Solar Power, Panels, Charging, Etc.`

[ebb]

Check out the Odyssey 'Military Grade' AGM batteries. Gels are too finiky. Maybe cranky's the word. And wes maroon won't have them.
Made with virgin lead, Huge service life, same battery for starting and deep cycle, 10 year service life, chargem with your old wet battery charger. 22 page 'technical guide' worth looking for on the site. No prices!
www.odysseysoutheast.com

[tha3rdman]

Prices of Oydessy Batteries from a delaer here in MD
http://www.1stopmarineshop.com/Products.html

PC 680T
$145.95

PC 925T
$153.95

PC 1200T
$187.95

PC 1700T
$253.95

PC 2150MJ
$317.95

[ebb]

3rdman, those prices seem comparable ("compeditive").

Be great if a comparison chart existed that cut thru the hype and maybe cut open the batteries to show us what we paying for. Generally an agm and gel are going to last longer and cause less grief than a wet cell. I'd like to see these high end batteries put to the test (against their claims). How would you test 'service life'? Cycling from 100% discharge 'over 400 times' to 100% capacity certainly could be designed into the procedure. Charging in 1/3 of the time it takes for wet cells, is another claim that could be tested. I guess you could drop then a few times as well.

Odyssey's 'drycell' means just that, there is no acid to spill out of a cracked case.
Agms are more vibration resistant than gels because of the way they are made.
Agms are more efficient charging than gels, have a higher charge acceptance, and while some gels claim to have a long life, agms are said to have a reasonably long life. Go figure.
Agms and gelled are sealed. They require internal pressure to work properly. It's possible to pop a safety valve, which is why it is best when going for these batteries to upgrade to a sophisticated 3 stage charging controller. ($)
It means tho, to me, that you can place these babies in an enclosed living space, which I would not do with a wetcell.
Out side of that, what are the differences between agms and gell?
Length of warranty has to be a good indicator of craftsmanship.

[ebb]

Solar panels keep advancing.
Look at the (bimini grade) 20W roll up 'Powerfilm' (15.4 @1.2A) for $320 on
www.siliconsolar.com

Scroll to Marine Solar Panels

Be interested in what you think since ayeno diddly about this stuff.

[tha3rdman]

ebb, On that site it also hase where you can buy Solar cells 2nds, for 1.60 a watt.

Granted they are ridid cells but has any one every soldered their own panel? How involved is it?

Figured it would leave you the flexibility to make a custom panel to fit where you wanted to put it.

http://www.plastecs.com/solar%20cells.htm - also sells individual cells wish they would break out the watt/sq. in.

[tha3rdman]

Has anyone considered using solar powered spotlights as spreader lights, As I see it the only disadvantage is not being able to turn them off.

[Tony G]

Not bad, this thread goes back 3+ years. It must be time to resurect it.

On one of the other, more recent threads Kent gave us a limited update on his system. Everything works great. So to that extent I did a little digging around (read shopping). Many forums on the web give the Kyocera panels a thumbs up. But the 50 watters are getting hard to find. It seems most of the places I looked were out of stock and some didn't anticipate seeing more any time soon. There were a few 65w, and 80+watt are dreadily available. But the price from a 50 to 65 watt nearly doubles. Did I ever mention that I'm a cheap date-er-skate.

There was a service tech ready to talk this afternoon, maybe milking the Friday timeclock, that seemed knowledgable enough. Found me some 50watters of the same quality, construction, and, in his opinion better track record, albeit somewhat bigger. He proceeded to tell me some of the commonplace 'alterations' customers make to toughen the panels a little more. Of course he didn't suggest I do anything like that even though the manufacturer doesn't warranty their panels for a marine enviornment. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

So with Kent's product approval head-nod we blew nextweek's paycheck on a sunsaver controller and a couple of 50 watt panels. Now, I'm not planing on a TV aboard like Aussie Geoff, just enough power is needed to power up a lap-top, or lab-top Craig, stereo, and electric accordian with full compliment of effects pedals. This boat be rockin!