Solar Battery Chargers Can Save Your Boating Season

Solar battery chargers are the answer to one of the most perplexing problems facing any boating fan during the summer season: how to keep a boat’s battery charged and ready even if you only get the chance to use it every once in a while. If you boat’s battery sits during the week and only gets used Friday to Sunday or if you skip a weekend from time to time, then it can be hard for to stay topped up and ready for an afternoon out on the water, especially if your boat is docking at a remote cottage where electricity isn’t as reliable as it could be. Check out the benefits of solar-charging devices.

Trickle Chargers to the Rescue

It’s tough on a battery’s internal chemistry to fully discharge and then recharge or be jump-started again and again. Over time, a batter can lose the ability to hold a charge, necessitating costly replacement. It’s an especially important issue if your battery is a smaller unit that has a limited capacity to begin with, as is the case with many boat batteries.

Solar battery chargers or, more accurately, solar battery charging systems, are capable of providing a steady flow of electricity to the battery in the form of a trickle charge that doesn’t stress the circuit. It’s similar to plugging a trickle charger onto your car battery in your garage when storing it for an extended period of time.

Easy to Install

Unlike a traditional trickle charger, there’s no need to plug into a wall outlet. A boon for boaters who tie-up at marinas or cottage docks where electricity simply isn’t available. Instead, these solar battery chargers use a flat panel to convert the rays of the sun into a modest electric charge, which is then transmitted to the battery via the charging circuit.

Solar battery chargers are easy to install, needing only an unshaded area to collect some rays. Modern designs do equally well in cloudy or sunny weather, and if you don’t have a boathouse roof to attach the panel to it’s relatively simple to mount the charger on a pole instead.

Solar battery charging can keep your boat ready for action all summer long. This season, take advantage of modern technology to protect your boat’s electrical system.

Check out all the electrical system products available on NAPA Online or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on solar battery chargers, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

Photo courtesy of Morguefile.