Charging the battery with solar?

[Tigenator]

So my boat is about to go in, unfortunately I live in Central NY aka the land of rain and misery... But to my problem, 2013 R20 last year I kept running out of juice for the stereo system if I was out with it playing for an extended period of time sitting. Usually we'd get some time wake or surfing and it would charge it up fairly decent, but it would often run out at wierd times and was just kinda annoying. My house is like 200 feet from my lift so it's a pain to run an extension cord out there every time. I was wondering if anyone has used a solar charger for when it's on the lift and if it's been effective?

[TigeFamily]

Cant speak to the solar thing, cause I have not tried it....but they are available for sure. Just gotta check reviews and make sure you get a good one.
You probably want to test battery to make sure its still fully good since 2013 as that could be part of your issue, I can use my stereo that draws from 2nd battery for a longgggg time before having any issue. The other thing you can do...is add a 3rd battery and run it in parallel with your stereo battery. I actually bought a 3rd to do just that and have had it sitting under observers seat for a while, just havent made the time to hook it up. (you would still need to charge them occasionally tho).

[chpthril]

You have a 2 fold problem, each with its own resolution, yet one will likely impact the other.

1) you dont have enough amp/hours battery wise, to fir your needs. This could be an alternator/system charging issue, bad battery or just a battery thats too small for you needs. Resolve this first. Do i have a bad battery? Is the charging system working as it should? Is my house battery large enough to yield enough anchor play time.

2) regardless of #1, you need to have a means of replenishing the battery(s) when the boat is back in its slip. Not a week later right before launching for the new weekend, but the last thing you do before walking away from the boat, is take care of recharging the batteries.

Your usage on the water and the Ah capacity of the house bank is going to impact the need for #2, shore charging. The more you anchor and the larger the amp/hour capacity of the bank, the less the boat will take care, shifting the need to shore charging.

Now we come to the solar charging. Yes, there are solar "chargers" out there. I framed charging because its all relative. I seriously doubt you will be able to do a solar setup that will effectively recharge a dead battery. This is a matter amps output compared to the Ah capacity of the battery. To effectively recharge a dead battery, we need a bulk rate output thats in the 10% or greater range of the battery Ah. So you could be looking a solar charger with a peak output of 8-10 amps. Thats probably going to be a sizable panel. Next, you are going to want a multistage smart charger. You do not want to leave a plugged up, a standard trickle charger delivering a constant output, even if its in the 1A range. You need a units that going to go into a float or idle mode once the battery is recharged.

[Tigenator]

Cant speak to the solar thing, cause I have not tried it....but they are available for sure. Just gotta check reviews and make sure you get a good one.
You probably want to test battery to make sure its still fully good since 2013 as that could be part of your issue, I can use my stereo that draws from 2nd battery for a longgggg time before having any issue. The other thing you can do...is add a 3rd battery and run it in parallel with your stereo battery. I actually bought a 3rd to do just that and have had it sitting under observers seat for a while, just havent made the time to hook it up. (you would still need to charge them occasionally tho).

I noticed it happening towards the end of the summer, so maybe repeated small charges from the alternator wasn't enough to keep up. Yeah I'd still need to charge them which is the problem.

[Tigenator]

You have a 2 fold problem, each with its own resolution, yet one will likely impact the other.

1) you dont have enough amp/hours battery wise, to fir your needs. This could be an alternator/system charging issue, bad battery or just a battery thats too small for you needs. Resolve this first. Do i have a bad battery? Is the charging system working as it should? Is my house battery large enough to yield enough anchor play time.

2) regardless of #1, you need to have a means of replenishing the battery(s) when the boat is back in its slip. Not a week later right before launching for the new weekend, but the last thing you do before walking away from the boat, is take care of recharging the batteries.

Your usage on the water and the Ah capacity of the house bank is going to impact the need for #2, shore charging. The more you anchor and the larger the amp/hour capacity of the bank, the less the boat will take care, shifting the need to shore charging.

Now we come to the solar charging. Yes, there are solar "chargers" out there. I framed charging because its all relative. I seriously doubt you will be able to do a solar setup that will effectively recharge a dead battery. This is a matter amps output compared to the Ah capacity of the battery. To effectively recharge a dead battery, we need a bulk rate output thats in the 10% or greater range of the battery Ah. So you could be looking a solar charger with a peak output of 8-10 amps. Thats probably going to be a sizable panel. Next, you are going to want a multistage smart charger. You do not want to leave a plugged up, a standard trickle charger delivering a constant output, even if its in the 1A range. You need a units that going to go into a float or idle mode once the battery is recharged.

Well maybe I'm out in it one night a week so otherwise it'd just sit there charging, but good point on the smart charger. I really know nothing about solar chargers so I figured I'd ask if anyone is using such a system currently.

[Bakes5]

Way cheaper to run a line out there

[chpthril]

I noticed it happening towards the end of the summer, so maybe repeated small charges from the alternator wasn't enough to keep up. Yeah I'd still need to charge them which is the problem.

Most certainly! Alternators make for poor battery chargers. They are not really designed for that, so we cant hardly blame them. After a number of hours cranking the tunes at anchor, that short ride back to the dock/ramp wont do it. Next trip out, the battery is starting out already in a hole, and we just dig it deeper.

[Z3 LKG]

Having grown up in Western NY, I get a laugh at the OP's question. Truth be told - There is no sunlight in NY.
Good luck with your battery issues,
John

[flyboy]

I used a solar cigarette solar lighter charger for my truck over this past winter as I only use the truck on weekends if then and it worked brilliantly! I just may try using it on the Tige for the summer as it also just sees weekend fun.