BGB Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Hi all i have just got a little 10W panel to keep the caravan battery topped up while in storage over the winter months. I hooked it up to a volt meter and got the following numbers from it today (overcast) 20Volts and around 0. 54 mHa. now i think this is ok to shove on to the battery directly and not use a controller but i just wanted someone with experience just to confirm this is ok to do. Quote ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2015 BMW 330d Touring Xdrive pulling A 2014 Bailey Unicorn S2 Cadiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumdrop Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Most bumf says that you need a controller Over 10 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nme2no1 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 You can put that directly across the battery without a problem, the downside is it won't do much to help. The self discharge is likely to be higher than what the panel will supply, did you take your readings with the panel outdoors if so it will be even worse if you intend to use it behind a window etc. Sorry to say, in my humble opinion, it's a waste of money and won't have any appreciable affect on your battery state of charge, without a controller it may even discharge it slightly during the night time periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyJover Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 now i think this is ok to shove on to the battery directly and not use a controller but i just wanted someone with experience just to confirm this is ok to do. Yes, it'll be fine. However it may not keep your battery fully topped up through the winter. 10W is really tiny. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGB Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 thanks tony its alot better than the riubbish 2Watt ones on sale. I wanted something to prevent the battery completely discharging but nothing too big that cant be put away when not in use. no need for 100W systems yet. Quote ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2015 BMW 330d Touring Xdrive pulling A 2014 Bailey Unicorn S2 Cadiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumdrop Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 32watts to 38watts would keep the battery charged but you would need a controller and reasonable sunshiny days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGB Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Just to let you know that the little 10W panel is doing fine. It may not be charging up the battery each day but it certainly is preventing the battery draining so far. Will update this after a few more weeks testing Quote ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2015 BMW 330d Touring Xdrive pulling A 2014 Bailey Unicorn S2 Cadiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyJover Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Just to let you know that the little 10W panel is doing fine. It may not be charging up the battery each day but it certainly is preventing the battery draining so far. Will update this after a few more weeks testing Great news Just a note that: . .. without a controller it may even discharge {the battery} slightly during the night time periods. . .. is rubbish. Panels are fitted with germanium diodes specifically to avoid this. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nme2no1 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) Just to let you know that the little 10W panel is doing fine. It may not be charging up the battery each day but it certainly is preventing the battery draining so far. Will update this after a few more weeks testing Glad it's working for you, well done and thanks for the update. Edited September 17, 2014 by nme2no1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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