MinKota trolling, battery help.

[pameladallaire]

Hi All:

 

My hubby bought a new MinKota trolling motor and battery and wants to know about hooking it up to a Solar Panel charger. His friend told him that he would need a box?? to go between the solar panel and battery?

 

Help, I'm confused!

 

Pam

[taper]

Pam a solar charger will do very little to charge a trolling motor battery. They are meant to keep a battery topped up. If you wear your battery down and try to recharge in a 24 hour period it will not be enough. He would be better to put a small on board charger in or use a normal trickle charger after each use.

[Gerry]

I concur with Taper. A solar panel large enough to charge a deep cycle battery (overnight) that has been run down (which occurs often) will cost you around $1,000. An on-board charger is the way to go (much cheaper) but you will need an elctrical outlet nearby. If you're going camping for a long period and don't have elctricity available, a small generator is a better option.

[lookinforwalleye]

The box would probably be a regulator if by chance the solar panel overcharges your battery you could start a fire this regulator is supposed to prevent that.

 

Those little chargers you buy at CTC will charge a battery but it would take a month to do it and be careful some of those chargers are not waterproof rendering them pretty much useless on a boat.

 

If you have access to hydro just get yourself an onboard charger or a regular automatic battery charger with a deep cycle setting or get an extra battery that way you will always have a fresh one.

Edited April 6, 2007 by lookinforwalleye

[pameladallaire]

Thanks guys, I'll tell him.

 

 

Pam

[irishfield]

Now with that all said...how many of the na sayers have used a solar panel to buy them time on the water when there isn't any power source available? Some is better than none.

 

I've "dry" camped for 10 years with a large motorhome. Batteries last 3 days at best and with even the small foot by foot solar panel in the sun each day it would buy us a day before having to fire up the genny for a full recharge...so 33% improvement over no charger at all and a day gained before bothering neighbours with the genny running. I later went to two 1' x 4' panels, and the regulator, and we could spend the full week at Fushimi without running the genny and also went for 6 days in Yellowstone in 2004...at 7000' ASL with a furnace trying to run all night to get enough air to burn/heat. There's nothing in them that can be hurt by rainfall.

 

I also used the small 1' x 1' at Lakair last year and didn't have to plug in for recharge...well until we had a weee accident with said panel sitting on the rear casting deck.....

[Fisherman]

I concur with Taper. A solar panel large enough to charge a deep cycle battery (overnight) that has been run down (which occurs often) will cost you around $1,000. An on-board charger is the way to go (much cheaper) but you will need an elctrical outlet nearby. If you're going camping for a long period and don't have elctricity available, a small generator is a better option.

 

"Overnight" charging with a solar panel?

[irishfield]

Also Pam...if he is considering the 1' x 4' panels...If you buy from CTC you also have to buy the regulator seperate for $30 or so dollars...where as the exact same solar panel from Walmart comes WITH the regulator for the same price or less than just the panel at CTC.

[Gerry]

As Fisherman pointed out, I should have said in a 12 hour period.

 

I'll agree with Wayne that it will slow down the discharge rate of the battery. I use solar panels at my cottage (I don't have electricity) along with a generator and propane, they are 2'x4' in size (2 of them) and I have 4 deep cycle batteries, 2 12 volt and 2 6 volt units. This system almost never requires me to fire up the generator but I still cannot charge my boat batteries in a 1 day time period. I tried the smaller panel, ( Seimens 1x3 ft) for my boat. I would hook it up whenever the boat sat at the dock and it proved to be inneffective. But as Wayne pointed out it may have given me an extra day on occasion but it didn't prevent me from having to pull the boat out to take it to town for an overnight charge with the on-board charger. I've since loaned the small solar panel to my sis-in-law for her small 20ft trailer and it seems to keep her batteries charged, although she uses very little power .... 1 small light for short periods of time.

[sonny]

Hey,, i saw on the fishing network the other day,,,i think one of the aussie shows ,,a small gas powered charger,,,,really kewl,,just like an alternator with a chain saw motor attached to it,,,,SOUNDS LIKE A PROJECT!!! Would just have to put something inbetween the cables so ya couldn't short it out!

[sonny]

found a pic!!!

[sonny]

found a pic!!!

[Kerry]

Pamela,

The BOX in question is called a charge controller.The smallest CTC sells is around $30 rated for 7amps.Some of the smaller boards don't require one as they don't put out enough amps.Some are in miliamps in output and are really only good for rechargeable batteries and such.

Sonny,

Walmart was selling a small two stroke 1200 watt generator for $149 just a little while ago.Same thing packaged with the tank and carrying handle.About a foot and a half square or less in size.Perfect for charging batteries away from home.Pricewise a heck of a deal compared to my coleman 1850@ $600 which is really only good for the same thing anyway.(still trying to figure how you get 1850 watts out of a 12 amp fuse).

Kerry