to produce far more power out of the existing panels and do even better if I upgrade to bigger panels. In short, TP&L looks like a go!!

Here is a test run using 90 watts of solar potential in partial cloud coverage. It produced 83-84 watts without cloud coverage.



With any luck, TP&L will have this upgrade before the spawning and aeration seasons this year!!

Brian

The one thing is the one thing
A dry fly catches no fish
Try not to be THAT 10%