It all depends on where you live and how much sun you get. Many so-called solar battery maintainers are only 5-15 watt which is very little.
Here in New York, a 5 watt solar panel can make about 1/10 th of an amp at 14 volts under normal sun conditions. Obviously, if you want even 1 amp, you need a 25-50 watt panel.
I have solar battery chargers on two of my old backhoes. Both have 80 watt panels and regulators. That's a bit overkill, but they work very well. Keep in mind that panels are sold by max ratings - and in reality, it rarely happens. An 80 watt panel is apt to make 40-50 watts at the best time of day when the sun is out. That comes to 3-4 amps of DC charge current.
A 15 watt panel is about the useful minimum in the northeast. It will make 1/2 to 3/4s of an a amp at 14 volts charge. If you live out west with a lot more sun, something smaller will work.
A big battery needs near a 1 amp charger just to offset the normal self-discharge rate. A smaller battery can be maintained with less.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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