I know that, Bill. I figured my batteries would last longer if I kept some form of charge going in; I wanted the panels to be a reasonable contributor of amps for the hassle involved, and they just didn't work that way. I was going to use one of the panels as a battery maintainer in the summer when I'm not plugged in to shore power, and to do that last 10% of charge, but I found that the size and weight and relative fragility of the panel made it too cumbersome to store and drag around every time I dock. They were not a good weight/power ratio.
On 27 September 2013 08:59, Bill Bina <billb...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > I have a single 20 watt (nominal) panel laying on top of my sliding > hatch. What it does, and does very well, is top up the charge of my > batteries during time when I am not on the boat to 100%, and hold them > there. Most people are never aware, but their batteries seldom get charged > that last 5-10% of capacity. Charging is far more complex than just > stuffing amps into the battery as fast as you can. Running the engine for > 20 minutes with batteries that are at 90% charge already, won't do much at > all. That last 5-10% requires a long slow charge to achieve. > > Bill Bina > > > On 9/27/2013 11:06 AM, Jim Watts wrote: > > I bought two of the 20W amorphous panels on sale at Canadian Tire, and > wired them to a Coleman controller belowdecks. They retail for $120, I got > them on sale for $60 each. I figured they would be a good addition for > charging while at anchor. > > > http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/SolarPortablePower/SolarEnergy/PRD~0112023P/Coleman+20W+Amorphous+Solar+Panel.jsp?locale=en<http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/SolarPortablePower/SolarEnergy/PRD%7E0112023P/Coleman+20W+Amorphous+Solar+Panel.jsp?locale=en> > > The most output I saw for the* pair* was 1.8 A at high noon on a > cloudless day. They are heavy and not worth the hassle of dragging them > around at less than 1 Amp per panel. I can generate that much power with 15 > minutes of engine run time and make hot water at the same time. Anyone who > wants them can have them for $40 each. > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > -- Jim Watts Paradigm Shift C&C 35 Mk III Victoria, BC
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