Solar panel on spare battery for accessories?

SaltLifeCC

Just got back from a week at a campground which was our first camping trip with our current cart. As we were packing up this morning, we noticed the neighbors had a solar panel on the roof of their EZ-GO TXT. They weren't around so we snuck a peak under the seat. They had an extra battery mounted in there for accessories and the solar panel was wired to that battery. I did a search for solar charges but didn't really find much here. What I did find seemed to say that a solar panel probably wouldn't help much. Wish I could have hung around long enough to have asked them how it works for them. Anyone have any specific thoughts and/or experiences with trying to keep a 12v accessory battery topped off with a solar panel?

BGW

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gornoman

I have never used or researched such a system, but my opinion is that it's similar to leaving the battery on a trickle charger. It never pushes hard into a depleted battery, which is exactly what a deep cycle requires to keep it's plates clean. If left alone Monday-Friday I think it would bring the battery back to a good charge, but at the expense of some longevity.

Beacon

You can get the panels cheap at Tractor Supply. I use them on my company trucks that run 12v elecrtic pumps to clean roofs, they draw about 20 amps on and off for 10 hrs a day. NOw I live in Florida and we have a lot of sun but they work great.. There is actually a 48v CC Limo that is 100% solar in a small town by me. its a cab and drives people from bar to bar and so on with a bunch of advertising on it. 80 inchs of solar panels on the roof.

sonicj

to give you a idea of what to look for:
10watts at 13.8v = 720mA
20watts @ 13.8v = 1.44 amps
etc.

maintainers are roughly .5 to 1amp. "overnight chargers" are 2 to 3amps. bulk chargers are like 10amps. all depends on how much you use. what size charger are you using now? you could easily replace your 12v charger if you wanted.
-sj

Andy4639

SaltLifeCC

I don't have a separate 12v accessory battery yet - that is my next project. I'm still trying to determine how to reroute my accessories (light kit and radio) from the existing stock wiring to a new battery, hopefully without having to tear everything apart.

I'm totally fine with charging the extra battery separately, with a traditional charger, but I saw that solar rig and wondered, given plenty of sun exposure, and with the lights only being used for a couple of hours, tops, at night, if the solar thing would keep it going or if it really wouldn't do enough to be worth the effort of installing one.