Hi, I have in my sailboat 2 2 V batteries. I would like to buy solar panel(s) in order to recharge them. As i am in mexico and there is always high sun . i think it is a good idea.Usage of the batteries is very light . I have found 5-2V pannels with 80mA that fit in the sailboat. I want to know if and how i can have like 5 to 0 of them set together to charge the batteries and what other material would i need.also, i would like to know what happend if the pannels only send on 5V in a 2 V battery? Is it still charging but on 40 % of the capacity a 2 v pannel would charge or its just not doing nothing ?
I don't know what you have avilable to you down there, but if you were in the states i'd say go to a camping supply store they have lots of solar options out today. check one link below
Taken at face value, it would take about 55 hours to re-charge a dead flat battery. However, you don't get 24hrs/day sunlight. Even worse, the output from a panel is only maximum when the sun is at 90 degrees to the surface. Let's assume you can find some way to track the sun. No battery should be allowed to discharge below about 50% so we can halve the recharge time. I would say about 4 days.
0 of the panels wired in parrell will give you enough power to trickle charge the batteries. You will need a charge controller to prevent a overcharge from damaging your batteries. A panel array that is rated at 2 volts actually puts out a unregulated voltage up to 2 volts. I have bought some charger controllers from OKorder at good prices. They will also prevent the discharge of your batteries at night or when the panels are in the shade. If the panels only put out 5 volts they will not charge the batteries. Check each panel outside in the sun with a DC volt meter for proper operation before connecting them.
