I have two 12V gel batteries that I would like to take camping with me for power. What size solar panel I need to charge and maintain these batteries?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
it depends on how much the batteries are going to be used during each day and how much sun is available-so work out on average how much power you require in a day and match that to the solar panels power (watts) x by the time the sun is shining in a day
We kind of need the specs on the batteries to figure that out, but lets just say each battery is 125 AH (amp hours) so, 125AH+125AH=250AH, therefore, to charge those batteries in a reasonable amount of time, lets say 14 hours, you will need a panel that puts out around 250 watts. I would suggest using only 1 battery, because a 250 watt panel is not cheap!
You can however build your own panel, its fairly easy, if you have soldering skills.
Contact me if you need any links for finding the solar cells: houckbrandonh@yahoo.com
You need to estimate the amount of power you will be using per day in watt-hours. Then divide this by say 8 hours of good sunlight to get the size of the solar panel you need in watts. You will need at least a 14 volts solar panel to charge a 12 volt gel cell. Each solar cell generates from 0.5 to 0.55 volts DC in good sunlight. The size and type of solar cell will determine how much current it will provide.
We have information on a suppliers of solar cells on our products page at http://brutuscontry.com/