Solar Battery Chargers.

[rando]

Solar Battery Chargers.

Who has one?

Which Brand is best?

Any down side??
Any other related info gladly received

Rando

[Fatenhappy]

Had a Sharp 125W solar panel that was fine, hard wired via a regulator with a normal battery charger for twin house batteries ... excellant ... self regulating, the works

Bought the panel from Victoria along with the sola regulator, hardwired that in with the 240VAC battery charger as I intimated previously and it all worked a treat ...

I'm sure I can probably even dig up the circuit I drew up for the whole thing over the next little while if you like !!

Cheers
Greg

[rando]

Great!, Greg.
Love to see it,sounds like the perfect solution.
Do the Super-cheap solar charger kits compare,or are they gimmick/trash?
Regards
Rando

[BrewGuru]

80 amp battery charger, set up 3ith 4 BP solar panels, charging the latest in Gel matt battery technology al regulated through a lcd monitored control box.
I would stick with the very effecient BP solar panels, I got my gear through springers 12 volt shop at Strathpine

[skipalong]

go bp solar panel

[Fatenhappy]

The main reason I went for the Sharp panel was that it was the biggest I could get at the time and also had the best charge rate.

They were also reasonably cheaper than the BP unit.

I had a look at Choice magazine and there was no disernable difference so that was it.

Saying that they are all very good these days and I don't think you can go far wrong if you stick to the reputable brands.

I'll see if I can find a link for the mob in Victoria. They supplied the lot, delivered to my door in only a couple of days, with national warranty cheaper than I could just buy the solar panel by itself up here ... www.renewablestore.com.au (http://www.renewablestore.com.au)

As an aside I just did a "google" and there were quite a few good sights there ..

By the way, please don't get me wrong, I am not saying to not support the local bloke. Personally, I always have a look around especially if I was looking to spend in excess of $1000 which you would be for a set up like this !!!

Cheers

[Fatenhappy]

Sorry Rando just realised you asked about the super cheap set ups ???

My answer ... dunno as I am not familar with them at all.

What I have got though is a few of the small plug in trickle chargers that we got from Silly Solleys at 1/2 price $15 per hit.

Just plug them in and leave them trickle charge ... not bad and excellant for the price....

They would never replace anything that is required for heavy duty ....

[rando]

L-R
My boat is stored at our onsite van in the Northern Rivers, so its sometimes months between uses. I just want a trickle charger so the battery is in good shape when we arrive for a bit of fishing.
But thanks for the other info,useful to know as we camp a lot too.
I should have asked the question more clearly.:-/

[Fatenhappy]

Hey Rando .... Nothing wrong with the question ... more that I didn't pay attention to detail which is not real flash in my line of work .... woops ... ;) ... and if that's the case, one of those Silly Solleys jobs would probably do the deed just to keep it topped off !!! ;D

[Dignity]

Rando, I have a small solar panel (10 watt I think), they cost around $150 and hooked it up to a regulator $40 and had the whole setup on top of the car port with the leads for both batteries at the right length. I bought some 12 volt connect/disconnect plugs ( dont know the technical term) and for each battery I made a short lead permanently connected to one end of the plug and secured just under the combing, the other plug on one of the leads from the reulator. I would back the boat into the car port, the dangling leads were a perfect guide as to how far back I needed to go, and then just connected the 2 leads to the batteries with a click. Quick disconnect when leaving. and never looked back.

I have moved to the sunshine coast and as the boat doesn't sit in the car port anymore had to come up with a different scenario. Now the panel and regulator are screwed to a board with bolt that goes through the rear rod holder, put a large washer on and tighten the nut. Still the smae connect disconnect process but the batteries are always charged. This system is probably easy for somebody to pinch but I am kinda stuck with the system for the moment.

Somthing similar for what you are thinking will do the job, just have to keep an eye on the fluid levels in the batteries.

I was surprised at how efficient the damn things are these days as the regulator tells me it is still charging when the sun is pretty low in the sky although I would imagine it wouldn't be much.

[SCOTTYGC]

[quote=rando;805452]L-R
My boat is stored at our onsite van in the Northern Rivers, so its sometimes months between uses. I just want a trickle charger so the battery is in good shape when we arrive for a bit of fishing.
But thanks for the other info,useful to know as we camp a lot too.
I should have asked the question more clearly.:-/[/quote
I would be a little cautious about leaving it hooked up for that long
It only takes a spark and some fuel and the whole lots gone
Personally I would be taking the battery with me so I could keep an eye on it and take out the possibility of something going wrong

scotty

[Tassie JR]

Hey mate i have a little 10 amp one for my dinghy, i run my sounder, radio and a couple of lights. When i get home i plug it in for 3-4 days and its charged up for next time, i have left it plugged in for a few months at a time and it hasent hurt it yet so it should be no different for you. The only downfall is watch out for corosion in the plugs keep them sprayed up with a anti corrosion spray.

cheers tassie JR

[kingtin]

I vaguely remember some Ausfisher losing their boat to fire due to a solar panel . I think it was Heath's (GC) dad, but I wouldn't be sure. I've read other instances of fires caused be el cheapos without regulators or sub-standard regulators.

OK I found the thread but the pictures are missing due to it being an oldie

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=58410&highlight=solar

kev

[SCOTTYGC]

I vaguely remember some Ausfisher losing their boat to fire due to a solar panel . I think it was Heath's (GC) dad, but I wouldn't be sure. I've read other instances of fires caused be el cheapos without regulators or sub-standard regulators.

OK I found the thread but the pictures are missing due to it being an oldie

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=58410&highlight=solar

kev


thats why i never had one

ever since i seen that post
and why i wouldnt leave one for that long without being there to check

[Fish Guts]

similar to brew guru. have the bp panel with a battery managment system. hasnt failed in its 5 years. just ensure you have a good quality battery managment system.

[rando]

Scotty
I cant take the battery with me as my brother uses the boat as well.
I think i can make a suitably ventilated spot for the battery to safely charge in though.
I hadnt thought of the fire risk.
Ive had a yacht that had two solar panels constantly charging the batteries and never had a bit of trouble with the system
The batteries were in the engine room in a closed box, and I know many yachts have something similiar. I dont dispute the fire risk, but I would think it a rare event.FWIW
rando

[Fatenhappy]

When ever I have run anything ancillary power wise be it solar or external invertors I always fuse the input ... Never a problem !!

That should safeguard 99% of occurrences and yes I know nothings bullet proof, but that's probably as good as you can get !!

Cheers
GS

[Dignity]

I vaguely remember some Ausfisher losing their boat to fire due to a solar panel . I think it was Heath's (GC) dad, but I wouldn't be sure. I've read other instances of fires caused be el cheapos without regulators or sub-standard regulators.

OK I found the thread but the pictures are missing due to it being an oldie

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=58410&highlight=solar

kev

I suspect that from this thread there wasn't a reulator between the slar panand the batteries. I have found tht the regulatoer turns off once the charge reaches optimum