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Old 05-10-2021, 11:37 AM   #1
GMH
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Newbie Solar panel question

This was on sale (last day of) at Canadian Tire so I grabbed it. Is this sufficient enough, or is there anything else I would need to keep the battery charged while boondocking? I haven’t opened it to read the instructions (I assume there are some) in case I need to return it. I imagine it just plugs together and clips onto the battery. Forgive my ignorance, I have zero experience in this area. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice!
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Old 05-10-2021, 11:50 AM   #2
CampNBrew2
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That small panel (no watts listed other than an example of 40 watts) will only likely be able to maintain your battery voltage while in storage, and that is iffy.

I have a 200W solar system and it works for us for boondocking, even with spotty sun. how many watts you need all depends on your battery usage.
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Old 05-10-2021, 12:03 PM   #3
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40 watts is pretty small to recharge a battery. 2.3 amps would barely be a trickle charge using a battery maintainer and certainly not enough to recharge a battery that was used or depleted down to 50% power levels.
Most consider a 100 watt panel to be a reasonable minimum and 200 watts with a 10 amp controller a good system for boondocking applications.
Many will get into the details of how much power you plan to use to size a solar system. For us, this 200watt system is enough to keep our batteries topped off. We do have a small 750 watt inverter to run the TV and charge the phones, laptop and other small accessories. We don't run the microwave, A/C, hairdryer or other 100vac accessories.
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Old 05-10-2021, 01:18 PM   #4
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Thanks folks. I wonder if it would be sufficient to keep the battery charged while parked between outings? I have forgotten to flip the battery disconnect on occasion and returned to find it dead. I guess the CO detector draws power all the time and the radio/clock. I do have a generator that I will rely on instead when and if I go boondockin’.
Edit: I guess I wouldn’t have to worry about it overcharging the battery.
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Old 05-10-2021, 02:07 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMH View Post
I wonder if it would be sufficient to keep the battery charged while parked between outings? I guess I wouldn’t have to worry about it overcharging the battery.
I think it would be ideal for that task. Be sure to keep the water topped up in the battery(ies).
The charge controller should regulate the voltage just fine and not overcharge.
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