Small solar to mount on LP tank or battery cover

[thebreezeman]

Has anyone looked into mounting a very small solar on the lp cover or battery cover to trickle charge the battery when in storage

[cwf]

I have one which charges my dual automatic gate battery. Works great! I have had no issues with 'over charging'... If I recall, it is a 12 watt Solar panel.

[vinstream]

Your idea may seem simple but why not just go to the next step and instal a entire system on the roof with the new flexible solar panels and let the system work as is should? Your idea is a old way of looking at a problem that has a new solution.

[thebreezeman]

Thanks but I believe your definition of the "problem" is different than mine. But thanks for the comment anyway.

[BoldAdventure]

Yes, a 12 watt trickle charger that goes to our batteries. Mounted on the LP lid with no problems.

Had to look all over for a good photo, only one I could find on hand that shows it.

Heading over there tonight, so if you're curious about how it's mounted, I can take more photos.

[slowmover]

Man, I'm liking that blue/green tow vehicle in the pic. Methane power?

[dznf0g]

In northern climes I'd go 15 watts. With the sun angle, cloudy days, and shorter days in spring and fall, I found, with 15 watts (after wiring losses, etc) and parisitic drains with disconnect switch OFF, that I got about 750mA output to the batteries in FULL sunlight. That's enough to make up for the above climatic issues. If I have 3 fully overcast days in a row, it takes one full sunshine day to return to 100% charge with a 15 watter. All this from observing the Trimetric monitor.

[thebreezeman]

Hey bold adventurer, would like to see more pictures
Thanks

[BoldAdventure]

Boom! Excuse the pollen. Florida.

[D Bishop]

Originally Posted by thebreezeman

Has anyone looked into mounting a very small solar on the lp cover or battery cover to trickle charge the battery when in storage

I have done it and it works great on my 65 Caravel. Just make sure the polarity is correct. I quickly hooked a solar charger to my 64 Tradewind and the polarity was reversed, it ruined my battery and shorted out my 12 Volt side of the Trailer, now I have to replace the battery and find what all is not working. Be careful and don't hurry as I did.

Don

[D Bishop]

Also it is good to check if the solar panel has over charge protection.

[BoldAdventure]

After some research and removing mine, I believe now that it is a Sunforce 5W trickle charger based on a sticker on the bottom of it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...KAMYV5P3XJPEZV