Solar Panel and Aux Battery Combo

[kvl1027]

Hello,
I am planning on running my head lights and radio off a an aux battery and using a solar panel to keep a charge on the aux.

How does this combo look:

Panel
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271167309560...#ht_1706wt_819
Battery
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130903972437...#ht_4172wt_984

Does anyone have any experience with this battery? Is a 30 amp panel going to be enough to keep this battery charged? I play a lot of golf.

i just use a 12v car battery and a auto solar charger ... have radio , lights , fan, and horn off aux battery run around area alot at night and charge in day time

[kvl1027]

Im wanting a battery that can lay on it's side and it small enough to hide behind the dash on my precedent. I like the idea of going with a regular car battery for the cost, but I'm wanting to scale it down a bit if possible.

[Storm S]

Originally Posted by kvl1027

Hello,
I am planning on running my head lights and radio off a an aux battery and using a solar panel to keep a charge on the aux.

How does this combo look:

Panel
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271167309560...#ht_1706wt_819
Battery
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130903972437...#ht_4172wt_984

Does anyone have any experience with this battery? Is a 30 amp panel going to be enough to keep this battery charged? I play a lot of golf.

Panel is NOT 30 amp. It is 30 WATT. 30 watts divided by 13 volts is 2.3 watts, This is the equivalent of a trickle charger. It will help a little thru the day but I would recommend putting a real charger on the aux when ever you are charging the pack.

[kvl1027]

Originally Posted by Storm S

Panel is NOT 30 amp. It is 30 WATT. 30 watts divided by 13 volts is 2.3 watts, This is the equivalent of a trickle charger. It will help a little thru the day but I would recommend putting a real charger on the aux when ever you are charging the pack.

Sorry, I meant to say 30watts. I guess I should probably run a meter for both the aux battery and my main pack and see how the panel works. If it's not enough I could always add more panels.

[Sergio]

If you go with the solar panel route, you also need a charger between the panel and the battery:

Charger:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10A-10AMP-So...item3a7c9a6df9

Unless you really want to be "Off the Grid", an on board charger or external 12v charger is cheaper.

[Storm S]

Originally Posted by Sergio

If you go with the solar panel route, you also need a charger between the panel and the battery:

Charger:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10A-10AMP-So...item3a7c9a6df9

Unless you really want to be "Off the Grid", an on board charger or external 12v charger is cheaper.

most solar panels that are designed to recharge batteries has a float sensor built in. that is the difference between a solar panel and a Solar battery charger.

[jjance]

30 watts isn't enough power to do anything. Save your money unless you just want it for "show and tell" at the golf course.

[kvl1027]

Originally Posted by jjance

30 watts isn't enough power to do anything. Save your money unless you just want it for "show and tell" at the golf course.

I don't really want it for show and tell. I would think 30watts would be fine. I'm not going to be running a ton of accessories intially.

Any thoughts on the battery as an aux battery?

[Storm S]

Originally Posted by kvl1027

I don't really want it for show and tell. I would think 30watts would be fine. I'm not going to be running a ton of accessories intially.

Any thoughts on the battery as an aux battery?

30 Watts as I said will give you about 2.3 amps per hour charge rate. This will help you out a little thru the day. Obviously if you can swing a little more get the 50 watt unit. a 30 watt unit MIGHT get you an extra 60-90 mins of use by the end of the day.