On Board Solar Chargers?

[KJ Louise]

Has anyone used them? Are they worth the money? If so, what brand and voltage should I purchase.

I have a 27' boat/outboard with triple batteries, I have tons of electronics and my kicker doesn't charge my batteries while under way.

Thanks for the advise.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[hondahondacgcg]

BUMP,

same question,

I see crappy tire sells panels for 29.99, 2.5 W 12V

will this keep deep cycle full while running fishfinder, stereo, riggers, etc.  ?

[Big Dave]

No.  they are for trickle charging while the boat is in storage, and everything is off.  Its only putting out 2.5 watts.  The fishfinder ,stereo, and esp. the riggers all draw more than that.

[KJ Louise]

So, if I purchased a lager unit the puts out 6 a and only attached it to 1 battery bank then the other after I switched over it would recharge

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Big Dave]

Maybe after awhile, you might better get what you need to have the kicker charge the batt. while your trolling.   The solar chargers can't keep up with much of a load.   To get one that would , it would be huge!!   Plus you have to get the sun to shine 

Edited April 1, 2014 by Big Dave

[jimski2]

Trickle chargers overcharge your battery causing bubbling and a loss of fluid. This exposes the plates and causes more damage. A regulator is needed to control the maximum voltage and short minimum pulses to keep the battery at top condition. No distilled water will need to be added. Make sure your charger has three stages to top off and maintain your battery. My boat battery has been on charge for four years now year round and has never needed distilled water and is always ready to go twelve months a year.

[EarlyRiser]

Hi,

 

I only have two batteries on board, but with the fishfinder/gps combo and the stereo and some lights on board, I wanted the ability to run these when anchored up without worrying about the batteries draining, so I bought a solar panel and a smart charger to split the charge between the batteries as needed. It works great -- kept my old batteries topped off all year long last year. They come in different sizes, but here is what I bought:

 

http://www.amazon.com/CBC-GSP-6-Flexible-Solar-Panel/dp/B006GFPF30/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396458572&sr=8-1&keywords=ganz+solar

 

http://www.amazon.com/CBC-GCC-D10A-Dual-Charge-Controller/dp/B007I6VSJ6/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1396458805&sr=8-10&keywords=ganz+solar