solar power battery maintenence
I'm in need of something to keep my batteries charged on my 5 th wheel. I have to keep it at a storage yard about 6 miles from my house. Keeping it at the house is not am option right now. At the ...
Forum Discussion
Hi,
For 9 years I had 30 watts of solar panels with a controller maintaining 210 amp-hours of battery bank.
If you wish to equalize the bare minimum is 60 watts per 100 amp-hours of bank.
With panels costing as low as 67 cents per watt, it may be cheaper to get 100 watts and a controller, rather than buying the "package" you suggest which has but 15 watts.
For 9 years I had 30 watts of solar panels with a controller maintaining 210 amp-hours of battery bank.
If you wish to equalize the bare minimum is 60 watts per 100 amp-hours of bank.
With panels costing as low as 67 cents per watt, it may be cheaper to get 100 watts and a controller, rather than buying the "package" you suggest which has but 15 watts.
D.E.Bishop wrote:
Delray now has a solar Battery Tender, 15 watts and three step charging. Basically the same as the 120volt model but no need to plug it. I have one and it works fine if I start with charged batteries, but if not fully charged, it takes a long time to restore the charge.
It seems that the solar police insist on 100watts and a controller. That's okay too but if all you want to do is keep the batteries topped off, not necessary. Look into the 15watt tender at about $98.00 on line. By the way, my storage yard is 45 miles away and I don't have power or water there, just like most National Park Campgrounds.
