In the spring, I'm planning on installing something to charge the battery on my O'Day 192 sailboat. I want to be independent of shore power and not have to drag the battery out and in to charge it. Here are the 2 options I'm looking into (I only want to do one of these.): (1) Install a solar panel to do a trickle charge during the season, or (2) Install a generator on my new Nissan 4 HP outboard to charge the battery. Nissan makes a generator/charger for the outboard. What advice do the folks on this forum have on either of these options? Does anyone have a better suggestion? Anyone have experience, positive or negative, on these options? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Tim
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Small solar panels work well.
Tim: We had a small solar panel on our H'25 for several years. Never did have a shore power battery charger. We had a Honda 10 and a solar panel that handled what we needed.
Tim: We had a small solar panel on our H'25 for several years. Never did have a shore power battery charger. We had a Honda 10 and a solar panel that handled what we needed.
Charging on my O'Day 22
Hi Tim, It depends on what you want to power. I have 2 marine batteries on my 22 with a toggle switch; while I'm using one, the other is on the solar panel. One of the batteries can power the Simrad tiller pilot for 6+ hours and still have enuff for the running lights if needed. Of course, the lights are the biggest draw on the boat. I am in the process of replacing my light with LEDs. Suprisingly, the interior cabin is illuminted with LEDs enuff to read by at night. I have plenty of power doing things this way. When it gets dark, I go to sleep
Fair Winds, Rick
Hi Tim, It depends on what you want to power. I have 2 marine batteries on my 22 with a toggle switch; while I'm using one, the other is on the solar panel. One of the batteries can power the Simrad tiller pilot for 6+ hours and still have enuff for the running lights if needed. Of course, the lights are the biggest draw on the boat. I am in the process of replacing my light with LEDs. Suprisingly, the interior cabin is illuminted with LEDs enuff to read by at night. I have plenty of power doing things this way. When it gets dark, I go to sleep
Fair Winds, Rick1985 ofday anniversary 26 ftr
I have a similar situation in yhat I have no shore power available as I am on the hook in our area. No slips available for sailboats and would have to deal with a bridge with limited hours.So i keep our 26 on the hook, we purchased a new marine bettery this year and did not need to recharge it at all. However next season I hope to do a few overniters and will be running lights and radio a some more , my ? is it a good idea to install a solar panel for the trickle charge to the battery. I have a small 8hp on the back with pul l start, no alternator for charging and no electric start. I wuold also consider changing the lites out to LEDS if that could make a substantial difference. Thankyou all,and merry christmas
I have a similar situation in yhat I have no shore power available as I am on the hook in our area. No slips available for sailboats and would have to deal with a bridge with limited hours.So i keep our 26 on the hook, we purchased a new marine bettery this year and did not need to recharge it at all. However next season I hope to do a few overniters and will be running lights and radio a some more , my ? is it a good idea to install a solar panel for the trickle charge to the battery. I have a small 8hp on the back with pul l start, no alternator for charging and no electric start. I wuold also consider changing the lites out to LEDS if that could make a substantial difference. Thankyou all,and merry christmas
i'd do both...
Make sure the solar panels have blocking diodes. And don't expect a lot of charge from the lighting coil you put on the outboard. Can you plug in at a dock?
Make sure the solar panels have blocking diodes. And don't expect a lot of charge from the lighting coil you put on the outboard. Can you plug in at a dock?
VW Solar Panel
Volkswagen ships vehicles with a 3.5 watt solar panel that plugs into a cigarette lighter or other 12v outlet to keep the battery up in transit. I bought a couple of them a couple of years ago on ebay for real cheap. You might even just stop by a VW dealer and see if they will sell them outright. I use one in my Hunter 22 while it is riding it's mooring ball and I use the other in my truck while it is sitting around in the parking lot at work on long cold Minnesota winter days... It works and it has a blocking diode like Landsend refers to so you can't fry it if you don't unplug it before starting the engine. It is a trickle charge so don't expect it to hop up your battery in a couple of hours but if you are only going out to the boat a couple of times a week it can keep a marine battery topped off, or a car battery warm in the winter...
Volkswagen ships vehicles with a 3.5 watt solar panel that plugs into a cigarette lighter or other 12v outlet to keep the battery up in transit. I bought a couple of them a couple of years ago on ebay for real cheap. You might even just stop by a VW dealer and see if they will sell them outright. I use one in my Hunter 22 while it is riding it's mooring ball and I use the other in my truck while it is sitting around in the parking lot at work on long cold Minnesota winter days... It works and it has a blocking diode like Landsend refers to so you can't fry it if you don't unplug it before starting the engine. It is a trickle charge so don't expect it to hop up your battery in a couple of hours but if you are only going out to the boat a couple of times a week it can keep a marine battery topped off, or a car battery warm in the winter...
5 watt solar panel with limited results
I had a 5 watt panel in use this year with limited success, I have a selector switch which allows me to select which battery to charge while I am gone. One battery was new and the other a couple of years old, I figured the old battery would not stay fully charged, but I figured the new one should have always been up to the task of starting the diesal.(but it was not) When I checked the output voltage from the solar panel it was about 16VDC with the batteries disconnected. I guess I should have checked what the current flow was into a battery while a battery was connected to the solar panel. I guess this is a project for the winter. Any suggestions????? Bill
I had a 5 watt panel in use this year with limited success, I have a selector switch which allows me to select which battery to charge while I am gone. One battery was new and the other a couple of years old, I figured the old battery would not stay fully charged, but I figured the new one should have always been up to the task of starting the diesal.(but it was not) When I checked the output voltage from the solar panel it was about 16VDC with the batteries disconnected. I guess I should have checked what the current flow was into a battery while a battery was connected to the solar panel. I guess this is a project for the winter. Any suggestions????? Bill
Please let me explain...
The blocking diode in a solar panel is use to stop the solar panel from draining the battery at night. If there isn't a blocking diode the solar cell without the photo voltaic action of sunlight on the cells will present itself as a load on the batteries in darkness, thus draining the batteries. The diode provides a one way path to prevent this. Perhaps this is the problem Bill is having.
The blocking diode in a solar panel is use to stop the solar panel from draining the battery at night. If there isn't a blocking diode the solar cell without the photo voltaic action of sunlight on the cells will present itself as a load on the batteries in darkness, thus draining the batteries. The diode provides a one way path to prevent this. Perhaps this is the problem Bill is having.
Orlando Sailing
Well, I trailer and sail lots of places. My favorite day sail is downtown Cocoa and the Indian River. Occasionly I go to Sarasota Bay for 4 or 5 days. Locally I drag the boat up to Lake Monroe in Sanford or to one of the many lakes in Lake county.
Well, I trailer and sail lots of places. My favorite day sail is downtown Cocoa and the Indian River. Occasionly I go to Sarasota Bay for 4 or 5 days. Locally I drag the boat up to Lake Monroe in Sanford or to one of the many lakes in Lake county.
There is a blocking diode
in the system, so I guess there is some other problem, maybe to small gauge wire etc...
in the system, so I guess there is some other problem, maybe to small gauge wire etc...
From Dead to Full in less than 30 minutes
Do what automotive applications demand. 50+ Amp charging on a precision battery regulator that will bring it up and float the battery in an astounding rate. I'm talking about the GM Altenator or Delcotron types used in Automobiles. Enclosed here is a link to a site that can provide the inspiration and plans to build a compact unit that will fit the bill. Think of it, charging your battery(s) in minutes. This means the engine won't need to run for hours burning up valuable gasoline. This means "More Bang for the Buck!" http://theepicenter.com/tow02077.html?
Do what automotive applications demand. 50+ Amp charging on a precision battery regulator that will bring it up and float the battery in an astounding rate. I'm talking about the GM Altenator or Delcotron types used in Automobiles. Enclosed here is a link to a site that can provide the inspiration and plans to build a compact unit that will fit the bill. Think of it, charging your battery(s) in minutes. This means the engine won't need to run for hours burning up valuable gasoline. This means "More Bang for the Buck!" http://theepicenter.com/tow02077.html?
5 watts that is 0.42amp at 12 volts
So being generous you say 12 hours of sunlight that's 5 amp hours a day. Which is 35 amp hours /week. For many uses that should be enough. Enough to run the depth sounder and anchor light for a weekend. 10 or 12 watts would probably be better.
So being generous you say 12 hours of sunlight that's 5 amp hours a day. Which is 35 amp hours /week. For many uses that should be enough. Enough to run the depth sounder and anchor light for a weekend. 10 or 12 watts would probably be better.
Battery charging on the 192
I think that a 5 watt Solar panel is the way to go, and the outboard generator is a good idea, provided that the wire and connection is suitable. I replaced the generator wire on my Johnson Sailmaster 8, last year with #10 marine duplex cable from the connection on the engine to my 100 amp hour battery under the cockpit. Belonging to a club and having access to a dock with shore power, I was always able to top my battery off by running an extension cord to my portable deep cell battery charger in my boat. I don't do a lot of night sailing anymore, so I'm not using running lights that often. I also never turn on cabin lights, as I have a gimbaled Kerosene light in the cabin. At night, in a smooth well protected anchorage, I burn two candles. I stopped using an anchor light years ago. My 222 can get into some very shallow water and I see no need for an anchor light except on those rare occasions, anchoring in unfamiliar places. It really depends on how much load you're drawing off your battery. Most of the time, I'm running an Autohelm autopilot and my radio, and that's it. Your biggest draw is going to be your running lights. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to convert them over to LEDs if you do a lot of night sailing. I don't advocate that you use candles, or a kerosene light. Anything with fire connected to it is always going to be dangerous. However, they do sell small battery operated LED lights that you could use in the cabin for reading at night, and also small self contained solar lanterns are available which are made of Stainless Steel. This is what I'm planning on using in the near future. Just figure your total consumption of amp hours, by getting a total of bulb wattages and converting it to amps using Ohm's Law. The total of amps and hours of use, will give you the amp hour usage. Whatever that amp hour consumption is, is what you need to restore back into your battery.
I think that a 5 watt Solar panel is the way to go, and the outboard generator is a good idea, provided that the wire and connection is suitable. I replaced the generator wire on my Johnson Sailmaster 8, last year with #10 marine duplex cable from the connection on the engine to my 100 amp hour battery under the cockpit. Belonging to a club and having access to a dock with shore power, I was always able to top my battery off by running an extension cord to my portable deep cell battery charger in my boat. I don't do a lot of night sailing anymore, so I'm not using running lights that often. I also never turn on cabin lights, as I have a gimbaled Kerosene light in the cabin. At night, in a smooth well protected anchorage, I burn two candles. I stopped using an anchor light years ago. My 222 can get into some very shallow water and I see no need for an anchor light except on those rare occasions, anchoring in unfamiliar places. It really depends on how much load you're drawing off your battery. Most of the time, I'm running an Autohelm autopilot and my radio, and that's it. Your biggest draw is going to be your running lights. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to convert them over to LEDs if you do a lot of night sailing. I don't advocate that you use candles, or a kerosene light. Anything with fire connected to it is always going to be dangerous. However, they do sell small battery operated LED lights that you could use in the cabin for reading at night, and also small self contained solar lanterns are available which are made of Stainless Steel. This is what I'm planning on using in the near future. Just figure your total consumption of amp hours, by getting a total of bulb wattages and converting it to amps using Ohm's Law. The total of amps and hours of use, will give you the amp hour usage. Whatever that amp hour consumption is, is what you need to restore back into your battery.
Did some testing on my Solar Panel output
and the results were interesting, I had mounted my 5 watt panel on the stern rail and always kept it horizontal thinking this would give me maximum output. During a recent test I found that the current output from the panel was around 50% less with the panel horizontal than facing the optimum angle to the sun. This probibly would explain my disappointment with my solar charging set-up. In the dark the panel output current would go to 0 mA so I know that the blocking diode is functional. In heavy cloudy conditions the mA output was around 43 mA facing the sun and 28 mA horizontally. The biggest surprise was with full sun, the 300mA output dropped to less than 110 mA when shifting the panel from angled toward the sun to horizontal. I have concluded that I need to set the panel for the optimum sun angle during the month and this should with out a doubt keep my batteries charged. Bill
and the results were interesting, I had mounted my 5 watt panel on the stern rail and always kept it horizontal thinking this would give me maximum output. During a recent test I found that the current output from the panel was around 50% less with the panel horizontal than facing the optimum angle to the sun. This probibly would explain my disappointment with my solar charging set-up. In the dark the panel output current would go to 0 mA so I know that the blocking diode is functional. In heavy cloudy conditions the mA output was around 43 mA facing the sun and 28 mA horizontally. The biggest surprise was with full sun, the 300mA output dropped to less than 110 mA when shifting the panel from angled toward the sun to horizontal. I have concluded that I need to set the panel for the optimum sun angle during the month and this should with out a doubt keep my batteries charged. Bill
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