On 2007-04-24 15:58:26 -0400, Jerry Atkiin said:

I just installed two 31 Optima batteries in my sailboat. I had thought
about installing a good size solar panel however we decide for the amount
of season we have in Michigan and the amount of motoring we do it would
probably not be worth the expense. However I have seen on EBay a 20 watt
portable panel that I thought might be handy to just hook up when anchored
to minimize the amount of engine running time and if anything keep the
refigerator top up.

Two questions... as the input I doubt would exceed the current used is
there any problem just hooking the panel direct to the house battery
without a regulator?

How do I connect both batteries to the panel at the same time. By
connecting the panel to the "both" setting on the battery switch?

We do this with a solid 12w cell. I only connect one battery at a time
to it, as I don't really trust two identical batteries to be truly
identical, but plugging it into the cigarette lighter would allow you
to chose 1, 2 or both.

The small cells are fine without a regulator for the 100+ AH of group 31s.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/