Why I reckon Solar is good for battery life
Submitted: Monday, Dec 20, 2004 at 23:51
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Member - Jimbo (VIC)
I recently went away for 5 days fishing, prior to getting the panel and was relying on running the engine to keep the battery charged. The problem was the battery saw
many peaks and troughs. It got just below 12 volts a couple of times because it was only getting ocassional charges.
Solar however is constantly putting charge in during the day, followed by a gradual drop in the cool of night. Accordingly the battery holds a fairly constant charge and if the solar is slowly losing ground you can give it a boost from the alternator and let it gradually work down again.
During my "Solar Test" the lowest I saw the batt in the morning was 12.43 volts (about 80% charged).
Surely this must be better for your batt than giving it a big hit once or twice a day from your alternator or a generator?
Any thoughts?
Jim.
Reply By: Topcat (WA) - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 00:21
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 00:21
You are on the right track Jimbo. Any lead acid battery (& in particular deep cycle batteries) like to be recharged 'Slowly' at a low current rate (trickle charge) to get the most life out of them & provided you do not overly discharge them with high current discharges. As I have stated in previous submissions to this
forum this is how I get long life out of deep cycle batteries. My solar panels are permantly connected to my batteries & with voltage plus specific gravity monitoring (making sure of the correct electrolyte levels), are all the checks I do. Cheers.
AnswerID:
89676
Reply By: Member - Sparkie (QLD) - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 12:07
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 12:07
What sort of panel are you talking about? And how powerfull?
Sparkie(IE not Y) ;-)
AnswerID:
89735
Follow Up By: Member - Jimbo (VIC) - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 20:02
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 20:02
Sparkie,
Uni Solar 64 watt.
Cheers,
Jim
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Mainey... - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 12:17
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 12:17
Jimbo (VIC),
Now you have moved into the league of solar true believers will you will upgrade to 2x 64's or get a new 80 or 100 watter in the future, you have done yourself proud!
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89737
Reply By: DARREN - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 13:12
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 13:12
JImbo,
Do you have a fishing report for us?
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89745
Reply By: Mad Dog (Victoria) - Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 14:18
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004 at 14:18
I've got a deep cycle in the shed that has been connected to a 55 watt panel for the last eight years. It is very rarely deep cycled but still appears to be in very good condition having no problem running the Engel for 36hrs last week disconnected from the panel so yes with my experience I agree with you Jim.
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