CONTINUOUSWAVE

Hi all, I have a 17-foot Boston Whaler boat with two batteries in the console. I will soon be moving my boat from my garage to an outside storage facility. I want to use solar power to charge and maintain my batteries at the site.

Does anyone use solar to charge two batteries at the same time?

How would you set this up?

What size panel?

Can you split the power from one panel to two batteries?

What type of controller?

Any help is appreciated, Thanks.

Check here: http://www.wholesalesolar.com/rv-marine

You can split the output of one panel between two batteries. Use two controllers or a dual controller. I see them on Amazon for $35 with free shipping.--Chuck

If you have a two-battery maintainer-charger you should be able to use a single solar panel with one output to maintain the charge on both batteries. Depending upon the panel selected you may also need a controller to regulate the panel output.

http://www.panbo.com often has discussions and news about solar power on boats. Panbo's emphasis seems to be on larger sailing yachts but much of the information is useful to small boat owners. Use the search engine.

On a 17-foot boat I doubt you can get a photo-voltaic panel with enough power output to really charge two batteries with much more than just a float charge or trickle current. What is the rated voltage and current output of the photo-voltaic panel you are going to use?

ASIDE: DAVID--thanks for that great link. You point the Sebastian right to applicable information. That vendor site was using MORNINGSTAR products. My impression is they're some of the best photo-voltaic charge regulators available. They make good stuff.

Thanks for the replies.

Jim--I am still in the process of researching panels, I don't have any yet. I welcome this group's suggestions.

Sebastian wrote:Hi all, I have a 17-foot Boston Whaler boat with two batteries in the console. I will soon be moving my boat from my garage to an outside storage facility. I want to use solar power to charge and maintain my batteries at the site.

Does anyone use solar to charge two batteries at the same time?

How would you set this up?

What size panel?

Can you split the power from one panel to two batteries?

What type of controller?

Any help is appreciated, Thanks.

Yes the batter weighed 4.4 pounds last time I weighed it, the solar panel weighs 3.2 pounds so looking at about 9 pounds for the Battery, 60w Solar Panel and 150w Inverter, then the bag, AC charger, Tent Stakes, 15ft Solar Panel - to - Battery Cord, and Panel to Cigarette Lighter Socket is where the extra 4 pounds come from.

As a portable solar power company we are also waiting on the prices to come down and for technology to improve efficiency but right now we just work with the best of whats available to us now. Solar power is expensive still but in some situations its the only logical choice.

You could always just buy 4 batteries which would be 17 pounds or so and give you almost 90 amp hours of run time, but you will never be able to recharge them if you are away from grid power or in a power outage or in a disaster/survival situation.

Battery Tender makes a small controller I use, http://www.batterytender.com they have several chargers but I use the solar controller with a solar panel I already own.