Solar battery charger

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:25 pm

Harbor Freight has a solar battery charger on sale.
I know it's Harbor Freight but it has some pretty good reviews. I noticed the electrical connector looks almost identical to the one that I have hooked-up on my scooter for the Battery Tender.
Might be something worth trying. If you park outside you could maybe mount it with Velcro and charge your battery while at work.

Overall dimensions: 13-3/4" L x 4-3/4" W x 1/2" thick

Has anyone tried this for a car or bike?

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:16 pm

I something similar on my boat and it works well. It keeps the battery close to fully charged even when not in use for a few weeks.

Rob

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 12:53 am

Not particularly useful for winterizing a scooter, however.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:04 am

TVB wrote:Not particularly useful for winterizing a scooter, however.

No, but when I ride in the Winter with my Oxford Heaterz turned on, it drains my battery a bit so that I sometimes can't use them on the ride home.
If I were to park where the scooter would get some sun while at work, my battery might be pumped back up to a full charge

.

I got a super coupon in my email today that makes this thing $11.99.
I might just have to get it and play around a bit.

agrogod · Post by **agrogod** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:57 am

Make sure it has an internal blocking diode which prevents battery drain during low/no light conditions. Nothing worse than having the life "sucked" out of the battery.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:37 pm

I'd be interested to know if it works too. I've seen a few more advanced ones that I know would, but they're like $150. since we have so many sunny days in CO, it would certainly cut down on my need to swap batteries

.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:12 pm

Tocsik wrote:No, but when I ride in the Winter with my Oxford Heaterz turned on, it drains my battery a bit so that I sometimes can't use them on the ride home.
If I were to park where the scooter would get some sun while at work, my battery might be pumped back up to a full charge .

You get sun in the winter? Bizarre.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:14 pm

TVB wrote:
Tocsik wrote:No, but when I ride in the Winter with my Oxford Heaterz turned on, it drains my battery a bit so that I sometimes can't use them on the ride home.
If I were to park where the scooter would get some sun while at work, my battery might be pumped back up to a full charge .
You get sun in the winter? Bizarre.

over 300 days of sun/year here!
Even with the temps are below freezing, steam will be coming off of wet roads from the intense sun!

Lotrat · Post by **Lotrat** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:16 pm

I got the orange one last year. I tested it out. My battery read 12.6V. This state of charge on an open battery indicates a 75% charge level. Charge voltage climbed to 13V in just under 30 minutes. I let it charge for 60 minutes. I pulled the charger and let it sit for an hour. It was at 12.8V (100%). Cranked it over once and shut it down. Voltage dropped down to under 12V while cranking, but once turned off the voltage rebounded to 12.7V. 75% to full charge in an hour. The older version had a charge "indicator" built into the 12V adapter.

It now lives in my VW... in a storage lot.

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:22 pm

I've yet to see any of these solar chargers worth the price, no matter how cheap. It seems we're not "there" yet. I just set up my bikes to charge electronics while I'm riding (when I'm on my long camping trips and there's no electricity for a few weeks). I'd like to read a review after you've had it a while.

Lotrat · Post by **Lotrat** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:05 pm

siobhan wrote:I'd like to read a review after you've had it a while.

I got my solar charger 5/12/2011 (14 months ago). Charged my scooter battery just fine. It now maintains my VW battery just fine. No issues. It still works. $16 dollars well spent IMO.

I found the manual. I was wrong, it's unregulated... 22.25V open voltage. 1.5 watts (about 100mA). Not worried about it being unregulated on a car battery. My radio probably had a higher parasitic draw, but I just need to maintain the battery voltage.

Just to compare, a battery tender Jr. is rated for 750mA and it's designed to "maintain". 100mA isn't much, but it does pump current into the battery. It can maintain and even charge small batteries, but it's not going to power your TV while you're camping.

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:21 pm

Lotrat, thanks for the review. I need something to charge camera, helmetcam, communicator, phone batteries when I'm my long trips. Right now it's still easier to use the bike's battery. I figure, it's just one more thing to carry and I've got my kit down pretty small now. I do appreciate your update!

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 7:42 pm

My scooter is my portable generator on long trips, for recharging my phone and batteries for my camera. I usually do this while I'm riding, but I'll also plug my phone in at camp if it's running low. I don't bring along anything else that needs juice, so it's adequate. (A lot of the places I camp have electrical service, but I don't bother bringing along AC chargers to use it.)

Lotrat · Post by **Lotrat** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:43 pm

My new gadget for charging stuff.