Solar Battery charger/maintainer - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

leathermang · #1 11-29-2015, 10:27 AM

OK.....
this is not like the other thread ...

I am not trying to be Green (on this project)...whatever that means to people.
I am not using or treating the battery as ' deep discharge'.

I am just trying to be LAZY.

I have several cars...and a 5600 Ford diesel tractor.... outside... and once a week or so pull my 100 ft 10 gauge cord and a battery charger to them and make sure they are charged.

That tractor has never had the electrical system working... and I do not use it much in the winter... I have done this charging routine approximately 884 times since we acquired it. That is enough 'Penance' for my purposes...

I would like to know if YOU or someone you know personally has put one of these solar chargers to work just keeping their car battery charged and how well ... or badly .... it worked...
We are generally ' blessed' with a lot of sunshine during the year.

Any particular brands to avoid ?

Thanks very much.

Jeremy5848 · #2 11-29-2015, 11:43 AM

I have used a solar battery "tender" on a number of occasions when a car was sitting in a remote area (while camping, for example). The solar panel I used was made for the small boat trade and was flexible so it could be mounted on the deck of a boat and even walked on. I put the panel in a window where it would see sun most of the day and connected the wiring to an "always-on" circuit in the car. The panel didn't produce a lot of electricity—maybe 1/3 Ampere—but that was enough to compensate for all of the phantom loads and put a little into the battery. Worked just fine.

leathermang · #3 11-29-2015, 11:49 AM

Do you remember the make and model you used ?
Approx how much did it cost ?

Jeremy5848 · #4 11-29-2015, 12:44 PM

I bought it at a boat shop in Florida 10-20 years ago for about $100 (too much! but I wanted it). The brand is "Uni-Solar" (Google it, lots of hits). They appear to still exist although perhaps not in the same form.

My panel was made in March 2000 and no doubt is obsolete although it still works. The model number is USF-5; the panel is rated to produce 5 Watts (1/3 Ampere at 12 Volts). I have also used it while camping to keep a gel-cell charged so we could have light in the tent at night. With improved batteries and LED lighting that is no longer necessary but at the time it was a great feature.

Jeremy

leathermang · #5 11-29-2015, 12:47 PM

' Still works' .... that is great... thanks for that information.

dieselbenz1 · #6 11-29-2015, 01:10 PM

I've seen a few but never had the desire to purchase one as snow would render it useless. They plug into the cigarette lighter and the panel is placed on the dash.

Diesel911 · #7 11-29-2015, 03:13 PM

I have mixed experience with Solar Battery maintainers. I used them for several years and they appear to work if you get a panel of sufficient size.

But, the circuitry in one apparently went bad and killed one of my Batteries. Since that time I have not used them again. But that was back in the 1980s; perhaps they are better made at this time.

Jeremy5848 · #8 11-29-2015, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselbenz1

I've seen a few but never had the desire to purchase one as snow would render it useless. They plug into the cigaret lighter and the panel is placed on the dash.

Snow . . . yes, I've read about that stuff. As a friend once said, "Ice belongs in a drink." [Actually, I was raised in northern Wisconsin. Snow was a regular feature, along with mosquitoes the rest of the year.] Parking in a garage helps but the solar panel works poorly.

Jeremy5848 · #9 11-29-2015, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

I have mixed experience with Solar Battery maintainers. I used them for several years and they appear to work if you get a panel of sufficient size.

But, the circuitry in one apparently went bad and kit killed one of my Batteries. Since that time I have not used them again. But that was back in the 1980s; perhaps they are better made at this time.

The better ones include a diode in the circuitry so that current cannot flow backwards from the battery to the panel. Anything can fail, of course.

Junkman · #10 11-29-2015, 08:18 PM

I have a cheap solar charger that I use to keep my sailboat's battery topped up. The battery is always charged enough to crank the 7hp inboard 2-stroke engine. The battery has been installed and nearly under continuous charging for at least 3 years. The battery recently tested good per the McParts store tester.

I suggest getting a charger that has some logic built into it if you are going to use it on a good battery. That said, this has been cheap and easy. Hopefully next year I'll look into why the circa 1976 generator isn't charging the battery much when the engine is running.

Diesel911 · #11 11-29-2015, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

The better ones include a diode in the circuitry so that current cannot flow backwards from the battery to the panel. Anything can fail, of course.

For sure the ones I bought were cheap ones which at the time were around $25 (as they were fairly new tech back in the 1980s)

What it seemed like happened is that part of the Solar Panels inside got somehow damaged (you could see int was discolored) but the little LED Light that showed it was connected stayed on (for about 3 Months) drawing current.

When I tried the same panel on another Vehicle the little Light went on but there was no charging.

So if you use one I think that you still have a need to check on them once in a while.

tjts1 · #12 11-29-2015, 09:27 PM

This thread is so green, bro.

leathermang · #13 11-29-2015, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjts1

This thread is so green, bro.

NO !!! NO !!! This is the LAZY thread... not the green thread..

charmalu · #14 11-29-2015, 11:44 PM

The lazy thread, Then call AAA. LOL

I bought 2 about 3 yrs ago and gave one to my bro in law, he has used it and said it worked ok.
Haven`t used mine yet, was thinking of using it on the Car Trailer for the Winch battery.

Bought it at HF.

This is something like the one I bought.

1.5 Watt Solar Battery Charger

Charlie

sent from my pos computer

leathermang · #15 11-30-2015, 08:34 AM

Thanks, that is the place and type I was thinking about....
On their larger panels for different uses I had read there was a design or spec problem...