Sale ! Solar Maintainer for 2 or More 12Volt Deep Cycle Marine Batteries Connected in Parallel Trolling Motor - No Experience Plug & Play Design. Dimensions 14.1" L x 15.7" W x 1/4" Thick. 10' Cable.

I wanted a fool-proof, low-maintainance, simple-to-use and rugged product to keep my 2-battery sailboat bank happy over the winter. I read the other reviews and was impressed by the comments on construction and numerous references to customer service. I went to the ITC website to read about their products. Then I sent an e-mail at about 8:30 on a Friday night - I figured I'd get a response on Monday. Nope - I had a response from Rich at ITC that evening in about an hour. We traded a few e-mails, and I bought the 16.6 W unit. It arrived in typical Amazon fashion - ridiculously quickly. I had a question about optimizing utility, so I sent another e-mail. Rich sent me his cell-phone number and suggested I call him! He's as pleasant and professional on the telephone as his e-mail exchanges are, and he offered several excellent ideas on maximizing the utility of the unit.A big selling point to me is that this rig does not require a regulator as long as the panel doesn't exceed 1/50th of the battery capacity (I'm pretty sure I got that right). That means a simple set-up with fewer things to go wrong. I set it up in a temporary arrangement (not the comprehensive solution Rich suggested - we're dealing with snow) and it performs as advertised. No fanfare, no fuss, just electricity. I almost wish it would make a happy chiming noise or something; I feel like I'm getting something free! Great product, world-class customer service from Rich at ITC, and as-usual quick response from Amazon. I can't wait for warmer weather to rig the comprehensive solution and get this out on the bay!

Use the solar charger to keep battery charged for trolling motor. Works pretty well in the Michigan occasional sunshine, but generally brings battery only to 3/4 charge. Nonetheless, it is durable, very easy to install, and is way better than lugging the battery up to the charger!

I actually wrote a review praising the folks at this company for their integrity in NOT trying to sell me one of these (based on our specific situation) when I called to ask more about this awhile back (we’re basically just daysailers, our boat is docked year round with shore power, and I was asking about the 8.3 watt at the time).However, our rigger (very experienced in just about all things sailing and helping us fix up our older 21’ sailboat) is a fan of solar and being “off the grid.” His opinion is that even though our electrical needs for boat camping for a night or two away are minimal and infrequent and we have access to shore power the rest of the time, let the sun keep our little group 24, 79 Ah, AGM battery topped up with this (especially as we live in an area with enough sun) and not bother with dependence on shore power other than for plugging in power tools and such. He liked that this product didn’t need a regulator and also agreed with Rich at ITC that the 8.3watt might charge too slowly for our needs if we camped more than one night, so we went ahead and ordered this 20watt (still slow but sufficient for us). It was here in about 48 hrs. Quick, easy set-up (I’ve just set it on the deck and run the cord down through a small opening at the companionway... easy for us to just move as needed when we’re under sail) and now our battery’s ready to go when we are. I like the idea of letting the sun do the work and am also switching over to LED for the navigation and 2 berth lights, as that’ll reduce our energy needs to nearly nothing. We use a cooler and a butane cook top, only use 12v outlets for a couple of low draw things, have a pull-start outboard, etc. so don’t have a lot of the electrical requirements that many boaters do. No muss. No fuss. So far, so good!

A friend of mine showed up in his camper last month with a solar panel and controller that he hooked up. So, not to be out done, I researched. And found this one (last one in stock); the reviews were helpful so I took the plunge. It arrived in 2 days after paying the 3-5 days, everything was included so I connected it all up. I went ahead and put the diode in line (I hope that is ok for charging my deep-cycle marine battery I use with my camper -- please let me know if I should take it off), at first I put the diode in backwards (doh) but noticed before I was done with the wire. I then tested it, first in my garage and already got 13 V, then in the sunlight. I thought something was wrong because my voltmeter gave me an error. I switched it to a higher range and it was reading 20.5V! I placed it on top of my camper with one side raised up with a 2x4 facing south and continually check it. It is a good deal and I feel we'll worth the price. Floor those reasons, and others, I give it a 5 stars. Thanks for the great product, fast shipping and reasonable price.

Right out of the box and installed, unit did not function as stated. Got instant help from technical service and verified that panel had no amperage. Sad part about it is that I have to pay shipping out to California only to be told what I already know and I will be without a panel to charge my batteries for up to 3 weeks until a replacement panel is sent back. So make sure to test your panel, (in direct sunlight) before running and hiding wires and installing panel. It was a lot of work to undo all my installation.UPDATE: After sending the panel to California for inspection, I was told there WAS a problem with a connector. So they sent my panel back to me at no charge. Once I received it back, I tested it on a single deep cycle while it was in direct sunlight for 5 hours straight…..no change in voltage! I switched connectors that were given to me on return, and it was finally charging. Hooked it to my dual battery setup and by the end of the day in 50% direct sunlight, battery voltage went from 11.7 to 12.2. I will keep watching to make sure it keeps up.