13 w folding solar panel - is this a waste of £89

Dylan

You claim to be thrifty but can't have tried that fancy new engine / alternator yet. Now you are twitching your wallet hinges over which solar panel to buy right now.

I had a few nervous days when my new outboard / battery was first installed in case I flattened the battery. So I took one of those jump start things along, (never used it). But you have sails....
 
Moxon said:
Dylan

You claim to be thrifty but can't have tried that fancy new engine / alternator yet. Now you are twitching your wallet hinges over which solar panel to buy right now.

I had a few nervous days when my new outboard / battery was first installed in case I flattened the battery. So I took one of those jump start things along, (never used it). But you have sails....
Click to expand...

The "jump start things" have a very small amp hour capacity so would not contribute much towards the onboard power requirements.

They are designed for emergency engine starting but I do not think one would be able to start Dylan's 5 (6?) hp Tohatsu
 
I had a 15w briefcase type solar panel like the OP's enquiry. It lasted me for 9 or 10 years, charging a 110ah battery. I had no other means of charging out on a swing mooring or out on the hard during winter. It was under the clear canopy of the cockpit so it was dry(ish). I got it off eBay for £30. Eventually deteriorated with water ingress, but still works, now about 15 years old and supplanted.

Maybe I was lucky, but it was good.

Mike
 
engine starting

Moxon said:
Dylan

You claim to be thrifty but can't have tried that fancy new engine / alternator yet. Now you are twitching your wallet hinges over which solar panel to buy right now.

I had a few nervous days when my new outboard / battery was first installed in case I flattened the battery. So I took one of those jump start things along, (never used it). But you have sails....
Click to expand...

I don't need the battery at all for engine starting. The pull handle does that.

So in theory I could drain it as flat as a pancake without compromising engine starting at all. I sail as much as I can on filming days - generally I can't film with the engine going because of the acoustic and the vibration.

I film more when I sail - and that is when I need to keep the camera batteries cycling around the system. It is also when I use the tillerpilot most - I more or less steer the boat with the tiller pilot. So maximum battery drain is not at night but while I am sailing.

It would be a shame to have to run the engine for an hour or more a day just to keep the battery charged

hence my desire to seek a way of ensuring that when I arrive at the boat the domestic battery is fully charged.

The Led lights I have installed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNbjT3iAzJE

will help

I shall make good use of my little avometer when it comes to monitoring batteries

As for being thrifty. I have been a freelance for a long time - and when you have work then is the time to invest in new gear - when you run out of work then you have to be thrifty and get by with what you have.

At the moment I have work - so now is the time to invest in gear that should get me up the North sea and down the other side. I really hope the engine lasts me. It is more than I have ever paid for a car.

Dylan
 
VicS said:
The "jump start things" have a very small amp hour capacity so would not contribute much towards the onboard power requirements.

They are designed for emergency engine starting but I do not think one would be able to start Dylan's 5 (6?) hp Tohatsu
Click to expand...



Hi Vic

My point was that, in my case, I carried one aboard purely to start the O/B if I managed to drain the main battery so that it would not start the engine. It was mostly for peace of mind.

Of course a 'jump start thing' would be able to start Dylan's Tohatsu.
 
Moxon said:
Hi Vic

My point was that, in my case, I carried one aboard purely to start the O/B if I managed to drain the main battery so that it would not start the engine. It was mostly for peace of mind.

Of course a 'jump start thing' would be able to start Dylan's Tohatsu.
Click to expand...

I dont think it has an electric starter. Just a rope start. 8hp is the smallest I think for which electric starting is even an option
 
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Sorry Vic - I misunderstood the 'would be able to' bit as a comment about the jump start things cold cranking power
- or whatever thay call it. Cheers.
 
I got one of these 20amp rigid panels from amazon for £65.00 with a PWM 10amp charge controller for my Jag 24

solar.jpg


and fitted it to the pushpit using one of those add on rail fittings from Sea Screw

035-1.jpg


It keeps me powered up for 2/3 days while I have been working onboard inc laptops and phones and radio charging (75amp battery which I will upgrade to 110amp soon).

With the 6amp output of my Honda 10hp outboard I hope I will be covered.

Ignore the plywood base, I will rig up a proper anodised aluminium bracket now I know I get good performance out of it.


___________________
 
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Dylan you need Leisure not car batteries, the latter are designed for short bursts of high amp cranking, leisure batteries are inexpensive. Mixing the two doesn't sound very clever to me but I expect that is what came with the boat?

I have an 18w Solarex thin rigid solar panel with which I sailed for many years onto one 75ah leisure battery, with small tillerpilot, 4amp outboard charging etc and it was fine and useful and tucked away unobtrusively being only 3mm thick...and I think that you are being optimistic and penny rich/pound poor by buying a non marine undersized panel though I appreciate the security issues ....
Perhaps two small, quality panels, one per battery would deliver. My 18w panel cost iirc £160 in 1995 so possibly cost effective over several boats and camping trips .
Apologies if this comes over a bit rude like.
Be interesting to see what the forum smart money recommends...
 
Dylan
IMHO you can forget the forgen 500, we had one and the cheap solar pannel was much better value for money and did not need servicing every 4 years ( the bearing's went, and the magnets fell off on mine), and after removing the forgen I never noticed any appreciable loss of battery power. The forgen came with the boat from an era before cheap pannels. I did at one point have a £20 pannel that was glass fronted, guess what it broke! So get a tough enough one and leave it on the cockpit sole so that when your not there it is less visible to the light fingered!
 
yup

seumask said:
Dylan
IMHO you can forget the forgen 500, we had one and the cheap solar pannel was much better value for money and did not need servicing every 4 years ( the bearing's went, and the magnets fell off on mine), and after removing the forgen I never noticed any appreciable loss of battery power. The forgen came with the boat from an era before cheap pannels. I did at one point have a £20 pannel that was glass fronted, guess what it broke! So get a tough enough one and leave it on the cockpit sole so that when your not there it is less visible to the light fingered!
Click to expand...

this is my plan

I don't want one of those things on the pulpit rail - too ugly and it will get in the way

leaving a panel in the cockpit when I am not aboard sounds like a good idea

D
 
dylanwinter said:
this is my plan

I don't want one of those things on the pulpit rail - too ugly and it will get in the way

leaving a panel in the cockpit when I am not aboard sounds like a good idea

D
Click to expand...
Dylan, you would be well advised to buy a semi flex panel as big as you can fit and have it permanently mounted. That way it is catching power whenever its available and you don't have to bother hanging it up when you need it. Also more secure against theft. Forget about any useful output from your outboard it produces d squat and only when its running .
 
Dylan,

I have had 2 solar panels (Towsure & Maplin), first died water got inside it (it was left on deck). The second I used to leave near a cabin window, they managed to maintain the battery.

IMHO
Wind Gen I agree to noisy & Pricey
Outboard Charging IMHO of little value unless engine running.
Solar for lighting no problems (particularly LED) any more you might struggle?

My suggestion is go sailing and find out what you need before you buy anything.

If you are going to buy before my suggestions:
Make sure you have battery charger and various power cables with you. So you can charge everything up on-board at once when you get (or need to make) the opportunity.

A power pack for the inverter and inflating trailer tyres it is also easy to carry to a pub for a charge with your pint.
 
dylanwinter said:
this is my plan

I don't want one of those things on the pulpit rail - too ugly and it will get in the way

leaving a panel in the cockpit when I am not aboard sounds like a good idea

D
Click to expand...
If you leave a solar panel just sitting in the cockpit be sure the connection to the battery is fused because the person who nicks it will just cut through the cable.
If he shorts it out in so doing and there is no fuse the cable will quickly overheat and could set fire to the boat.
 
dylan,
I made a cover for my rear lockers and sewed corner pockets for the panel to fit in. The wires go through a waterproof connector so the whole lot can be removed when sailing.
SANY0044.jpg


That pic showed a thin panel (10w) but I now have a 40w thick panel (like this) that has lasted a couple of seasons without getting broken.I also have a solar regulator for this panel. Could you not rig something similar to hang across your engine well while you're away from the boat?
 
solar panel

I just received a catalogue from Whitworth yesterday. This solar panel is very cheap. If you feel like trying mail order from Oz. It will be 33 squid less 10% tax plus package post and whatever when it hits UK.
It is probably not top quality although I don't know. A said moisture into the panels has been my biggest problem over the years.
Certainly the more wattage the better provided you have room for it. I attached bungees to mine and I leave it lashed across the boom sail cover. I would not fit a regulator at 20watts in UK and a big battery. olewill
https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_...rch123=Sunyo+20w+solar+pane&intAbsolutePage=1
 
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