SNIP
<< >long will they last?
The lights on a P19 don't seem to draw a whole lot of juice compared to
what a 12v deep cycle battery can put out. If you are worried about
running appliances off of it (CDs boom boxes, weather radios, etc...) these
devices can also run on thier own batteries to stretch capacity, and for
that I highly recommend "Renewal" brand batteries--they are alkalines and
take 25 charges, yet after the initial charger "investment" of about $10,
the batteries only seem to cost about 20% more than regular alkaline
batteries. A real deal.
This would significanly "stretch" the use of the boat battery for lights,
etc... But a solar panel is a great idea as over 4 days, some input is a
necessary great idea (different from a day or overnight trip where you are
back to shore power when needed). You can get a panel from mail order like
damark catalog, the northern equipment catalog, ive seen some on ebay
online, or from many RV suppliers both on line, or near where you live.
The cig plug with clips can be obtained from your local auto store or
walmart. Some panels are the soft "roll up" film type that may mount
more easily than solid/stiff/fixed frame plastic ones. And with solar
panels "brown" silicon (as opposed to "blue" silicon" chips) are
"amorphous" type (silica bonded to an aluminum substrate) and are *much*
less efficient in producing electricy than the Blue "grown" crystal chip
type panels (which cost more). The one on my boat is a 1w amorphous panel
(very small--dashboard size)
Also you can stretch some of the light requirements from electric to
chemical by buying chem light sticks and running them up your mast (white)
Costs a bit but saves electricity all night if that is more precious for
music, etc...
Hope that helps....
Thomas
P19 #578
Colorado Springs
>>
I second above opinion...
I also have an 8Amp alternator on my 8HP Nissan... Only charges when run at
start position or above. Actually discharges at idle...
SF