with this panel, can i just "wire it" straight to my boat battery and be ok? does it have overcharge protection built into the panel ? and how long would it take to charge a 12v deep cycle marine battery if it was low?
1626141
Do not wire it straight to the panel as it will over charge your battery in nothing flat. The panel came with a charge controller than it very easy to wire into the system. You wire your load up to 10 amps through the charge controller. If you are going to pull more amperage than 10 amps then hard wire that load to the battery. As far as charging the "low" battery there is a formula to determine the charge time but there are several variables you need to know to figure that out. It has no problems meeting our electrical needs on board a 20 foot sailboat with one deep cycle battery on board but our total load is less than 4 amps if everything was on at once. We have been just totally pleased with the panel and controller as they meet our needs perfectly.
1263634
I added a second battery, it is simple and adds needed security when out on your boat if one battery goes low, also I used old car battery cables from the salvage yard, much cheaper, just get your lengths measured first....
1508345
I use mine this past weekend. I had the panel charging a 12V marine battery through a solar controller and had a 12v fan running in my trailer at the same time. Seemed to work just fine.
1009544
I just picked up a battery at my local fleet farm. The key is to ensure that you get a marine battery since it is going to be subjected to constant trickle charging and full discharge situations. Typically any marine battery will work as the system only needs 12volts to run on. They had a "Resolute MDC24" marine battery on sale, that stated you might be able to find one cheaper through Amazon Prime.
2242773
I have been using the Brunton Solar Controller 12-Volt Battery Charge Monitor with my panel for the past year and it seems to work just fine, the panel keeps my battery on a sailboat charged without over charging the battery.
243759
I used this panel to keep the batteries charged for my gate opener. If you use this make sure you cover it to block the sun until after everything is connected. IE: Load controller and the load, batteries also if you are charging them. This panel puts out around 28V so it will fry anything that is not going through the controller. I charged to motorcycle size batteries, 24V kept them charged. Am going to use it now to keep the batteries charged on my Quads, I will reset the charge controller to use 12V instead of 24V Great little trickle charger and it will maintain your battery, Not meant to recharge the battery just maintenance. I used this panel to keep the batteries charged for my gate opener. If you use this make sure you cover it to block the sun until after everything is connected. IE: Load controller and the load, batteries also if you are charging them. This panel puts out around 28V so it will fry anything that is not going through the controller. I charged to motorcycle size batteries, 24V kept them charged. Am going to use it now to keep the batteries charged on my Quads, I will reset the charge controller to use 12V instead of 24V Great little trickle charger and it will maintain your battery, Not meant... » Read More I used this panel to keep the batteries charged for my gate opener. If you use this make sure you cover it to block the sun until after everything is connected. IE: Load controller and the load, batteries also if you are charging them. This panel puts out around 28V so it will fry anything that is not going through the controller. I charged to motorcycle size batteries, 24V kept them charged. Am going to use it now to keep the batteries charged on my Quads, I will reset the charge controller to use 12V instead of 24V Great little trickle charger and it will maintain your battery, Not meant to recharge the battery just maintenance. « Show Less
1739046
We just set this up on our boat, it has a centralized BATTERY connection on it. You will however have to wire each item (lights, horn, radio, etc) to the panel separately for each switch itself
367074
I installed the charger on my boat,(near the battery) then installed a Marinco Marine On-Board Charger inlet(also close to the battery) to plug the power in to charge the batteries. I had to cut the ends of the charger off and replace it with a male plug in the on-board charger inlet to plug in the cord to charge the batteries. works great.
2242772
I have used this to keep a 12 volt marine battery fully charged all summer and it worked well. I used a charge controller between the solar panel and the battery. This is the one I used.AGPtek® 30A Solar Panel Power Battery Charge Controller / Regulator 12V / 24V 30 Amp with PWM Type of Charging (Automatic Lighting Control + Time Functions). Of course, you can use any charge controller.
1248021
This is a very nice solar panel that is mounted on a somewhat flexible metal sheet. I produces about 16v dc at the contacts in Florida sun (rated at 12v for a 12v battery), but I use a solar controller so it won't overcharge my battery. I have it hooked to a 12v trolling motor deep cycle battery on a small boat. I have not had to externally charge the battery since attaching the solar panel, and that gives me a few hours per week of power.
1492097
This unit cannot be charged. It is charge/discharge controller and switch. You buy external battery of required capacity, and connect to this device. The deep cycle marine battery 100AH will run these for tens of hours.
1251453
I have three batteries on my boat each is connected through an 80 amp continuous solenoid. The set up works fine it keeps me from having to open the hatch to turn the batteries on and off each time. ALWAYS remember to turn off when not in use or leave the battery charger on otherwise they will run the batteries down. Hope this helps. Charles
1729427
Hello,This particular kit is intended for the use of charging 12v batteries but definitely the type of panel can be used and extra equipment.You should contact your local power/utility company to get more information on what type of system you can get on your home.There are certain building codes that must be met so there may only be a certain amount of panels that your home can support for mounting and such.If you need more information please feel free to contact us any time.Kind Regards,AW
931799
No real suggestion. I presume 12 volt car battery. Possible poor connection? Current should be less than 12 amps. Mine stays bright for hours (should get > 100 from deep cycle marine battery).
243758
I use this solar panel to charge two 12V batteries connected in series to produce 24V. my boat has two 12V batteries, but they are connected in parallel which is likely the case for your boat. Also, I believe that you should be looking for a 12V Solar panel, not 24V. Hope this helps.
1013501
Yes. I use mine to keep a deep cycle 12V marine battery charged. 12 volts is just a nominal term for the average target output of a battery used in a 12V system. When fully charged, all batteries exceed their rated voltage.
700707
only has 2 voltage settings gel cell which i think is 14.1 volts and lead acid or wet cell batteries at 14.5 volts which is the right voltage for deep cycle marine batteries. I'm running 2 deep cycle marine batteries and it works great. with two 120 watt solar panels I have seen 17.3 amps coming in. at 14.5 volts that's about 250 watts gotta love it. This is a great controller for anyone with a small solar panel system, it's not a mppt controller but it's also 1/5 the price. I got it before it was on sale paid $130 and it's still well worth that. I'm not going to complain I have been using it for 6 months and have no complaints. see my photos.