DAVIS Extra Solar Panel Kit User Manual

USER
MANUAL

Extra Solar
Panel Kit

Product Number 6616

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Davis Instruments, 3465 Diablo Avenue, Hayward, CA 94545-2778 U.S.A. • 510-732-9229 • www.davisnet.com

Welcome to Extra Solar Panel Kit

(product no. 6616)

The Extra Solar Panel Kit allows you to add a second charging panel to a Solar
Power Kit (product numbers 6612 & 6614) for low light, low charging locations.
The kit’s weather-resistant shelter has been carefully designed to allow for the
mounting of all Davis weather station consoles and Envoys. It can also be used to
supply extra power to Vantage Connect. The weather resistant housing can also be
used to house batteries or other field equipment.

Contents of Package

Solar Panel and

Weather-Resistant Housing

U-Bolts

1/4" Lock Washers

1/4" Hex Nuts

Backing Plates

2 Split Grommets,

(1 each round & oval

cable openings)

The package contains the following:

• Weather-proof shelter with solar panel

• Y-Cable

• Hardware kit (as shown)

4’ (1.2 m) Y-Cable

1/4" x 1 1/4"

Lag Screws

#6 ½” Pan Head

Philips Screws

1

Tools for Setup

• Adjustable wrench or 7/16'' wrench

• Drill and 3/16

• Phillips head screwdriver

'' (5 mm) drill bit (if mounting on a vertical surface)

Using the Extra Solar Panel Kit with a Solar Power Kit or Vantage Connect

In low light conditions, you may use an Extra Solar Panel Kit to provide additional
solar charging to your Vantage Connect battery or Solar Power Kit battery.

Extra Solar Panel Kit with

Heavy Duty Solar Power Kit

Note: For clarity, the solar power cable is shown in front of the
battery. In use, the cable will run behind the battery. The cable running
between the two shelters will also be secured to the pole.

Extra Solar Panel Kit with

Vantage Connect

1. Mount the Solar Panel Kit or Vantage Connect and the Extra Solar Panel Kit
shelters near each other. (The connecting Y-cable is 4' [1.2 m] long.)

2. Remove the plug from one of the holes in the bottom of the Solar Power Kit or
Vantage Connect shelter.

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3. From inside the shelter, feed the single-connector end of the Y-cable down
through the hole in the floor of the shelter. Outside the shelter, wrap a round­hole grommet around the cable and insert the grommet snuggly into the hole.

Feed cable down
through hole

Y-Cable

Solar Power Cable

Note: For clarity, the solar power cable is shown in front of the
battery. In use, the cable will run behind the battery.

Solar Power Jack
(front)

Grommet

4. In the Solar Power Kit or Vantage Connect shelter, unplug the solar power
cable from the charger circuit’s front jack and plug it into the Y-cable.

5. Plug the other Y-cable connector into the solar power (front) jack. (See your
Solar Power Kit User Manual.)

6. Close and lock the Solar Power Kit or Vantage Connect shelter.

7. Remove the round split grommet from one of the holes in the bottom of the
Extra Solar Panel Kit shelter.

8. Wrap the grommet around the single-connector end of theY-cable. Feed the Y­cable up through the hole in the Extra Solar Panel Kit shelter floor. Insert the
grommet snuggly into the hole.

Connect to Solar

Power Cable

Grommet

Feed cable up

through hole

9. Inside the Extra Solar Panel shelter, connect the single-connector on the Y­cable to the solar power cable.

10. Close and lock the Extra Solar Power shelter.

11. You may want to secure the cable to the pole.

3

Installing a console or Envoy in the shelter

For convenience, you can mount any Davis console or Envoy inside the Extra
Solar Panel shelter using the included 1/2'' pan head screws. Inside the shelter,
outlines of the Vantage Pro2 console, Vantage Vue console, and Envoy and marked
mounting holes will indicate where to mount your console or Envoy in the shelter.
Since there is no battery in an Extra Solar Panel Kit shelter, you will have to run
the power cable from the shelter to a power source. Use the oval and split
grommets as needed.

Mounting the Shelter

Choose a location for your shelter. It can be mounted on a pole or a flat surface
such as a wall or a wooden post.

It is important that the shelter be mounted so that the solar panel gets the greatest
amount of sunshine: the solar panel should be facing south (in the northern
hemisphere) or north (in the southern hemisphere).

Mounting on a Pole

Mount the shelter onto a pipe with an outside diameter of 0.84'' to 1.84'' (21 mm to
27 mm) using the U-bolts, backing plates, washers, and hex nuts provided.

Note: For mounting on larger diameter pipes, the housing can accommodate U-bolts with 5/6''

(8 mm) threads for pipes up to 2.40'' (61 mm) outside diameter (not provided).

1. While holding the shelter against the pole, place a U-bolt around the pole and

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through the two holes at the top of the shelter.

2. Place a mounting plate over the bolt ends, then place lock washer and a hex nut
on each of the bolt ends.

3. Tighten the nuts using an adjustable wrench or 7/16'' wrench.

4. Place the second U-bolt around the pole and through the two holes at the
bottom of the shelter. Put a backing plate, lock washer, and a hex nut on each
bolt end, and tighten the hex nuts.

Mounting on a Post or Flat Surface

Attach the shelter to the mounting surface in the desired location using the large
screws and backing plates as shown below. Use a pencil or a center-punch to mark
the location of the pilot hole.

1. With a 3/16'' (5 mm) drill bit, drill two holes approximately 2"(50 mm) apart.
Use a carpenter’s level to ensure the holes will be level.

2. Drill two more holes 7-1/32'' below the upper holes.

3. Insert the 1/4'' x 1-1/2'' lag screws through the flat washers and backing plate,
and through the holes at the top of the shelter into the post.

4. Using an adjustable wrench or 7/16'' wrench, tighten the lag screws.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the bottom of shelter.

5

Contacting Davis Technical Support

For questions about installing or operating your Extra Solar Panel Kit,
please contact Davis Technical Support. We’ll be glad to help.

Online www.davisnet.com

See the Weather Support section for copies of user
manuals, product specifications, application notes, soft­ware updates, and more.

E-mail [e-mail]
Telephone [phone]

Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Note: Please do not return your unit for repair without prior authorization.

Specifications

Operating Temperature. . . . . . . . . . . . .-40° to +149°F; -40° to +65°C

Battery Charging Temp. Range . . . . . .-4° to +122°F; -20° to +50°C

Housing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rugged ASA Plastic

Dimensions (width x length x height) . .13.75 X 10 X 4.15 inches;

34.9 X 25.4 X 10.5 cm

Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.62 lbs.; 1.64 kg

Extra Solar Panel Kit

Product Number 6616
Document Number: 07395.327 Rev. A, February 6, 2013

Vantage Pro®, Vantage Pro2™, Vantage Vue®, Envoy8X™, and Weather Envoy™are
trademarks of Davis Instruments Corp., Hayward, CA.

© Davis Instruments Corp. 2012. All rights reserved.
Information in this document subject to change without notice. Davis Instruments Quality

Management System is ISO 9001 certified.

®

3465 Diablo Avenue, Hayward, CA 94545-2778 U.S.A.

510-732-9229 • Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail] • www.davisnet.com