Solar charger for a Hunter 23.5

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Hayden Jones

I'm thinking of a possible 2nd battery (on the port side under the sink) for running auxially "stuff" that would be cahrged by a solar recharger. I was planning on mounting the solar panel on the stern rails. Will they keep a battery charged taht is used for a depth finder, a auto pilot or a cd player? They seem to come in different sizes and produce different amounts of amperage. Can I over charge if it's left connected all the time? Would I be better off runnning the bateeries parallel with an AB switch and just rechage with the 9.9 hp outboard motor? Any suggestions are welcome.... except get a power boat. Later Hayden
 
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John Baumgartner

AGM and GEL batteries

Your 9.9 outboard "generator" is a magneto type unregulated generator and as such the output voltage and current is dependent on engine RPM and the voltage can very between 11.3 volts to 17 volts, this will damage an AGM or GEL battery. So DON't use these batteries for your system if you are using your outboard. "They" say that you can use a solar cell that is less than 10% of the battery AMP-HR value without regulator but I'm still leary of this. Good luck on your project.
 
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Brian

depends how often you use the boat

How quickly you need to recharge your batteries is a big part of what you should do. A trickle charger won't overcharge most batteries, but won't recharge your battery in just a few days. West Marine's catalog has a good write-up on this, there is a formula to the affect of - the max output of the panel can't exceed 1 to 2 % of the batteries amp hours, IF there is no regulation. I may not have terms right, but read it, I believe it is the West Advisor for Solar Panels and you will know what to do. You can by a bigger solar panel that recharges faster, but you need to make sure it is regulated, which means it senses when your battery is fully charged, and stops charging the battery. Some panels are self regulated when you buy them, others need a seperately purchased regulator.
 
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Brian

Solar charger

I just purchased a 15 watt ICP solar panel that includes a regulator for $150. Obviously I haven't installed it yet but I am planning to mount it on top of the bimini.
 
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Alan Long

Mast Crutch

I have a 10 watt panel mounted on top of the mast crutch on my 23.5. I took a rail mount fishing rod holder, turned it upside down on top of the mast crutch and secured it with a stainless steel muffler clamp. I then clamped a short section of stainless rail in the other end and attached the panel. It works great and always keeps the batteries charged with my approximate every other week use of the boat. It's up out of the way, looks tidy because I ran the wires inside the crutch, and allows rotation of the panel in any direction. I can even rotate it out of the way and trailer the boat without removing the panel. Highly recommended Alan Long
 
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Rob

battery gasses?

I'm looking at adding additional batteries and solar panel(s) to my Hunter 23 for this season too. Unisolar makes a 32W flexible solar panel - and there are regulators readily available as well...can have the system automatically switch between batteries to keep multiple batteries charged. One question I have though is whether anyone has concerns about battery gasses when storing batteries in the cabin?
 
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