are solar trickle chargers worth it???

[mr d]

considering a solar charger (tis the season) to maintain full charge all week end. I don't fish during the week. I typicaly stay overnight..the heater sytem requires a 12 volt to run the furnace. thanks

[mr d]

ok pple. SO ya don't use solar chargers?.. ...humm...seemed to make sense to me.

[MYPEARL]

if theres no sun then what??? wind??? your asking a boating question i think. im with ya on it tho and would recomend westmarine on the world wide web.

[beer batter]

sun's angle is too low during the winter to charge up much. You've only got about 6 hrs per day where it would do much good and those days don't happen all that often.

[LoonASea]

Take into consideration the amount of light available during the winter ( not just direct sun light ) My opinion is your gain would be minimal ,,another thing to think about is You would have to have it directed at the suns angle ,,making it visible to vandals and thieves ,,a wind generator would be more benificial,,,just me 2 cents

Randoid

[mr d]

gotcha...thanks. I'll invest in a new deep cycle (can always use an extra back up)..and use the old one as needed and OR borrow the inlaws generator to recharge on the spot.

thanks... With lights, themostat and flasher and aqua view i thought solar would do the trick. good luck on the ice !!!

[HarryG]

I would say you would be better off with additional batteries. Solar is tough in the winter. You could also consider a tow in charge system. Even if you leave your shack on the ice, you could idle the vehicle and charge the batteries. I do understand why Solar is tempting.

[draled]

what you need is about a 500 watt solar charger it will work just fine as long as you don't have snow on it. a charger for $100 will not work, need more power. a second battery is much much cheaper.

[nytelyter]

i posted a rather informative answer to this question back twords the end of august. i dont know how to post the link but you should be able to find it. ... paul

the post you want was posted on 9-8 of this year. if soime one knows how to post a diredt link plwase do.

[cheesehead]

Here you go..

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=857626&page=52&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1