We have a 11W flexible solar panel mounted on the deck behind the
mast. It plugs directly into the battery terminals, no regulator
(the max current is approx. 1A). We also have a 3Amp alternator on
the Honda 5HP outboard. We only use the motor to get in and out of
the marina. The solar panel kept the battery topped off all season
long (mostly day sailing) and it kept us going during a 5day cruise
in the Apostle Islands (Lake Superior) with generous use of lights,
autopilot, laptop, GPS, cell phone and DVD player. We also have a
Link10 battery charge monitor which has helped us monitor our usage
and the state of charge of the battery. After 5 days, we were net
26Ah negative on the battery. A typical daysail (which may include
a return after dark with nav lights one) leaves us net 4Ah negative.
The Link 10 Battery charge monitor is very helpful.
Hope this helps.
Philippe
F-24 Mk1 #64 "Adrenaline"
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "Peter Vakhutinsky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I wonder if somebody is willing to share their experience with
solar panel. I just bought F24 and is looking for solar panel that
will help me to keep my batter functional for several days.
>
> What I am going to use is handheld GPS, probably fire laptop for 1-
2 hours a day and probably inside lamp(s). I would like to buy
something durable, but not extremely expensive, probably in 10-
20Watts range. There several models on a market - marine grades,
flexible, with or without charge control, etc.
> What do you have?
> What is the good place to mount it?
> Any other considerations (such as reliability issues, etc).
> Any alternative to solar panel?
>
> Thank you a lot,
>
> Peter Vakhutinsky
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