Now that I know ice conditions, I’ll probably be out there all day tomorrow clearing my head.
Good luck to you sir on both catching some fish and clearing your head. I got some of that in the deer stand earlier this month. 
Brilliant Grouse. Thanks for the info. I kinda thought since the wind never seems to stop here in the winter. But a number of points I hadn’t considered.
Grouse. Is there a brand you prefer or recommend, or would avoid? I’d like to look into 100w and controller.
Grouse. Is there a brand you prefer or recommend, or would avoid? I’d like to look into 100w and controller.
The setup at the camp in Canada is from Rich Solar.
Here’s the modern equivalent of that setup.
I see they also have a 100 watt kit. Keep in mind most of these kits will allow you to add additional solar panels if you want to increase capacity at any time in the future.
Renogy Solar is another popular brand. I haven’t owned anything from them but they tend to get mentioned a lot and review seem to be favorable. They sell on Amazon as well as directly from their website.
Whatever brand you choose make sure you get a mppt charging controller. This technology made a dramatic improvement in charging efficiency. But there are still some brands and kits on the market that use old technology or offer the older technology to cut the price.
Also most major brands like renogy and Rich solar offer a Bluetooth data module that plugs into the charge controller. This module allows you to use an app on your phone to monitor all aspects of the system performance. Totally worth it for the 35 or 40 bucks they charge.
Renogy Solar is another popular brand. I haven’t owned anything from them but they tend to get mentioned a lot and review seem to be favorable. They sell on Amazon as well as directly from their website.
I was looking at Renogy.
Renogy Solar is another popular brand. I haven’t owned anything from them but they tend to get mentioned a lot and review seem to be favorable. They sell on Amazon as well as directly from their website.
I was looking at Renogy.
I was just looking at Renogy on Amazon and man they have some good deals. 200 watts of panels in a kit with MPPT charge controller for 250 bucks.
With that kind of a deal you could afford to also order yourself a flagpole and a strobe light and maybe a disco ball and a sound system for your ice house as well.
I’ve had 6 Grape Solar GS-STAR-100W panels for a couple years now and no problems. They are closer to square than the traditionally shaped ones and worked better for me where I needed them. Can also buy them through Home Depot. Don’t think the panel brand really matter much though, all the known names are pretty much the same for the inexpensive 100W panels.
Don’t think the panel brand really matter much though, all the known names are pretty much the same for the inexpensive 100W panels.
Yes, I don’t see a lot of talk about issues with the panels themselves. The main issues I see are with charge controllers and wiring.
Also, 12V setups–which I’d think would be what most fish house guys would be looking at–are so simple and so time-proved that there doesn’t tend to be a lot of issues cropping up with this type of panel nowadays.
But there are some other issues out there to be aware of.
For those looking at battery options, one thing that caught my attention recently that will impact ice house installations. Lithium batteries have become much cheaper and therefore more popular in the past year or so.
With lithium-ion batteries (and other Li variations, apparently), some charge controllers have a temperature cutoff switch that stops the charging below a certain temp if the controller detects a LI battery. I guess charging a cold LI battery can damage it under certain conditions, so some of the manufacturers installed a temp sensor that doesn’t allow the controller to charge the battery unless the temp is above a certain set point. Basically, do your homework on this issue if you want to go with lithium batteries.
So just something to be aware of if you’re thinking of going to LI batteries. I’m going to stick with lead acid because it’s still cheaper for my application and it’s what I have up and running in Canada, but I can see the day coming with LI will represent better value IF they figure out this temp issue.
One more interesting fact about batteries. My experience has been the battery life cycle on lead acid batteries is WAY longer than what most online sites tell you to expect. Next summer when we head back to the arctic, I’m going to replace the Interstate 110 battery that has been powering that system for 8 years now. And get this. That battery has stayed up there and the system is active so the battery stays charged even at -45. That battery is a freaking warrior.
You’ll read a lot about guys tearing out lead acid to go to lithium because of short battery lifespan, but I strongly suspect or in some cases they come out and say that it’s probably because they are running very high-drain appliances like heaters, a/c, microwaves, power tools, etc on their systems and doing so frequently. This is really hard on lead acid batteries.
But for fish house and small cabin use, IMO, using lead acid just isn’t a problem because most of us won’t be doing this super high drain stuff. Running a water pump, lights, etc, we almost never run a battery down even below 80%, so you have to take stuff you read online and ask does it really apply to my application.
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