Solar Panel VMA4600

[Jambotatu]

My system consists of 2 Pro2s and 1 Pro. I connected the Pro2s to mains supply this year and have had fault free operation for 3 - 4 months.  The Pro battery is amazing and only requires charging every 2 months. I took advantage of the low price solar panel deal on Amazon for the pro. I fully charged the battery and installed the panel. Initially showed charge lightning symbol then 100% for a week. It dropped to 98% yesterday and re-charged to 100% today. I live in the northwest of England. We had torrential rain this week and a short period of sun today. 

Having read the negative reviews I am pleasantly surprised with the results so far.

[storgeman]

Just keep the moisture out of the connections and you will be OK.   I have been sealing mine with Dielectric grease.  Been working for 1.5 years.   

Good luck. 

[Jambotatu]

Many thanks for the advice. The camera is hidden inside a bird box so the plug is dry. There is a label near the panel plug saying do not remove so I haven’t used any seal. Do you recommend greasing the panel connector and how did you apply.

[jguerdat]

Do not grease the contacts - "dielectric" means insulating. You can use the grease to seal around the connector if you wish. Mine are outdoors and I've had very few issues with keeping proper contact. I've had issues with one that cleaning the contacts on the panel and camera seems to have solved but then I don't know that the contacts were the problem in the first place.

[Jambotatu]

Thank you. I understand that insulation will protect the connectors. Just not sure how to apply it.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@Jambotatu wrote:
Thank you. I understand that insulation will protect the connectors. Just not sure how to apply it.

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There's no need for you to do anything - particularly since your camera is covered.

Though if you wanted to apply some silicon grease, you'd normally put the cap over the socket, and then apply any grease to the outside of the camera around the cap. 

Similarly, if the camera is charged, you'd put it around the connector on the outside of the camera.

[Jambotatu]

Thank you & merry Christmas