Solar powered onboard charger options
 

I am looking to install something along the lines of the ProMariner Pro Sport 20 onboard charger to keep my accessory bank of batteries charged(three XS Power d2700's). Only problem is, I do not have access to AC power down at my dock.

Does anyone know of any solar options that would allow me to plug in the Pro Sport 20 or anything else that would be similar? I could mount it to my lift then and not have to hassle with removing the boat from the water to charge them up.

I'm no expert but I would think you could get a small generator cheaper than solar panels... i have a Honda quiet power that I picked up from a pawn shop for $300... Not very loud and will run all day on a gallon of fuel...

My boat is kept at my parents dock which is about 30 miles away from me. Solar is my only option as I don't want to head over there all the time.

I had one of these that I used before I had an onboard charger. It will not charge fast though.
http://www.leathermanstore.com/brunt...FQ5qswodEFZYCw
They do make some larger ones.
http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=615

Looks like $1000 will buy a 110 watt solar panel. This is about the most powerful one I found that is sized within reason for a boatlift. It is still quite large though. Running one of these will take roughly 3 days to recharge a 100Ah battery. I have 3 batteries that size so that would take about a week under optimal lighting conditions. That is not very practical.

I might have to bite the bullet and on occasion put the boat on the trailer and lug it home to recharge it. dang

It's starting to look like one of those big azzz alternators is your only option. Might be cheaper in the long run anyway. No solar panels, no onboard charger.

Hi Nic, I do commercial solar power projects for a living. You only need 2 things a charge controller and a solar panel. Don't bother trying to run solar to your charger, no point taking DC power converting it to AC then right back to DC, you would end up burning up more in the conversion than you would produce.

Look into the Morningstar Sunsaver: http://www.amazon.com/Morningstar-Su.../dp/B002MQSTQ2

I recommend you work with somebody like DC Power Systems to help you with the technical details: http://www.dcpower-systems.com/produ...?gid=44&pid=84

or maybe somebody at the Solar Living Institute can help you out: http://www.solarliving.org/

I might be able to help you a little but I don't know that much about off grid PV.

I can probably get you a 175 to 220 watt solar panel for about $400 to $500. Total system cost would be less than $600 installed and your power would be free for the rest of your boatlift's life!

shoot me a PM to: mikeskiw@gmail.com if you need help, i'll do my best to hook you up.

Probabaly cheaper to run power to the dock

or easier to pull the batteries out once or twice a week to charge

I think your best bet is to charge them using the alternator. Just let the boat idle for a bit w/o the stereo on as you come back to the dock and you should be fine.

The boat has nothing running since your on the lift. I get to my boat monthly and the batteries have lasted 4+ years. Your cheapest option may be battery replacement every few years which will happen no matter what you do.

Or, if you need to charge low battery banks after a day running them down, buy a small Honda generator and generator enclosure, fill the tank, walk away and just let the genset run until dry. You could probably get a 8 to 10 hour charge.