wanted small solar panel

[scotty]

hello, i want a small panel say about 15 to 25 watt to keep my batteries up when its on anchor. so if you have one collecting dust that you dont need or want and want to make me very happy pm me with an offer.

tia

[dakno]

hey salty dog, I saw u were looking 4 a solar p., good luck, i'd like one myself. there was a story in recent crusing world about small 9x12 cells that cliped somewhere on deck, pluged in with cigar lighter type jack, and kept this boats batteries full. I have just purchased a 81 27h in n.c. and am in process of figuring out how 2 get it 2 mississippi gulf coast.

[hellosailor]

Guys-
Two cautions. Most of the small panels are not waterproof, not even rain proof. And a panel rated 25W really means "14.4v @ 1.7A" which means you'll get about 8 amp-hours out of it, on a perfectly sunny day. (Rought rule of thumb, on a perfect day you'll get four hours of the full rated power, and that's all you'll get from a full day of sunlight with no shadowing.) That will keep batteries topped up from discharging, but may be way less power than you need to recharge batteries, depending on their size and how long you have to recharge them.

Good solar capacity is still expensive. You may find something at the local chandleries, in the "end of the year clearance" sales.

[scotty]

sailor you basicly quoted what i want. a panel to just keep them from going flat when i am away from the boat. i know they wont charge but i was hoping that someone had a panel that they used for the same thing then upgraded to a real system laying around. at some point i want an 85 watt panel but its not in the budget right know.