Electrical

Catalina Direct Discussion Topics / Catalina 22 Discussion Area / Electrical / Solar Battery Charging
 
 
Author Solar Battery Charging
Cedric


Boat Name:

Model/Year: Catalina 22

Hull No.

Hailing Port: La Pointe
08/28/2004 5:05 PM Pacific Time

I was curious if purchasing a solar panel is worth it's cost. Will a solar panel recharge a 12 volt batter or is a solar panel more for maintaining? If it will charge a battery, how long would it take to charge a flat battery? Thanks
Ced



Boat Name:

Model/Year:

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
08/28/2004 6:22 PM Pacific Time

Cedric,

I have been using a solar charger for 2 years now and it works great. Maintains the battery between sailings .. not made for charging from a dead state.
I have forgotten how many watts mine is......(I'm thinking 5??) it is small. You can buy solar to charge a battery.... but they are mucho $$$
---Turk ---
Canfield, Ohio

Boat Name: Miss Kitty

Model/Year: 1974 C22

Hull No. 3520

Hailing Port: Mosquito Lake, N.E. Ohio
08/29/2004 4:23 AM Pacific Time

Cedric,

I used a 5 watt solar charger and it will just maintain your battery. You'll have to charge it once in a while or after heavy use. I switched to a larger 55 watt model (sits on the cockpit floor when I'm not on the boat) and it can charge the battery fully in several days. I store it in the front bow space. It is large, but It is managable. Make sure you purchase a regulator if you go to anything larger than 10 watts. The regulator will prevent overcharging of the battery. On your next battery purchase, make sure you go with a large amp hour (190) battery and using a smaller solar panel will keep it within operating range most of the time. If you plan to travel and or are lazy like me, get the larger solar panel with regulator. I bought mine (BP) 17" x 43" on Ebay for about $300. Not bad considering new they go for $600-700.
Kevin and Pat
Miranda, CA

Boat Name: HOPE

Model/Year: Catalina 22 1971

Hull No. #403

Hailing Port: Miranda, CA
12/14/2005 10:52 PM Pacific Time

We had a Columbia 28 on a mooring a few years ago. It came with two batteries and a 30 watt solar panel which we left in the cockpit when we were away from the boat. The engine was a small BMW diesel (6 or 7 hp) and I could hand start it easily. The engine’s charging capacity had died some years before.
After we fried the batteries with the solar panel we got a device to limit the voltage input to 14.3 volts. We got two new marine gels from an auto parts store, small enough for us to lift into the boat from our dingy (40/50 lb.).
Our routine was:
We left the solar panel charging up one battery. When we got on the boat we switched on the other battery that had not been just charged. We could used this one battery for several days, reading at night, fathometer, running lights for sailing at night. Sailing at night is fun. When we left the boat we put the solar panel on the battery we had just used. We used that system for several years and it worked well.
 
 
Electrical
Catalina Direct Discussion Topics / Catalina 22 Discussion Area / Electrical / Solar Battery Charging