which solar charger to buy?

[062720]

I would like to maintain my marine deep cycle 31 group battery in between camping trips. I just upgraded to this group from the 24 so its a much bigger 12v battery. I am looking into getting a solar charger since I park the TM remotly and don't have access to an outlet. also this battery is much heavier so taking it in and out is not feasible.

so whisch charger is recommended to charge this battery?

a. http://www.batterymart.com/p-021-116...lar-panel.html

b. http://www.batterymart.com/p-021-116...lar-panel.html

c. http://www.batterymart.com/p-021-116...lar-panel.html

a few givens... I am assuming that in most cases when I return from camping trips my battery is at full charge or close to it. This is because we mostly camp hook up and the battery gets charged on the way home by the car battery (if im not mistaken). During camping months the TM will be unused aywhere from 2 - 6 weeks without being used... so again what I'm looking for is a charger that will maintain/charge the battery in that time frame... I was thinking that the 10 watt would work from my calculations but just want to confirm your thoughts on this. thanks

[062720]

also if anyone has other recommendation for a solar charger... by all means please please advise. any expierience with these would be much appreciated as well. thanks

If you are just wanting to keep your battery charge maintained between camping trips, you shouldn't need much amperage. A trickle charger should suffice. However, if you are looking to provide boondock power and recharge batteries your batteries during the day, you'll need much more than a trickle charge. I picked up a Shumaker SP-200 solar trickle charger (2.4A) from Amazon recently (under $28 shipped) and am hoping this will satisfy my needs since I don't plan on doing the hardcore boondocking that many members here are experts on. Here's the info on mine..
http://www.200wattsolarpanel.info/sc...ner-deals.html
http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SP-...9581687&sr=8-3

Sorry, meant 2.4W provided by the one I got. Also, you may want to check the threads over in the Solar Power area of the forum. There's a lot of great info over there on this subject. Maybe this thread should be moved over there??

[062720]

thanks I coppied the thread there...

interesting that you only use a 2.4w charger... i was already told to forget anything less than 5 watts...

BTW, where is that picture in your avatar? we don't have nice campgrounds like that round here, lol.

If you disconnect your battery during storage and your batteries are charged, it shouldn't take more than a trickle charger to maintain them.
The picture is from Lake Seminole last weekend. Chilly but nice.

I've been interested in getting one of those solar chargers for our longer boon docking trips, but don't know how it would work with our two 6 volt batteries. Does anyone know how to hook it up to a two battery setup?

You'd connect it the same as you would the TM....+ to one battery and the - to the other battery. You'll see that the batteries are hooked in series, so there will be a short cable connecting the + of one to the - of the other battery. It would be easier if i could draw it....but don't know how.

Just think of it like the 2 6v batterys are just a BIG 12v split in half and joined by a short cable..

Thanks John, I was thinking it would work that way. Thanks for confirming!