Portable Solar Panel

UFO Pilot · 12-14-2008, 06:09 PM

I am considering a Portable Solar Panel (12V) to keep my starting battery charged while in storage. I can place it in the front window which faces SW and plug it in to the cigarette lighter.

Has anyone tried a setup like this?

UFO Pilot · 12-14-2008, 06:09 PM

I am considering a Portable Solar Panel (12V) to keep my starting battery charged while in storage. I can place it in the front window which faces SW and plug it in to the cigarette lighter.

Has anyone tried a setup like this?

ua40j · 12-15-2008, 02:04 AM

I have not tried this, but there has been a lot of discussion on panel sizes (watts) needed to keep batteries maintained.

I don't know how many watts your portable panel will output on a good day, but it's very unlikely it will 'maintain' a charge on your chassis battery unless your battery is totally isolated and your panel is putting out 40+ watts. Even with your battery switch 'off', there are still parasitic drains on your battery.

You might consider a 'Trik-L-start' setup to take advantage of your coach battery bank and it's 10 watt (or is it 15 watt now?) solar panel on your roof. I use one and it doesn't 'maintain' a charge, but it does extend the length of time I can go without running the generator and recharging the batteries.

Just my .02 worth.

Poindexture · 12-15-2008, 04:01 AM

I have a 1.8 watt solar charger for keeping the battery charged. It is woefully inadequate!

UFO Pilot · 12-15-2008, 06:24 AM

I already a 'Trik-L-Start' and a 10 watt solar panel on the roof. The portable solar I am looking at puts out 12 watts so I thought the 2 combined might keep my starting battery charged.

AFChap · 12-15-2008, 01:50 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">1.8 watt solar charger for keeping the battery charged. It is woefully inadequate </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
My coach came with a 10 watt panel on the roof. It works as a selling feature, but otherwise doesn't do much. Of course, the watt rating of any panel is the maximum it can achieve under "ideal" contitions, which rarely if ever happens!!

When in storage, I turn off the master battery disconnect switch (which disconnects the house batteries only), and take the coach for a 45-1 hr "love ride" once a month to keep the batteries up and bearings and tires in good shape.