A hunting lodge in Maine with two small solar panels, some old used car batteries,a quarter mile of wire and careful management. An old-timer explains how he does it in this video.

The old batteries are important – recycled from the owners car once he buys a new one. The Deep cycle batteries which we are told are the right product for this environment, in reality do not hold a charge over the winter when not in use.

The wire is because the panels have to be placed a quarter mile from the house in order to catch the sun in winter. But they still charge the battery about 0.2 volts per day. This means you can take a battery from dead, when it reads 11.7 volts, to fully charged – when it reads about 12.7 volts – in just 4-5 days.

The other vital ingredient is being really stingy with usage.

Tags: battery maintenance, battery power, deep cycle battery, solar-panel