[TimFisher]

I have a 21' Nauticstar that has a 24 volt bow mounted trolling motor w/onboard charger. My problem is, I keep it at a storage lot that does not have electricity, and my apt complex does not allow me to park my boat overnight. So I was doing some googling and was curious if anyone has any experience/success with solar panels for charging/maintaining the charge on their trolling motor batteries? Any .02 would be appreciated. -Tim

 

[Neilslure]

I dont believe a solar charger would be enough to bring back a trolling motor battery from a long day. Over time that panel will make enough power to keep from losing power during storage.

Maybe look into something like the stealth charger or Stay N Charge system. They will charge when your outboard is running, stay N charge can also run off your tow vehicle while you drive to and from the ramp.

 

[speckhunter80]

First you need to determine the amperage of your battery(s) when fully charged and then you need to determine the amperage of your battery(s) at the end of the fishing day. Then you need to determine the number of days which you can recharge. From that you can determine how many watts you need to obtain the number of amps recharge for the timeframe. Typically a 10W will provide .5 amps per hour, 20W panel will provide app 1.1amp per hour and a 30W panel will provide 1.7 amps per hour. These are under ideals conditions which at our latitude would only be app. 5 hours a day. For a 10W on a sunny day you will get roughly 3.5 amps of recharge, 20W...6.5amps and a 30W app. 10 amps a day. The more the watts the more the amps but also you then get into having to have a solar controller.

If you want to PM me I can walk you thru this. One of your major issues will be theft of whatever you use.

 

[SnowCamp]

I have a fishing cabin w/o electricity on a private lake. I use solar power to operate florescent lights, a small stereo system and charge trolling motor batteries. I have 4 deep cycle batteries connected to six 15 W panels through a 7.5 A charge controller. I am able to recharge a trolling motor battery in a couple of days because it's connected to three batteries that are fully charged. They transfer energy to the discharged battery and the solar panels top them em all off. I've got about $800 invested in batteries and panels. Annually, I take each battery home and connect it to a rejuvenator/maintainer for a week. As a result. I've been using two of the batteries for more than six years...

 

[sundrop]

How hard are they to get in and out? One option is 2 sets of batteries. One set you keep at home on a maintainer, carry and swap, bring the old ones home to recharge for the next trip. It would take a large set of panels to recharge them at the lot.

 

[TimFisher]

Thanks for the responses, I may look for a better storage place that has electricity hookups. Seems like the easiest option. Glad I didnt go waste a couple hundred on some ineffective panels!

 

[Girkman]

The only thing I would use a solar panel for is maintaining a battery other than that go find your self a lot that has electrical hook ups