On 14 Jul 2009, at 13:01, Nigel Stanley wrote:
> But is there any way for those of us whose boats are unattended for
> long stretches to prolong battery life?
>
> Does a solar panel make a difference?
>
> If so what's the minimum capacity?
>
> How soon would it pay for itself?
>
> Is there a particular charger type that can do some good on say the
> occasional afternoon or overnight visit and charging session? Any
> recommended purchases?
If I understand Tony correctly, either a shoreline with a good three
stage charger, or a solar panel is the answer.
Capacity of the solar panel needs to be sufficient to overcome the
self discharge tendency of the size of battery bank you've got. The
charger will sit on float for most of the time, very occasionally
raising the voltage a bit for a few hours to deal with any drain that
the boat systems have put on it, such a the bilge pump running from
time to time.
What I haven't seen is any specific brand of charger recommended
here. I've not had a brilliant experience with my Victron, but that
may be about not having the ability to adjust its settings properly
to suit the use I'm making of it. I know Richard Edwards swears by them.
Without one or other of these, or a wind genny, I guess, you can
expect to get between two and three years out of a set of batteries,
though again people's mileage differs quite amazingly. The big
unknown is how long you'll get out of the batteries with such
support, and there we need input from anyone who's actually gone down
that route.
It's one of those black arts is the real answer, which is why I'm
very reluctant to spend more cash than necessary on the batteries.
All the best
Bruce
Go steady, but keep going.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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