Hey all. So I don’t have a trawler but have gotten a wealth of info off her so I decided to ask. I’m looking to in the near future add a small solar setup and separate house battery for running fans, lights and charging in the cabin of my boat. My boats 21 feet and I’m thinking of a single battery and either a 50 Ah or 100Ah battery. Do y’all think that is adequate? I’m thinking so but this is my first delve into solar and have no experience to base it off of. Thanks in advance.
Small solar set up
- Thread starter Jmk2000
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
A single 100 ah battery should run a few lights and a fan or two pretty easily.
Only source to recharge will be the solar panel? I’d consider making provisions to charge from the engine too if possible. A 21 footer will have limited space for a large panel depending on the style of boat.how much room is available for panel(s)?
Only source to recharge will be the solar panel? I’d consider making provisions to charge from the engine too if possible. A 21 footer will have limited space for a large panel depending on the style of boat.how much room is available for panel(s)?
Some years ago I wrote several articles on this topic which are published in the Library section (hit upper right icon on this page) of this site under the Systems catagory. Download the sizing one which will tell you how to size your panel and batteries. The third article from the bottom, Solar Panels for your Boat tells you how to install a simple system.
The Amazon links are probably dead and MPPT controller prices have dropped to the point that I now recommend them for smaller systems. Renogy is a good brand for panels and controllers.
BTW, use at least a 100 Ah battery and more depending on your load. A 100 Ah battery (non Li) which can only be discharged to 50% for best life will require about 200 watts of panels to fully charge it in one day from 50%.
Pair of 6V golf cart batteries wired in series give you the most bang for your buck. Renogy or AGMs from others are best if you don’t want to do any maintenance.
David
The Amazon links are probably dead and MPPT controller prices have dropped to the point that I now recommend them for smaller systems. Renogy is a good brand for panels and controllers.
BTW, use at least a 100 Ah battery and more depending on your load. A 100 Ah battery (non Li) which can only be discharged to 50% for best life will require about 200 watts of panels to fully charge it in one day from 50%.
Pair of 6V golf cart batteries wired in series give you the most bang for your buck. Renogy or AGMs from others are best if you don’t want to do any maintenance.
David
Right now the only place I have available and it’s where I’ve been thinking of putting the 100watt panel
Is on top of the Bimini top that covers the front 2 seats. I may run lines back to the start batteries as well which are 2 group 24 deep cycle battery’s. I was just thinking about this for my house battery setup so that I don’t risk killing the start batteries when on anchor
Hi David,
I’ll definitely have to check out your links. I was already thinking of AGM’s so I don’t have to deal with any acid spillage. I’m still trying to figure out a good spot to put the additional battery(s). Good to know about the Renology setups. I actually was just looking at one of their kits with a MMPT on Amazon.
