Can a solar panel charge trolling motor batteries?

[t-bone821]

My boat is kept on a lift about 100 feet from land. I do not have power at waters edge. Household power is another 90 feet away. I want to add an electric motor to the boat lift to eliminate hand cranking the boat up and down. I also need to charge three 12 volt trolling motor batteries.

I know there are options available to attach a solar panel, 12 volt battery and a motor to the lift. My question is has anyone used a solar panel to also charge trolling motor batteries? If so, what product and how is it wired to the batteries?


Thanks

[Ozark Bob]

Google "solar chargers for boat hoists". There are several. Bob

[bfish]

Solar panels are mostly used for maintaining boat batteries, but it can be done with enough panels.

Look into using a cordless drill for the boat lift (with and without with a solar charger) vs a dedicated electric motor.

[GBS]

Here's a list of "stuff" for a entry level recharging of 2 12v batteries in an RV. For your needs, you may have to scale up a bit, so don't take this as a definitive Amazon (mostly) shopping list. The person that I got this from noted that it takes him about 6-8 hrs to recharge from 50%, on an average day. Lots of factors to plan for, so individual mileage may vary, of course. About $600 for the items on the list.
Wade into almost any RV forum, and you will quickly go blind reading all the posts with information on how to set up solar charging. Many companies offer package solutions, at a price, of course.

100 Watt 12 V Polycrystalline Solar Panels 2
Solar Panel Mounting Z Bracket Kit 2
MC4 Male/Female Cable Connectors 5 Pair
Solar Crimping Tool 1
Solar Cable #10 Copper 100'
ABS Solar Double Cable Entry Gland 1
MPPT 40A Solar Charge Controller 1
Remote Meter 1
Battery Temperature Sensor 1
6 Gauge Wire - Red 10 Feet
6 Gauge Wire - Black 10 Feet
Maxi In-Line Fuse Holder (6 AWG) 1
40 Amp Fuse 1
Solar Line fuse Holder 10
30 Amp ATC Fuse 10

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by t-bone821

My boat is kept on a lift about 100 feet from land. I do not have power at waters edge. Household power is another 90 feet away. I want to add an electric motor to the boat lift to eliminate hand cranking the boat up and down. I also need to charge three 12 volt trolling motor batteries.

I know there are options available to attach a solar panel, 12 volt battery and a motor to the lift. My question is has anyone used a solar panel to also charge trolling motor batteries? If so, what product and how is it wired to the batteries?


Thanks

I currently have three lifts 2 shore stations and 1 Newman all are 3600 lb cap and all three are 12 volt ( no one ever got electrocuted with 12 volts) all use type 27 deep cycle batteries all have 5 watt solar collectors from either harbor the batteries usually last 3-5 years and have never failed even when using the lift 5 or 6 times a day . one uses a Harbor friegt 12000 lb winch,one uses a wheel pully winch and the newmans uses a sidewinder (that one I have used since 2004 same collector ) if you use more than 7 watts you must use a controller to reduce the charge to the battery but 5 -7 watts hook up direct the only thing you need to do is check the water in the battery in july mid season. PM me if you need more info or cell there is no need to spend more than 50-100 on a 5-7 watt solar collector for lift use

[CraigM]

In Arizona lots of guys dry camp in desert Lake areas to charge trolling motor batteries most use a Harbor freight set up , I have done it with the old 45 watt set up, the new 100 watt one is what most guys use today . some have them set up over the motor on the boat kinda like the plat form on a flats boat but you could set up the same system on your lift. if you use over 5-7 watts you must use a device to modify the current to the batteries . The Harbor freight set up includes one if you check out camping world or State line Trailer online sites they have the setups for RVs the same set up will work on a lift for charging your trolling batteries i

[yooper911]

Make sure you know how to do the math to convert watts to amps etc.

To get 10 amps you will need 1200 watts at 120 volts

[TomP.]

Before I went with solar I would rent a trencher ( around here I can rent one for $80 half day ) and bury an underground wire with GFI on the house side and be done with it.

[VernH]

Originally Posted by yooper911

Make sure you know how to do the math to convert watts to amps etc.

To get 10 amps you will need 1200 watts at 120 volts

Perhaps you need to check your math.

When using a 120 AC volt charger to charge a 12 V a battery at 10 amps, the charger isn't using 1200 watts (its more like the 100 watts...)

Many solar panels are typically already running at 12 v. so a 100 watt solar panel is already putting our almost 10 amps.

Originally Posted by yooper911

Make sure you know how to do the math to convert watts to amps etc.

To get 10 amps you will need 1200 watts at 120 volts

Where did you get 120 volts from. I thought we were talking DC, 12/24/36.