Solar Panel

[spiderman1800]

Hello all,<br /><br />I was considering putting a 12 v solar panel on my small runabout to run the radio, cb, etc and charge the battery. Has anyone else tried this and is it a good or bad idea? I can get one with cig lighter adapter/charger for around $25. <br /><br />Thanks.

 

[what66]

Re: Solar Panel

well does your engine have a generator?<br />if yes the only thing I see you would be using if for is to mantain the batery.<br />those small panls don't put out much.<br />but hay it looks cool and you can impress the women .<br />again you can do what ever you want to do but to me and this is just me I wouldn't get it.<br />good luck.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Solar Panel

I looked into it for myself and found it was a waste of time & money. A panel that small will hardly keep up with the battery's self-discharge, never mind radio, lights and starting.

 

[cuzner]

Re: Solar Panel

Small ones don't put out much power, 3 to 5 watts.Good to maitain a charge, but it won't do much charging. I have one that I use when can't get electric hook up. If you do buy one MAKE sure it has a diode in it to prevent panel from drainig your battery if you don't unplug after dark.Personaly I think its a good investment, run your electronics while your on the hook, and don't have worry about non start, or maintain your battery if you keep it in a slip.<br /><br /> Jim

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Solar Panel

A $25 solar panel is "barely" a battery maintainer at best. I have one mounted in the window of my shed to keep my yard tractor battery topped off. Works great but like I said, it is a "maintainer" only. It would take a month to recharge a discharged battery with the small output this unit has. Larger panels are available but they tend to get pricey.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Solar Panel

Even the big $100 dollar panels will not supply enough power to run a CB or VHF even at 12 noon. It takes lots of panels.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Solar Panel

Decent solar power is an expensive business, but a 5 watt trickle panel is better than nothing. If you decide to get it, check to see if your cig lighter socket is battery hot or ignition hot, it won't charge if the cig socket is dead.<br /><br />I run 2 x 90 watt mono panels. They measure roughly 3ft x 3ft each. Midday/middle of summer I'm lucky to get 15 amps/hr. Average is about 8. That's about 80 amps per partly overcast day.<br /><br />Including the controller - about $2000.00 all up.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[90skichallenger]

Re: Solar Panel

I think I bought basically the same thing and it doesnt work well at all. Not even to charge the battery. Plus sinc it doesnt have any kind of regulator it would try to keep adding voltage to a fully charged battery and thats not good for the battery. You would be better off spending your mony on a plug-in trickle charger with a regulator.(24.99 at autozone).<br />Later