Solar battery charger question

[Pappy24]

Howdy, I need info for My pontoon cruiser. I want to purchase a solar battery charger to keep a 12 volt deep cycle battery charged during periods of inactivity. I use this battery for VHF radio, and depth sounder mainly. Can anyone tell Me what size solar panel I need and a brand you might suggest? Thanks so much and have a safe 2014...Pappy24

 

[stephen25]

Re: Solar battery charger question

I purchased a 5 watt just to maintain my battery, butto charge it fast you'll need a much higher wattage 60-70 watt and be sure its a 12v panel due to a large number of panels being a 22v output.

 

[KD4UPL]

Re: Solar battery charger question

The bigger the better. Anything up to about 15 watts won't need a charge controller. Bigger than that and you will but they're cheap. If it were me, I'd get something like a 50 or 80 watt, mount it on the roof (if you have one) and hook it up permanently with a charge controller. Then, even when you're on the hook you can be charging your battery while it runs you VHF, radio, whatever.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Solar battery charger question

I use a 15 watt and it keeps it topped off fine.