Solar Trickle Charge Setup?

[Ribs77]

Hey all, I'm in a wet slip without access to power this summer. AR195 with just one 12V battery.

So far so good, as I haven't let the boat sit for more than a week without use. But I'm looking at setting up a solar trickle charging situation so I don't have to worry as much.

I already have a NoCo genius trickle charger. What I'm thinking of adding are these two:

Power bank

Amazon.com

30w Solar panel

Amazon.com

So the setup, as I understand it, would be that the solar panel sort of trickle charges the power bank, while the bank supplies power to the trickle charger that's actually trickle charging the boat.

Would this work as I'm expecting? Thanks in advance!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

You do not have a trickle charger, you have a smart charger. Trickle chargers provide a small constant flow of amperage. Your smart charger charges and conditions the battery, then monitors the battery voltage, when the voltage drops to a certain voltage it charges the battery again.

What size is the noco you have?

Your idea of using a Jackery to power the noco is a good idea, several folks have done that.

The solar charger would be good at KEEPING the battery charged, E.G. countering the natural discharge of the battery and the small amount of power the bilge pump takes while sitting there.

I like the overall plan here.

As something to ponder, you could install a single Dakota Lithium start / deep cycle battery. That battery will charge 5 times faster that what I assume is a flooded lead acid battery, it will provide 3 times the amount of storage, and has very little natural discharge rate.

 

[Ribs77]

I have this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W6B987F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

"As something to ponder, you could install a single Dakota Lithium start / deep cycle battery. That battery will charge 5 times faster that what I assume is a flooded lead acid battery, it will provide 3 times the amount of storage, and has very little natural discharge rate."

Can you link me to a good one? How tough is the install - is it simply swapping out the existing 12V, or is it adding it in parallel?

Thanks for the info so far!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Okay thanks for the link. You should get a 10A charger, 2A is very small, it’ll work but it will take 4 ever to charge your battery with that.

DL+ 12v 60Ah Dual Purpose 1000CCA Starter Battery Plus Deep Cycle Performance

Twoin pack, 12V 60Ah multi propose 1000 CCA lithium starting dakota battery plus for marine engine, automotive, deep cycle use. 8x longer 11year lifetime.

dakotalithium.com

That is a direct drop in replacement for your single battery and has exponentially more storage capacity than your group 24 flooded lead acid battery. This will work fine with your boat, as long as you have the single battery set up, no dvsr and second battery. And, should you go this route you definitely need a 10A charger with a lithium profile, the battery actually comes with a charger but it is not IP rated.

I recommend this charger; Blue Smart IP67 Charger Waterproof - Victron Energy This charger will charge that Dakota lithium battery in roughly three hours from a 90% discharge. This charger will also serve as a power supply up to 25A’s but what every load you put on it takes away from the 25A charging. I have three of these and they work great.


I also recommend you put this device in; SmartShunt - Victron Energy I have two of these and they also work fantastic. Without one of these its a guess really how much power is left.

 

[waterlooboater]

I'm so glad this thread was started! My new 2024 AR195 will be stored in my friends backyard. While I plan to use the boat weekly, that may not always be the case. I can either run a really long extension cord from the garage to the boat, or it looks like a solar setup may work for my case as well?

I'm looking at these kits - Marine Solar Innovations

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I'm so glad this thread was started! My new 2024 AR195 will be stored in my friends backyard. While I plan to use the boat weekly, that may not always be the case. I can either run a really long extension cord from the garage to the boat, or it looks like a solar setup may work for my case as well?

I'm looking at these kits - Marine Solar Innovations

Define really long extension cord and what onboard charger do you have?

 

[waterlooboater]

Extension cord would have to be at least 175 feet and I don't have a charger yet..or the boat for that matter

 

[Dixemon]

-You probably need to consider the available amperage the jackery that you choose can provide. It matters when trying to pair a charger with it to maintain your battery. The 240 Jackery is 110v @ 200w, so in essence it will not be able to provide more than a 2.7 amp draw. So if the charger you pair it with wants more than that available current then you may have an issue.
- FSH210 is dialed in on these battery charging issues. I also use the Victron energy products and they have served me well. I also have and use a NOCO charger. Here's some free advice on chargers, "dont cut the cord", for a hard-wire install. The company normally will not honor the device warranty it you have any troubles. Also, if you must hard-wire, cut the end off of an extension cord and use that as the sacrificial lamb.
-Ive used a 100' cord for years charging my batteries. I have 4 batteries and 3 chargers running 24/7. not an issue at all.

 

[waterlooboater]

I just measured and the extension cord would need to be at 175'...so solar is looking better and better to me!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

-You probably need to consider the available amperage the jackery that you choose can provide. It matters when trying to pair a charger with it to maintain your battery. The 240 Jackery is 110v @ 200w, so in essence it will not be able to provide more than a 2.7 amp draw. So if the charger you pair it with wants more than that available current then you may have an issue.
- FSH210 is dialed in on these battery charging issues. I also use the Victron energy products and they have served me well. I also have and use a NOCO charger. Here's some free advice on chargers, "dont cut the cord", for a hard-wire install. The company normally will not honor the device warranty it you have any troubles. Also, if you must hard-wire, cut the end off of an extension cord and use that as the sacrificial lamb.
-Ive used a 100' cord for years charging my batteries. I have 4 batteries and 3 chargers running 24/7. not an issue at all.

The other day I was coming off the lake and a guy and his girl were fishing from their boat that was tied up at the dock, I asked if the needed assistance, he said their battery was dead.. hmmmm where was that someone on here said that all those dry stack boats didn’t need to charge their batteries and no one ever had a problem, anyway, he had a small power station and said that it over heated and shut down after he had it on his onboard charger for a while, so there is your issue @Dixemon.

The Victron chargers are more expensive than a noco, know why? Because they are worth it.

I’ve used a 100’ 14GA orange cord to charge my 5 batteries with 10A chargers, 6A draw, that is well within the rating of the 14GA wire of 13A. If I turn the trolling motor batteries up to 25A each then that is 11.4A’s and I will use a #12 extension cord which is good for 25A’s.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I just measured and the extension cord would need to be at 175'...so solar is looking better and better to me!

If you use #12 cords you could get away with that, its pushing the limit but if your charge rate is less than 10A’s you’ll be fine.

The formula for determining the amp draw for a charger is like this.
Charger draw, 20A’s. So 20 x 14.4= 288 watts / 120VAC=2.4A’s.
So the inductance on that extension cord is very low, you will not have any appreciable voltage drop.

 

[Dixemon]

I just measured and the extension cord would need to be at 175'...so solar is looking better and better to me!

Solar is not the way to go if you have available power, definitely get a beefier 12 gauge cord. May be expensive, but its the best thing for the batteries.

 

[Bottom Bracket]

175' of quality 12g extension cord is gonna be at least $150, weigh 60lbs. and will be a pain in the butt to deal with forever, specially if you are in a marina.

Get a spare battery and put it in the back of the truck. the new batteries are relatively light.