My
solar system consists of an array of 4
panels totaling 290W connected to a dumb 30A controller which only shows
current status, no
history. The
battery bank consists of 3 12V probably deep cell
batteries, which have been meeting my
power needs for the past year since I acquired the
boat. The
batteries are 9 years old so they don't really owe me anything, I understand they were meticulously maintained by the previous owner. Last night before I went to
bed, I just happened to glance at the controller and it showed 10.4V, and there was nothing creating a large draw at the time. I shut off everything else with the exception of the
anchor light and it bounced between 10.4 and 10.5V. I decided to turn the fridge back on for the remainder of the night. When I arose just before sunrise, the
battery level was at 11V. Normally the bank is at its lowest of about 12.3 to 12.5 first thing in the morning. I decided to try starting the
engine, with little hope of there being enough juice in the batteries, however was happily surprised when it managed to start, a little sluggish compared to normal but good enough.. I ran it for about 5 to 10 minutes then shut it down. The batteries then showed about 12.6V, dropped a little bit then picked up again as the
solar panels started contributing
power to them. I later ran the
motor for an hour and in mid afternoon, they are showing about 13.5, as it typically is this time of day. Last fall I tested the SG of all 3 batteries and there were a couple of cells a little below the ideal level but not anywhere near dead. I realize the batteries will need replacing soon, and I'm waiting for
delivery of a new
Victron SmartSolar 100/20 to replace the old one which will help me decide what to do for replacement batteries when the time comes. Just wondered if anyone has thoughts about my experience.
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