Hello everyone, this is KnockOnWood & welcome to today’s edition of smart tips for RVs & Campers. This time I want to talk to you about a creative way to take care of your marine and deep cycle batteries during the cold winter months. As you know, deep cycle batteries, even if they are built tough, will be damaged by sub-zero temperatures if they are not plugged into a mains voltage charger or brought inside warm indoors. But deep cycle batteries are extremely heavy to lift which could be bad for your back & running long 120 volt electric charger cables through wet snow & ice for several months in winter has its own set of problems. I solved this problem by building my own portable solar PV charger kit & so can you! The important thing to remember is to size your solar panel to match Amp-hour capacity of your battery. So, what I have here is a 100W peak mono-crystalline solar panel, a 120 W charge controller, 10 gauge DC cable for lengths under 75 feet and 12V automotive Quick Disconnects to plug & un-plug quickly on the go. This is a fully portable solution to keep your RV & camper batteries charged whether you are parked at home or camping in the remote woods without using mains power or noisy generators.
Post time: Feb-18-2017