Solar Battery Chargers
- Thread starter LilRascle
- Start date
B
barefoot
Guest
Go to a boat/marine store, I set mine out when anchored at Crab Island to keep the radio and all the other stuff going, plus it stays out when boat is on trailer not in use. Works really well. It has a quick release like the plugs with battery tenders. I plug it in and set it on dash when out. You could wire it to do same with your Disco.
I saw a Westfalia last week at a trail head with a series of panels set-up behind the windshield. I was just thinking of asking this same question....
Any 5-watt panel, thrown up on the dash, will keep the battery happy while you're away, as long as you're not running anything at the same time. (GPS, etc.) A 5w panel is also low enough output that you don't need a charge controller. I do this for my boat battery, while it sits on its trailer for weeks at a time.
For your truck, if you're like me, with flashlight chargers, radios and other stuff always going, you'll need to do the math to calculate the watt/hours requirement, and get a panel of that daily output with a smart charge controller so you don't over-charge your battery.
For your truck, if you're like me, with flashlight chargers, radios and other stuff always going, you'll need to do the math to calculate the watt/hours requirement, and get a panel of that daily output with a smart charge controller so you don't over-charge your battery.
I only drive my RRC once or twice per week. During the cooler months of the year I use one of those VW solar panels the trickle charge my battery. Got mine on Ebay. It has suction cups and I stick it to the sunroof and close the sliding panel so it will not fall down. I have a quick disconect in the passenger footwell.
Not sure how much good the VW panel does, but it is easy to damage a battery by letting it discharge.
Randall
Not sure how much good the VW panel does, but it is easy to damage a battery by letting it discharge.
Randall
I found a VW charger , guy gave it to me for nothing, just plug it in the lighter and away it goes or do I have to wire it differently? thanks
The VW panel looks like this:
Mine panel is connected to "the battery" thru this fuse box I made up to replace the fusible links in my RRC:
Not sure how much good it does...but better than no trickle charge.
Mine panel is connected to "the battery" thru this fuse box I made up to replace the fusible links in my RRC:
Not sure how much good it does...but better than no trickle charge.
LilRascle said:
1.8 watts is better than nothing, but not by much. I think 5 watts is a much better balance.
For keeping the radio on for hours, or running a thermoelectric cooler, etc, the only way to go is a second battery. A solar panel of any reasonable (dash board) size is only good for keeping the battery topped off while siting idle for days/weeks.
Running appliances via solar requires a lot more investment. Look at it this way:
A coleman thermo-electric cooler draws 50 watts. That's 1200 watt-hours/day.
A 30-watt solar panel puts out 30-watts for only about 8 hours/day, even if it's in a perfect (no shade ever) position. That's only 240 watt-hours/day.
A standard optima deep-cycle has 120 reserve amp-hours (at 12v) of power, which is about 1440 watt-hours, just enough to power that cooler for a full day, and you'd totally drain the battery, which it doesn't like!
Constant loads put a surprising amount of drain on a system. Even just the radio, which need a fraction of what the cooler wants, will drain a battery after a few days of all-day use, and a 5-30 watt solar panel won't help much.
Running appliances via solar requires a lot more investment. Look at it this way:
A coleman thermo-electric cooler draws 50 watts. That's 1200 watt-hours/day.
A 30-watt solar panel puts out 30-watts for only about 8 hours/day, even if it's in a perfect (no shade ever) position. That's only 240 watt-hours/day.
A standard optima deep-cycle has 120 reserve amp-hours (at 12v) of power, which is about 1440 watt-hours, just enough to power that cooler for a full day, and you'd totally drain the battery, which it doesn't like!
Constant loads put a surprising amount of drain on a system. Even just the radio, which need a fraction of what the cooler wants, will drain a battery after a few days of all-day use, and a 5-30 watt solar panel won't help much.
I have a 1.5w charger from Harbor freight. It sits in the rear passenger side window on top of the shelf and plugs into the lighter I wired into the trailer harness. It does it's job to keep the battery topped up. Also used it to trickle charge my camping power source (Peak jump start/inverter/air compressor).
this page seems to say it's 3.2w. Might be a good upgrade for my camping gear.
this page seems to say it's 3.2w. Might be a good upgrade for my camping gear.