Fitting a solar panel charger

[pondfish]

Hi all I have just put a brand new pair of 180ah batterys on my Antares 760,
I'm now thinking about buying a solar panel to trickle charge but not boil my batterys,
I want one I can keep inside the boat so I don't have to drill a hole the feed the wire inside,
I want to pack it away when under way and just plug in while the boat is not in use.
Any advise please about size needed I know nothing about solar panels.

 

[AllanG]

I have been using a Solbian All-in-One panel for the past year, in exactly the same way as you want to, with excellent results.

I fix mine inside a window onboard my Finnmaster 61CA, using six suction pads, connected directly to my domestic battery via a Bulgin plug, and just remove it from the window when underway.

It may not be the cheapest on the market, but the quality is very good, and it includes a built-in MPPT charge controller.

http://barden-uk.com/product/solbian-sp-23-allinone/

 

[Fantasie 19]

Hi all I have just put a brand new pair of 180ah batterys on my Antares 760,
I'm now thinking about buying a solar panel to trickle charge but not boil my batterys,
I want one I can keep inside the boat so I don't have to drill a hole the feed the wire inside,
I want to pack it away when under way and just plug in while the boat is not in use.
Any advise please about size needed I know nothing about solar panels.

Long time ago I was told to work on the rule of "10 percents" when figuring out whether a solar panel needed to be fed via a charge controller... so as long as your solar panel is 10% or less in Watts, what your batteries are in Ah's you should be OK... I've got a 5w panel trickle charging a 75Ah battery..

 

[sarabande]

You would get away with a 30W panel, especially if you leave it inside the cabin facing outwards, but a solar controller, especially a small Victron, will manage the charge ( and tell you lots about the battery health and charge regime) and be safer if you had to leave the boat for a couple of weeks in midsummer.

https://www.victronenergy.com/solar-charge-controllers

Good kit.

Satisfied customer, no affiliation.

 

[adey]

If your two batteries are separate (domestic & engine) then I would think you'd need either two small panels or a split charger.
I'd fit something like this to the batteries, with a plug and socket in the solar panel wire to connect the panel as needed.
https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en...roller--regulator-for-12V--24V-batteries.html
Probably cheaper on e-bay.
Then just go for the biggest panel you can easily store (30-50watt?).
That big coach roof would be ideal for a semi-flexible panel though...
https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en...th-self-adhesive-backing-made-in-Austria.html

 

[wipe_out]

On our old boat I had a 20w panel and one of the cheap dual battery solar charge controllers off ebay.. Think the whole lot with connectors, wiring and delivery was less than 50 quid.. Just left it under the windscreen by the helm and it kept the batteries full.. Even charged them up if they were a little flat..