Refueler
Well-known member
Some know that my boat is in yard for various work to be done ... its a modest 25ftr - so does not have gurt big battery banks etc. A couple of 80 - 90 A/Hr batts is more than enough and being a Motor sailer - they get charged well.
After a visit to yard a while back - I inadvertently left the bank connected and with shore power not connected - batts were very low .. luckily before the 'damage' level. Got yard to plug her in and next day all good.
The silly thing is - I had already bought a small Solar panel and controller to fit to the boat - but it sat on the bench waiting ......
This last few days - yard moved her (on water) to another berth and forgot to connect up. I went to yard to sort a few things as soon she will be sailing back home ... and found her moored but not connected. Batts were still OK - I remembered to switch off gear except auto bilge pump before.
It was a wake up call - get that panel fitted !!
So sat in my workshop and prewired the kit ... its a 20W small maintainer panel with a dual output controller ...
I cut a square of ply ... screwed two pipe clips to back ... screwed panel to front ....
The cable plugs into the panel - so I can remove panel from the pushpit rail when not needed ... the clips allow me to alter the angle from flat to catch the sun...
I metered the controller terminals and as per specs ... 18.3V going into controller .... batts showing 13.2 to 13.6 and all LED's flashing indicating fully charged and maintenance mode enacted ..
Very pleased even though its just a small panel ....
Because of the compactness and ease of mounting ... I am considering getting another 2 panels to create a higher wattage possibility .... my controller is spec'd up to 20A ... (360W at 18v). Actually just ordered another panel ... I can get 2 on that rail and with separate clips can angle each differently to catch morning and afternoon sun. (25 quid a panel)
Shore is still connected and charger to batts ... according specs - controller is not in conflict at all.
Next trip to yard ... I will adjust the change over point from charging Batt 1 to Batt 2 ... I made error of setting it at 20% instead of higher at 70% ... what happens is that when controller determines level of Batt 1 is 20% - it switches to Batt 2 and when that reaches 20% .... the controller then charges both .... Silly me .... I forgot to take the manual with me and mistook the displayed numbers for something else.
For less than 40 quid .... I'm really pleased ...
600W Watts Solar Panel Kit 100A 12V Battery Charger with Controller Caravan Boat | eBay
After a visit to yard a while back - I inadvertently left the bank connected and with shore power not connected - batts were very low .. luckily before the 'damage' level. Got yard to plug her in and next day all good.
The silly thing is - I had already bought a small Solar panel and controller to fit to the boat - but it sat on the bench waiting ......
This last few days - yard moved her (on water) to another berth and forgot to connect up. I went to yard to sort a few things as soon she will be sailing back home ... and found her moored but not connected. Batts were still OK - I remembered to switch off gear except auto bilge pump before.
It was a wake up call - get that panel fitted !!
So sat in my workshop and prewired the kit ... its a 20W small maintainer panel with a dual output controller ...
I cut a square of ply ... screwed two pipe clips to back ... screwed panel to front ....
The cable plugs into the panel - so I can remove panel from the pushpit rail when not needed ... the clips allow me to alter the angle from flat to catch the sun...
I metered the controller terminals and as per specs ... 18.3V going into controller .... batts showing 13.2 to 13.6 and all LED's flashing indicating fully charged and maintenance mode enacted ..
Very pleased even though its just a small panel ....
Because of the compactness and ease of mounting ... I am considering getting another 2 panels to create a higher wattage possibility .... my controller is spec'd up to 20A ... (360W at 18v). Actually just ordered another panel ... I can get 2 on that rail and with separate clips can angle each differently to catch morning and afternoon sun. (25 quid a panel)
Shore is still connected and charger to batts ... according specs - controller is not in conflict at all.
Next trip to yard ... I will adjust the change over point from charging Batt 1 to Batt 2 ... I made error of setting it at 20% instead of higher at 70% ... what happens is that when controller determines level of Batt 1 is 20% - it switches to Batt 2 and when that reaches 20% .... the controller then charges both .... Silly me .... I forgot to take the manual with me and mistook the displayed numbers for something else.
For less than 40 quid .... I'm really pleased ...
600W Watts Solar Panel Kit 100A 12V Battery Charger with Controller Caravan Boat | eBay