Charging, a few cheap options......maybe!

BarryH

BarryH

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On my boat I have one battery. My electrical needs are few. Theres cabin lighting, nav lights, vhf and a few instruments, ie small plotter, echo sounder and log. Thats about it really. Other stuff is self contained. Such as radio to listen to now and again.

On the boat is a Rutland 503 with knackered bearings and a few exposed windings. I think its past its sell by date. Might have a go at repairing it. The bearings will cost around a tenner from Orbic Bearings.
Anyway that aside, whilst trawling the net for other things I came upon a couple of options from Maplin.

Option 1 in a solar panel designed for trickle charging. http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-12v-15w-battery-charger-508575

Option 2 is another wind gen http://www.maplin.co.uk/12v-50w-telescopic-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-396269

The wind thing seems pretty cruddy from reading the reviews, yet might be worth a punt.
Not used solar panels before, thoughts would be welcome.
 
BarryH said:
On my boat I have one battery. My electrical needs are few. Theres cabin lighting, nav lights, vhf and a few instruments, ie small plotter, echo sounder and log. Thats about it really. Other stuff is self contained. Such as radio to listen to now and again.

On the boat is a Rutland 503 with knackered bearings and a few exposed windings. I think its past its sell by date. Might have a go at repairing it. The bearings will cost around a tenner from Orbic Bearings.
Anyway that aside, whilst trawling the net for other things I came upon a couple of options from Maplin.

Option 1 in a solar panel designed for trickle charging. http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-12v-15w-battery-charger-508575

Option 2 is another wind gen http://www.maplin.co.uk/12v-50w-telescopic-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-396269

The wind thing seems pretty cruddy from reading the reviews, yet might be worth a punt.
Not used solar panels before, thoughts would be welcome.
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You dont say if you have any electrical output from your outboard.

Its likely to be pretty useless anyway unless you motor everywhere!

I have solar panel but only a 5 watt one, because that's the largest that I can fit permanently. It keeps my battery topped. I have not had to take the battery home since I first fitted the original one.


My advice would to go with a solar panel but fit the largest ( 10 watt rather than 5 watt like mine) you can fit permanently.

Mine is on the sloping cabin front, Prevailing wind means it faces SW more often than not.

BTW I looked at a Maplins one ( actually I think I could just have squeezed in a 10 watt one) and walked on by. I bought the 5 watt one that I have now from Seateach in Emsworth

IMHO the only wind generators that are attractive for a small boat are the vertical axis ones but they need best part of a gale to get going and are the most expensive per watt of anything.
 
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Ah yes the outboard. Its a Mercury 8hp sailpower model. It has a charge output, though not yet connected. I have the wiring harness and its a simple plug connection. I would probably motor on ond off the mooring. It won't get much use, but every little helps.

Looks as if the solar option has it. Must admit I didn't like the look of the Rutland thing and where it was sited looks as if it would be getting in the way all time.
 
I would consider a battery that was light enough to carry and a decent charger at home!
It works for our keelboat bilge pumps. But solar can help a lot these days.

You should try to pin down your needs, will you need cabin lights and nav lights for a fortnights cruise? In this case you need enough charging to keep up with daily use. However if use is only a couple of hours per weekend, then solar or home charging has 5 days to catch up, so long as the battery is big enough.
 
lw395 said:
I would consider a battery that was light enough to carry and a decent charger at home!
Click to expand...

The ones my missus uses in her HillBilly golf trolley would be good; 17aH, I think they are, and not very heavy. They come with a webbing strap for carrying and a neat little charger.
 
I want to keep things simple. The solar option is looking attractive at the moment regards cost/output. As original post power needs are minimal. I expect the 2 things that will be on the most are VHF and the plotter. The VHF won't draw an awful lot in RX mode and will draw a bit more in TX. I listen more than I gabber.
The plotter will go on on occasion. Its not needed all the time. Mk1 eyeball is ok for what I do.
Don't know how much the echo sounder draws. It will get used most of the time I would have thought. Something to look into.
Most of my trips will be day sailing. I'm not into feeling my way about in the dark. There'll be very few week long trips. I would have thought a solar panel would have put back in over a week what I take out of it in a day or so.
Then theres always the fallback on the engine charging system. Don't know how effecient that is or what the output is. Not a very cost effective or green way of topping up the battery though
 
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I've just bought a solar panel to run and charge everything. When I was doing the calcs, I decided it was cheaper to upgrade the cabin lights to LED as that was cheaper (well about the same..but in the long run) than getting a bigger panel.

Ended up going for a 20W panel which will mean I won't need to run the engine alternator at all :)
 
Question not asked concerns your usage. If you only use the boat say one day a week then a small solar panel should top up a good battery ok. Especially if you cut down usage by use of LEDs as suggested. The solar panel could be stored while sailing and put in a safe advantageous place when you leave the boat.
Just do a back of envelope calculation of your needs and then look for a panel to suit but remember the panel output claims are always high.
 
I have been using the same Maplin panel you are looking at for the last three seasons, it keeps my 80Ah battery charged No problem, I have similar power usage as you except I have an Electric start outboard and I use Laptop or TV in the evening my outboard also charges the battery, I try not to use the engine very much. The only thing to be aware of is it is made of glass that will brake if you hit, drop or bend it.
 
parsifal said:
The ones my missus uses in her HillBilly golf trolley would be good; 17aH, I think they are, and not very heavy. They come with a webbing strap for carrying and a neat little charger.
Click to expand...

I use an old wet Nicad battery of about 7 demonstrated AH capacity.(maybe less) It is charged by a small solar panel now degraded giving 25ma of charge. It certainly suits my sailing requirements for occasional night races. Last night it ran the VHF and nav lights for 4 hrs no problem. The VHF draws 300 ma on receive. I keep the panel on bungees ontop of the boom and sail cover. I remove it before sailing.

I have bought 10 of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/20-x-D-Ni-M...824564066?pt=US_Batteries&hash=item416272c962
I have fitted them into battery holders and then into an old lunch box. Very light and being NiMh you can completely discharge them. ie 11AH equals 22AH lead acid. Certainly easy enough to carry home for recharge. I currently use them for security lights at home. On a 12v timer and 10w solar panel they give about 2.5 AH of lighting every night. I will ultimately use them on the boat. I am really pleased with the performance of these batteries.
Certainly LED nav lights and cabin lights are essential for the boat. good luck olewill
 
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