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Solar Charger for house battery

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John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/22/2009 : 20:57:54

Been thinking of this lately. Here is a link to a product I found that looks promising....

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200328565_200328565

Any thoughts?

'84, C-25, SR/FK, #4663, "ILLUSIONS", Chazy, NY (Lake Champlain)
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/illusions

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3467 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2009 : 21:42:43

The price is excellent but.....
There is not much detail in the specs. Such as the overall dimensions of the panel. No doubt the price is attractive and...that may make it the right choice for you.
Not all solar panels come in similar overall dimensions and based on the arrangement and quality of the cell structure, the overall dimensions can be smaller for same or more watts. This can also factor into the decision process based on where you plan to mount your panel and if that location will turn out to be suitable and not cumbersome. Just for comparison sake, I bought a 20 watt Kyocera solar panel that is 20" x 14". Rcmd find out what the Norther Tool panel dimensions are and if that is okay for you.

Details of my panel install are on my website but here are a couple of photos:

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 10:38:09

I use a trickle charger that plugs into the boat's 110 AC outlet.

Edited by - on

John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 12:30:02

I have a Guest charger that was orig with the boat. Problem is that I may be away from the boat for weeks at a time and I do not like to have the shore power connected during that long a duration. This would solve my problems.

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 12:52:28

John,

That looks very similar to what I have right now. Finding a permanent home for the solar panel is a challenge. Ours is the same shape.

Look around a little more and you may be able to find a solar charge controller that gives beeter information on the battery. Ours shows charging current (usually around 0.3 Amps, up to 0.5 on a really sunny day) and Charge (in Volts).

I only put this on the boat late last season and so far have no real opinion on it. The solar panel is something that I worry about going missing since it sits outside without a permanent mount and anyone with a pair of wire cutters could take off with it.

For us a panel about that size is good for maintenance, but doesn't seem to be enough to get "past the hump" of improving charge. The guy in the slip next to me last year had 2 15W panels amd said they were adequate for his boat.

The ones I have measure:
38" x 13" x 1" / 97cm x 33cm x 2.5cm

Edited by - on

John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 13:33:41

the panel measures 36" x 12" x 1".

Inquiring about the charging info....

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3467 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 15:34:36

Another thing to consider besides the length and adequate locations to keep it is the flexibility of mounting it. Some of the panels (like the one in my photo above) have an aluminum channel along two sides (length side). The channel is made to fit a certain sized bolt head. In that way, brackets can be mounted at an infinite number of locations along the channel (see my second photo above). If you are going to just lay the panel on the deck or seat, then no big deal. But if you plan on mounting it, then best to get the details as to what provisions on the panel for mounting and then how rigid/strong is that mounting surface (ie, aluminum, SS, plastic, etc).

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5378 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 21:06:13

The 15 Watt solar panel that John P identified looks a lot like the pair I bought for Passage. Being about 3' x 1' or 3 square feet, since they are made from amorphous silicon, they cost about $10 per watt and yield about 5 W per square foot.

Being long and narrow and made mostly of plastic, they are difficult to mount securely unless you can buy or make a strong aluminum channel frame similar to what Larry described. This takes a certain amount of machining skill if you want to build one. I just lay my panels on the cockpit seats propped up by cushions whenever I'm not around.

Poly-crystalline silicon yields much more power per square foot, so they are more powerful given the same size as amorphous. As you may see some 7 sq ft units that can source 80 W, which is more than double that of amorphous Si. For example, a 15 sq ft unit puts out about 210 W, or 14W per sq ft. But, since they cost between $5-$8 per Watt, a typical 80 watter will cost you over $600, while a 210 watt unit costs about $1000 (~$5 per watt). They are more expensive in an absolute sense, but have lower price per watt than amorphous.

As many have said, to figure out what is right for you, you have to create a power budget for your boat. You look at your power consumption versus your generating capacity, as well as the capacity of your battery. For example, if you have only one group 24 battery with 80 AH, you can probably live with a 30-50W cell. If you have a larger battery, or two deep cycle batteries, then you can take advantage of a larger solar array and thus you can have a larger power budget.

You can find some nice deals on http://www.affordable-solar.com/ especially the discontinued and blemished units.

Edited by - on

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2009 : 21:26:07

We have the 7.55 watt unit and the mount shown...http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/299095/377%20710/0/solar%20chargers/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=solar%20chargers&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=solar%20chargers&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum=9&classNum=592
...got both on sale for about $125, 2 years ago. It keeps the battery in good shape and we run the VHF and GPS about 25 hrs per week (on a good week).

Edited by - jerlim on 03/23/2009 21:26:45

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 03/24/2009 : 07:55:15

I installed a 43 watt Kyocera solar panel last spring. It is only 26" x 20". I fabricated some simple brackets out of aluminum and mounted it on the stern rail as shown here:

Here is a link to my site where I have some more details:
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/justinc25/?xjMsgID=55373

I'm very happy with it and it keeps my batteries topped off. Let me know if you have any questions.

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John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2009 : 10:18:56

My solar charger, battery minder, desulphator arrived on Monday. Now I am looking forward to the installation! Woo Hoo, just another project to add to the list!

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John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2009 : 10:20:49

Justin, I forget if I already asked you, but where did you get the plastic rail mounts for your charger? I am looking at doing something very similar!

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John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2009 : 14:47:02

Never mind, I found them at helmproducts.com

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2009 : 21:32:08

I bought mine from defender.com, but it appears helmproducts.com has the same ones. So which panel did you decide to go with?

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John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 07:21:32

I went with the one at the top of the page. The price was right. Only drawback may be the size of the panel (3'x1'), but I think that I may be able to mount it between the outboard and the ladder off the rail.

Edited by - on

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.