Solar Tractor Battery Maintainer?

[ultrarunner]

I've used one of these for years in a shed that has no power. Mounted the solar panel on the roof- and this is Nevada so sunshine most days of the year. Expensive but worth it to me - batteries last for years now.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200328565_200328565

This is what I bought and branded by battery charger company.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Being an electrician.... I have power Everywhere . Even to front planters. I can control barn lights from house. All sheds, including wifes greenhouse and planting sheds are wired. I cant see how anyone can’t have power at any shed. There’s always something needing plugged in. I never have figured out how many miles of underground wires I’ve run. I even ran some under the front road to an additional 10 acre parcel I own so I can heat water trough and electric fence.

oh, and the wifes lighted arena. When I added that load to my shop I had to change shop from 50 amps to 200 amps.

I generally have power everywhere, but the barn is across the creek from the house. Getting power to the barn is more complicated than running wires. It would be nice to run a water line out there too, but with the creek, livestock is not going to go thirsty.

I ran 200 amps to the shop, 30 amps to the wood shed/garden shed, and 120v to the gazebo, but power to the barn is going to require a 60' clear span bridge just to support the conduit.

 

[grsthegreat]

Oh...that would truly be a pain. How do you get the equipment across the creek.im glad I don’t have to deal with a creek.they truly are beautiful, and also a pain.

here in idaho, if you have a running creek, you can’t use the water in most cases. Especially for irrigation.

 

[BeezFun]

I have one from autozone that works fine but my battery is on a dump trailer that doesn't have a parasitic load. A tractor might be like a car, it's constantly drawing power for the ECU and other electronic stuff, so you might want to either disconnect the battery when it's on the charger or measure the parasitic drain to make sure the panel you buy can keep up with it. One thing to make sure of is that the unit comes with a charge controller that prevents discharging the battery during the night. What solar panels giveth, they also taketh away, so they will discharge the load at night if the battery isn't cutoff by the charge controller. Mine is 2W, that's plenty of power to keep it in float mode through the winter. You don't need sunshine all the time, the panel will work on an overcast day and a battery will go quite a while when it's fully charged without needing a float charge anyway.

 

[fidowanttobe]

Been using one for years. Talked many friends into them also. Awesome tool. Set it on the dash and forget about it.
Just make sure they have a controller and the reverse diode.
I believe I spent around $40 for them.
Of course, you'll have to get a weatherproof one and mount it outside.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Oh...that would truly be a pain. How do you get the equipment across the creek.im glad I don’t have to deal with a creek.they truly are beautiful, and also a pain.

here in idaho, if you have a running creek, you can’t use the water in most cases. Especially for irrigation.

A county road runs through the middle of my place. A couple hundred yards upstream the road crosses the creek, and I have driveway access on both sides. The barn is about 400 yards downstream of that property line.

 

[Leylands]

I don’t think you would have anything to loose, the battery isolation is a good idea too! Im actually looking at a similar set up for my tractor/shed until I can get power in a few years, only I’m thinking a little larger scale... a couple of 100 watt solar panels, a few deep cycle or even golf cart batteries, and an inverter. it will surprise you what it will run for relatively inexpensive upfront cost. Not only will it run a battery maintainer, but also some lights too. depending on how big you go could run 15A plug for misc periodic tool use

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I don’t think you would have anything to loose, the battery isolation is a good idea too! Im actually looking at a similar set up for my tractor/shed until I can get power in a few years, only I’m thinking a little larger scale... a couple of 100 watt solar panels, a few deep cycle or even golf cart batteries, and an inverter. it will surprise you what it will run for relatively inexpensive upfront cost. Not only will it run a battery maintainer, but also some lights too. depending on how big you go could run 15A plug for misc periodic tool use

Good point. Somewhere in a junk drawer I have a 700 watt inverter that I'm not using, plus having a topped up battery means jumper cables might be all I need...

I hadn't thought of setting up the barn off-grid, but by the time I buy 360' of direct burial cable and rent a trencher, solar panels might be cheaper. I could string some 12v. wire and have LED lights out there on a switch.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[fried1765]

Good point. Somewhere in a junk drawer I have a 700 watt inverter that I'm not using, plus having a topped up battery means jumper cables might be all I need...

I hadn't thought of setting up the barn off-grid, but by the time I buy 360' of direct burial cable and rent a trencher, solar panels might be cheaper. I could string some 12v. wire and have LED lights out there on a switch.

Thanks for the suggestion.

The idea of solar panels is not totally bad....but...
Think forward!
What might you like to use out there in the future?

I shopped for a good deal on 500' of direct burial cable.
Rented a trencher, and did the job ....37 years ago.
I have a 100A barn service panel, and can use a welder, or whatever else I might want.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The idea of solar panels is not totally bad....but...
Think forward!
What might you like to use out there in the future?

I shopped for a good deal on 500' of direct burial cable.
Rented a trencher, and did the job ....37 years ago.
I have a 100A barn service panel, and can use a welder, or whatever else I might want.

Everybody's situation is different. I have a 36 x 60 shop with a 200 amp service where all the welding and heavy power draw is. The barn is just a barn - hay and equipment storage mostly. It's a good place to keep stuff dry, and that's about it.