[Rhodes22-list] NRe: ***POSSIBLE SPAM*** Re: Solar battery chargers

[Chris Geankoplis]

For several years when I was cruising in Mexico and The San Juan Islands
and up in Desolation Sound in Canada I used a 50W panel which kept up with
all our needs.  Once I started using the CPAP breathing machine overnight
every night it wouldn't keep up if we had a couple of cloudy days or never
used the motor for a couple of days.  With that in mind I switched to a
100W panel and have never had a low batter(s) for the 4 months we were in
Mexico.  Obviously both of these panels required a proper regulator.  You
can go on line and research the right one for your particular battery and
needs.  I think very few people will have the need for the amount of
electricity that we use when living on Enosis.  When not cruising I mounted
a 15W which kept the batteries topped off when we kept it up in the Cascade
lakes.  We often overnighted and even if the batters were down in the 12.3
range, they were recovered by the time we use it again.

Chris Geankoplis
Enosis
On the Chesapeake (for a couple of months)

On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 3:28 PM, <cjlowE at sssnet.com> wrote:

> A 1.5 watt panel most likely won't cook a battery very quickly. I live in
> Ohio,have a 10 watt panel, and my battery's last about six years.
>  Some things to consider before purchasing:
> What are you wanting to power (load) ? If you use GPS a lot,anchor out (
> anchor light), run a DVD player or other high amperage loads,a 1.5 watt
> panel won't keep up.
> Another thing to consider is do you have any parasitic loads, like a clock
> on a radio,memory for channels on the radio or powering an anchor light on
> a mooring?
> Are your lights LEDs? How much do you yes them? LEDs use about 1/10 of the
> watts of regular lights.
>
> If I were you,I would buy the 1.5 watt panel from harbor freight and while
> there,buy their cheep multi- meter (< 5 $). Then you can check the state
> of charge of your battery. If your battery has 12.8 volts, leave the solar
> panel unplugged. When it gets down to 12.5 V ,plug it back in until it
> gets back up to 12.8 V. If it never gets back up to full charge, you are
> using more watts than your solar panel can replace and you need a bigger
> panel.
> That 12.8 volts is not set in stone, that is what a new battery should
> read. An older battery may read12.3 or12.4 .
> You should not let a battery get much below 12 volts before charging, it's
> real hard on them.
>  If you find that your panel is consistently overcharging the battery, you
> can put a piece of window screen over the panel to partially block some
> of the sun or mount the panel where some of the rig ( mast or boom) cast
> a shadow over the panel during the arc of the sun.
> I mounted my panel with 3 little squares of Velcro, if the wind is up I
> just bring it in the cabin.
> Just a few things to think about,
>
> Jerry Lowe
> S/V Country Rhodes '86
>
>
>
>
> .  Thanks, Rick.  It sounds like I need to educate myself a bit more
> > about direct-current electricity.   Do most folks who have solar chargers
> > install a voltage regulator, and if so, does anyone have any
> > recommendations on specific ones?
> >
> > Frank
> >
> >
> >> On Aug 21, 2016, at 1:43 PM, Rick <sloopblueheron at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Frank,
> >>
> >> Without a voltage regulator between your charger and battery, a deep
> >> cycle
> >> battery won't last very long.
> >>
> >> Rick
> >>
> >> On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 8:37 AM, Frank Goldsmith
> >> <goldsmith.cf at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Rhodies,
> >>>
> >>> My first post — often a lurker, never a poster.
> >>>
> >>> I’m thinking of getting a solar charger to use for keeping my
> >>> deep-cycle
> >>> battery topped off.  Does anyone have any advance on a brand, features,
> >>> source, etc.?  And how does one run the leads down to where the battery
> >>> sits, under the v-berth cushions?  It would seem that the wires could
> >>> get
> >>> crimped or could allow moisture to travel along them.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks!
> >>>
> >>> Frank Goldsmith
> >>> Asheville, NC
> >>> 1985 Rhodes 22 (refurbished around 2001)
> >>> (Kept on Lake Keowee, SC)
> >>>
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