Solar Panel Chargers

[CombatMedic]

Has anyone here used one of those solar panel chargers that you connect to the battery. I think they are like a trickle charger so that you battery does not drain down during the day.

How are they. Do they work OK. Anything that I should be aware of.

I have been thinking about getting one for when I go out on the water.

[OReely]

Since they come in a wide variety of sizes it's hard to say what will or won't work for you. The small ones can indeed trickle charge your battery but if you are hoping to replace any significant amount of power you really should check into the output.

The small plug-in types only produce a few watts of power when correctly oriented towards the sun. Maybe enough to replace the power used by a small chart plotter or a few LED lights but probably not enough to run a stereo. From your post it sounds like you want to replace some amount of power greater than that.

Most of the panels that I've looked into have a maximum output of a little more than 0.5 amps at about 14vdc/sq ft and that's only when oriented towards the sun. You'd need a pretty good sized solar panel to put out any significant amount of power. If your plan is to replace the power drained from something like a livewell pump and/or electronics, I'd have to say a solar panel probably isn't for you.

Edited July 6, 2010 by OReely

[pmagrady]

I used to store one of my boats at a yard that had no electric. I used a panel to keep my batteries charged while the boat was stored. If you want a panel to have the ability to charge your batteries, you will need a panel that produces anywhere from 20 to 30 watts. You will also have to buy a controller for the panel to prevent over charging. West Marine has a 15watt panel with a 7 amp controller that will keep your batteries topped off, but it's not strong enough to bring a discharged battery back to life. We'd need to know the size of your battery bank (amp hours?) to know what you might need. Also, do you plan on running offshore with a panel attached to your boat? The glass enclosed panels are a bit fragile, but they do make flexible panels. Finally how much do you want to spend. You can get away with less than $250 for a system that will charge batteries wile the boat is stored. If your intention is to run your accessories off the solar panels while you are off shore, then we are talking about some bigger dollars. You will need to devote lots of space to do that. Do you have a hard top?