Last year, the solar panel I've had on my feeder for the last 8 yrs finally gave up the ghost and quit charging. I don't remember what brand it was, but it put out just over 6V and the last battery I had was over 4 yrs old! It was about 6"x6" in size.
I bought a new solar panel from Academy this year to replace it, Game Winner I think (yeah, probably should have known better...). I had the feeder set up at the house for the summer testing and all seemed to work fine. It is the smaller rectangle sized panel.
Started feeding corn and now my battery won't last two weeks! It's almost like the solar panel is draining the battery!
I have a similar panel on my daughter's feeder that is doing just fine, but it is another brand, and I don't know which one (it was a spare panel).
What recommendations do you have for a new 6V panel I can buy to keep my battery going? I don't really want to spend $50+ for a panel, but if I have to, I have to. Is there a specific amperage rating that I need to pay attention to?
Background: My feeder has been in the same tree for the last 8 years. There has always been some branch coverage so there is never a lot of direct sun, but always light coming thru. The old panel never had an issue with it. Feeder would run all year long even with no corn in it. Maybe that was because of the size of the panel, I don't know.
I bought a new solar panel from Academy this year to replace it, Game Winner I think (yeah, probably should have known better...). I had the feeder set up at the house for the summer testing and all seemed to work fine. It is the smaller rectangle sized panel.
Started feeding corn and now my battery won't last two weeks! It's almost like the solar panel is draining the battery!
I have a similar panel on my daughter's feeder that is doing just fine, but it is another brand, and I don't know which one (it was a spare panel).
What recommendations do you have for a new 6V panel I can buy to keep my battery going? I don't really want to spend $50+ for a panel, but if I have to, I have to. Is there a specific amperage rating that I need to pay attention to?
Background: My feeder has been in the same tree for the last 8 years. There has always been some branch coverage so there is never a lot of direct sun, but always light coming thru. The old panel never had an issue with it. Feeder would run all year long even with no corn in it. Maybe that was because of the size of the panel, I don't know.
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