Anyone used a solar car battery charger?

[notax]

I've just got the use of a garage away from my home and I'd like to store one of my TVRs there. Problem is that it doesn't have any power for a trickle charger. The garage has a flat roof and is in a sunny spot. Does anyone know whether a solar charger is worth buying? I was thinking of putting it on the garage roof and running the leads to the car cigarette lighter...

[BFG TERRANO]

had a twenty quid Maplin solar panel on the caravan when in storage and it was good, even over winter. Did exactly what it said, maintained a good battery.

[Blownoiler]

I put a 10 watt panel on the roof of my 4wd a few years ago to keep the battery topped up, but without a voltage controller it overcharged the battery, and played havoc with the alternators regulator. A $10. solar regulator off ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-10-15-20A-MPPT-Solar-... will solve any overcharging issues.

[notax]

Thanks guys, it hadn't occured to me that solar might overcharge the battery! Then I realised that Blownoiler lives in Oz which explains it I think that is $10 I can do without spending in the UK

[McWigglebum4th]

notax said:

Thanks guys, it hadn't occured to me that solar might overcharge the battery! Then I realised that Blownoiler lives in Oz which explains it I think that is $10 I can do without spending in the UK

You want to bet on that?

I have a similar setup on my landrover in northern scotland

Before the regulator i have seen over 36v after the regulator it keeps it at a nice 14v

Buy a regulator or buy a new alternator and battery

[furrywoolyhatuk]

Iv tried various offerings, some just slowed the battery from going flat one from maplin (briefcase £60 jobbie) which came with a regulator did the job, just. Ended up having an outdoor electricity socket put in and got a ctek charger, much better!

[lamboman100]

Like solar anything, they are a bit rubbish. Either weak or unpredictable. And they don't work at night -- which is most of the time in Winter. As Furry says, get an outdoor plug fitted.

[Mr Gear]

I have a car that gets very occasional use, and a solar charger just keeps the battery topped up. I think it's fantastic. But it probably wouldn't charge a battery from flat very well though.

[notax]

Thanks for the replies. The garage is too far from the house to be able to get electricity to it - it is in a separate block. Seems a regulator would be worthwhile afterall. I think solar is my best bet - both TVRs have brand new batteries so they should only need a little topping up as I generally drive them every week or two. Just erring on the safe side... Any idea of a sensible wattage to aim for?

[garycat]

You would have to make sure that your cigarette lighter has a permanent connection to the battery. Some are only live when the key is in the accessories position.

[mikey-r]

I can recommend the Maplins jobbie. Been using it on a seldom used car this year and it works brilliantly. Just attach via the suckers to the exterior of the windscreen and run the wires under the bonnet to the battery - takes a minute to attach/detach.

I bought mine for £15.

[Mr Gear]

mikey-r said:

I can recommend the Maplins jobbie.

I agree.

mikey-r said:

I bought mine for £15.

You were ripped off. I got mine for £9.99

[jfrf]

Personally I use a battery isolator switch. Cost about 5 quid and 30 minutes to install

Started first time after sitting for 3 months when the battery would normally be flat after 2 weeks.

[Blownoiler]

notax said:

Thanks for the replies. The garage is too far from the house to be able to get electricity to it - it is in a separate block. Seems a regulator would be worthwhile afterall. I think solar is my best bet - both TVRs have brand new batteries so they should only need a little topping up as I generally drive them every week or two. Just erring on the safe side... Any idea of a sensible wattage to aim for?

A 10 watt panel is only good for summer really, we're on the tailend of winter over here and I live down in the deep south, so we don't get much sun for 3-4 months of the year, so I'm running a 100 watt panel now so that it charges the battery easily during cloud cover. I wouldn't suggest anything under 50 watts for your climate!

[notax]

Blownoiler said:

A 10 watt panel is only good for summer really, we're on the tailend of winter over here and I live down in the deep south, so we don't get much sun for 3-4 months of the year, so I'm running a 100 watt panel now so that it charges the battery easily during cloud cover. I wouldn't suggest anything under 50 watts for your climate!

100W? That seems really high, the one I assume the guys are referring to at Maplin appears to only offer 1.5W!

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered-12v-15w-ba...

[Zingari]

Bought one off eBay for around a tenner a few years back. Whilst I was overseas and the car was parked in a car park for 6 months it worked perfectly sat on the dash and plugged into the fag lighter which has a permanent live feed.

[Blownoiler]

notax said:

100W? That seems really high, the one I assume the guys are referring to at Maplin appears to only offer 1.5W!

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered-12v-15w-ba...

Yeah, 100 watts is a bit much for trickle charging a battery, I run other 12 volt accessories off the panel... also when driving it takes most of the load off the alternator, one can never have enough free power! The little Maplin charger might be good enough, if not you could just add another one to double output, or another 2.....