Solar panels

[MH Hawker]

Any of you guys using solar panels to help keep your battery's topped off. Last year I used the boat a lot and it kept it up fine, but due to the damm rain ever day I am not getting in a lot of use so I am thinking about adding one. Over the last few weeks my motor has had starting issues due to a low battery and the marina staff will remove it, charge and replace, but its a lot of hassle.

I know the out put is limited by wattage and In most cases its small, and it wont charge a really low battery, but while its just sitting on the slip, it should help a bit. I only have a 6 amp charging circuit in the motor so I have to keep a close eye on it any way, A 15 watt should put out around 1.25 amps. I do not have a 120 volt power at the slip or I would add a trickle charger. So I am thinking about giving it a try. A panel and a regulator looks like around 90.00.

[Oldsailor]

Saw this in the boating accessories section of my local Wally World this afternoon....

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-6W-So ... ifications

[tuned]

According to West Marine, a 5 watt panel or smaller doesn't even require a regulator. I used a couple of 5W's on several batteries with no problems. I don't think they will bring a discharged battery up very well, but worked great just to keep mine basically topped off.
BTW, I just climbed off of my 'boat build still in progress'. I just measured up mounts and will have my new 60W panel and regulator up and running very soon. My stereo takes just a wee bit of current . Sometimes I don't run enough to bring it back up. Having a decent solar will bring me improved peace of mind.

[LisanJohn]

thats a really good idea. may have to incorporate that in my rebuild. thanks for the info

[MH Hawker]

A 5 watt is .3 of a amp and 60 is 3.8 amps. The one I am looking at is 15 watts at 1.25. It would sure be nice to have a 60 watt but the price on those are a bit to high for me.

[rancherlee]

my 15 watt will top off my 50% battery bank in about 2 weeks which is 2 D27 batteries. A 15w is the bare minimum to get enough power to actually "charge" the batteries.

[MH Hawker]

I went out this morning and picked up a 15 watt panel and one of the automatic regulator things at at harbor freight, so I am going to give it a try. I only use one group 29 so it should help out.

[evinrude2stroke]

I'm looking into this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50022-Ba ... ar+charger

Do you guys intend to mount it?
I'm not sure where to leave it once the mooring cover is on. I'm not worried about theft I'm nust worried about it getting knocked around by wakes or bad weather.

[MH Hawker]

I mounted mine on a back fence panel, its not the best place because a tank is in front of a part of it but it should work. If it works ok I will make some mounts and move it up higher.

EDIT I got a pic just because

[evinrude2stroke]

Thanks for the pic MH, I definitely will want to mount it to something. Not sure if I want it permanent or removable....
I'm thinking removable just to avoid wear and tear but then I will have to figure a place to put it once I remove it... This deilema will probably keep me up tonight.

[dockside]

Saw this in the boating accessories section of my local Wally World this afternoon....

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-6W-So ... ifications

Home Depot has them for 39.99.

[SGTiger]

I mounted mine on a back fence panel, its not the best place because a tank is in front of a part of it but it should work. If it works ok I will make some mounts and move it up higher.

EDIT I got a pic just because

This may be a dumb question, but aren't you getting significantly less than 15w from it since its mounted vertically instead of facing somewhat toward the sun?

[MH Hawker]

This is sort of experimental. My small little 15 hp motor only has a 4 amp max charging system and I dont have 120 volts at my slip. Yes I am sure its not getting the full power but any charging it gets will be more than it gets just sitting there. Using solar panels to charge a battery on a boat are not a ideal thing due to the angle and location and so on and limited sun exposure.

I was more or less trying it out to see if it helped out before I make some mounts, Due to how my dock cover is on the boat. But it still wont be at the optimal angle and so on. Solar panels wont really do a lot as far as charging battery's but they can keep one topped off over a period of time. From the bit of research I have done a 15 watt under optimal conditions will produce 1.25 of a amp that's about what a lot of trickle chargers do. I will know a bit more tomorrow I haven't been out to the boat due to 14 days of clouds and rain.

[MH Hawker]

Well after 3 nights of fishing it is keeping the battery up in good shape, not fully charged but its adding about 10 % each day, and normal use is about 15 % a night fishing trip and yes I have a meter that measures how much amps is in a battery. So I am happy with it. At night I keep the lights on, the stereo, the live well aerator, and the black light. I used to have to take it out for a 2 hour run to put 10 % back in it so it saves a good bit of gas.

[tuned]

From my reading: even a small amount of shading has an enormous impact on efficiency