cheap chinese pv panels an 12v system on boat

[neil boat]

hello all . my 1st post here.
basicly i have made a booboo . a friend gave me some pv panels very simuler to these
235W High Efficiency PV Solar Panels Products - China Solar Panels,Solar System
an i live on a canal boat with a 12v system.
these panels seem to chuck out at nearly 30v.
so my question is, what is the best way to charge my system. i.e. charge controller
or do i try sell these an get some diff pv panels.

 

[neil boat]

would 1 of these get me sorted
40A MPPT Solar Charge Controller 4210RN 100V PV input 12V/24V AUTO 500W / 1000W | eBay

 

[Gavin A]

3 options

1 - buy charge controller to drag voltage down to acceptable voltage for panels, with associated efficiency loss in panel conversion
2 - reconfigure batteries to 24V
3 - void warranty on the panels by opening junction box and rewiring, so 2 x panels could give 3 strings of 20V if you split at the bypass diode connections and remove / rewire diodes to run 2 strings in series (panels are 3 strings per panel, so 6 total). Only do this if you're fairly competent with electronics and soldering etc

 

[solarfred]

So as not to waste the high voltage power you need a decent MPPT controller that can handle the voltage. If you need installation assistance in Essex contact Alectrix Ltd who specialise in canal boat installations.