Silvertip
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2003
- Messages
- 28,771
Re: Battery Voltage Question
Do you have a radio in this boat? If so, the station memory and clock will draw enough power alone to render the 1 watt panel useless. The self discharge issue with batteries may also play into this. Just because a panel provides 12 volts does not mean a thing unless its "capacity" is high enough to overcome whatever is discharging the battery. And since the panel does not work at night, that complicates matters as well. I have a 5 watt panel in the window of my shed to keep my lawn tractor battery topped off. It is barely capable of doing that but that is it's only task and the battery is very small compared to a boat battery. Even at 5 watts, that is only 0.39 amps (1/3 of an amp). A good maintenance charger is generally rated at 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 amps. A 10 - 15 watt panel would compare to the low end of that range and obviously the physical size increases dramatically as does the price. You have the option of course of proving me (us) wrong, but solar is generally not the magic solution to battery issues but may be the "only" option in some cases. When it comes to solar, "bigger is better"
Do you have a radio in this boat? If so, the station memory and clock will draw enough power alone to render the 1 watt panel useless. The self discharge issue with batteries may also play into this. Just because a panel provides 12 volts does not mean a thing unless its "capacity" is high enough to overcome whatever is discharging the battery. And since the panel does not work at night, that complicates matters as well. I have a 5 watt panel in the window of my shed to keep my lawn tractor battery topped off. It is barely capable of doing that but that is it's only task and the battery is very small compared to a boat battery. Even at 5 watts, that is only 0.39 amps (1/3 of an amp). A good maintenance charger is generally rated at 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 amps. A 10 - 15 watt panel would compare to the low end of that range and obviously the physical size increases dramatically as does the price. You have the option of course of proving me (us) wrong, but solar is generally not the magic solution to battery issues but may be the "only" option in some cases. When it comes to solar, "bigger is better"
