questions on a solar panel

[Jedburton]

I just bought one of those solar power maintainers/chargers and it is a 12v 100ma model and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these. Will it help extend the life on my trolling motor or keep my fishfinder charged or even charge a trolling battery. Just wondering if anyone knows how well they work,
Jed
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[Hopper]

I saw one mounted on top of a guys outboard once. He used it just to ensure his main battery always had something going to it since he always had some drain on it (livewells, fish finder, etc). If you fish a lot with your front electric motor and don't run your main motor a lot, this would be a smart setup. It doesn't supply a lot of juice, probably more piece of mind than actual charge.

I have come close to draining my main battery some days when it isn't quite up to par. Yes, I have separate batteries for the main and electric. Running all the "accessories" can be a drain on a battery that isn't 100%.

Hopper
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[southernman]

is it one of the brunton models?

sm
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[Jedburton]

it is a seasense
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[Theekillerbee]

Jed, that small of a panel will maintain your battery, but won't put much charge in to it (perhaps the smaller SLA batteries could get a little charge out of them). Of course it is better than nothing. They will extend the life of your battery though.
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[RipNLips]

I work with solar panels on a daily basis. All you need is one that outputs enough current to meet your needs. Do some energy budget calculations and you'll know what you need. [url "http://www.solarex.com/"]Solarex[/url] makes them in all sizes and prices, and it's a great product. If you don't want to have to add your own voltage regulator, get one that has a voltage regulator for charging a 12 volt battery built into the solar panel.
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