Solar trickle charger

[Lasitha]

Guys,

I don't have access to an outside power supply to keep the battery topped up and it's starting to struggle a bit with this weather - only a weekend car.

I'm thinking of buying a solar trickle charger like this:

http://www.vertar.com/sunsei/solar-battery-charger...

or this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=21785...

Will these maintain the charge on the battery? Does anyone have any experience with these?

Thanks,

Lasitha

[RSGulp]

A few years ago I had a 911SC and used a Maplin solar charger to keep my battery topped-up. The solar panel lay flat on the garage roof and I fed a cable through to the car.

It worked fine. I sometimes left the car with the alarm activated for 6 weeks and the car would always start first time with no apparent battery issues.

Note: first you need to make sure your battery is good and holds charge. A solar charger won't make up for a dying battery.

Edited to add this is the £20 1.5W one I used, so your £69 12W version should do the job easily: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?moduleno=98358

Edited by RSGulp on Friday 8th January 14:18

[6C4GTS]

Can't you use a CTEK 3600 on their extension lead or is it really far to your parking spot?

[Lasitha]

The car does only sit outside my house in the drive, but i'd rather not have wires going from house to car.

Looks like a trip to Maplins is in order. I'll be connecting this through the ciggy lighter so the car can remain closed.

Thanks for the help chaps

[IanHug]

I've used a cheap £10/20 Maplin solar charger for years. Works great no problems at all.

[phelix]

There's a big difference between those two at the above links - one is 135ma (about 1.5 watts) and the other is 12 watts. The smaller of the two may well struggle if there's an alarm or the like discharging the battery.

[Lasitha]

Bought the 12w one from Maplins.

Need to find a place to hook it up now.

[Ed Winchester]

It would be interesting to hear how well it works. I'm also looking for the same solution.

It should also entirely offset my carbon footprint

[IanHug]

I've got the 1W version http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?moduleno=22862... Bought it when I owned a Lotus that would run flat after a week.
1W version works fine and fits easily on the dash. 12W's gonna be more than enough.

[whj]

Ed Winchester said:

It would be interesting to hear how well it works. I'm also looking for the same solution.

It should also entirely offset my carbon footprint

Only if the charger fails to work, if you were fortunate enough to fire up the 6 cylinder banshee you'll be in seal slaughtering territory

[Roadrunner996]

So the 12V Maplin panel just plugs into the cigarette lighter without the need for a 'standard' trickle charger ? Therefore I can save money by not buying the Porsche approved trickle charger and just plug this panel in ?

Edited by Roadrunner996 on Monday 11th January 13:32

[ATM]

I'm just reviving this thread as its been a few years and the technology may have moved on and the prices come down and err well look I've done it. So who has a solar type trickle charge in their occasional use Porsche which is [god forbid] parked outside?

[AvonM]

I do. Its a 185Ma (~2w). Car lives outside (mk1 996). After a year of using the solar panel, I'm not convinced it does much at all.

[ATM]

AvonM said:

I do. Its a 185Ma (~2w). Car lives outside (mk1 996). After a year of using the solar panel, I'm not convinced it does much at all.

Cig lighter type?

[AvonM]

Yes. And yes I have checked that the cig socket is live when ignition off.

[996TT02]

AvonM said:

Yes. And yes I have checked that the cig socket is live when ignition off.

Just wondering aloud here, does it stay live when car is locked, (when more stuff shuts down) and also perhaps after 5 days or so when even more stuff shuts down and car goes to sleep?

If so perhaps 2W peak is not enough, that peak would presumably be in full blazing sunshine with the panels at 90 degrees to the sun, so you could be having a pathetic milliamp figure on other occasions (my home PV system drops from around 2kW peak to around 200w when a cloud passes)

[KEVS500]

I use a 10w 12v solar panel from photonicuniverse.com. I bought it last winter and it's not let me down yet. I leave the car locked, alarm enabled, and battery is always good, even after a month or more. And the battery's over 5 years old.
However, the car is garaged (but no power in it) so the charger sits outside on the roof, with the solar charge controller mounted inside on the wall.
I connect it straight on to the battery terminals; I'm sure it would be simple enough to connect it to the cigar lighter with the appropriate fitting.
Hope this helps.

[SV_WDC]

Having looked into this myself I am not convinced solar can provide a reliable enough, consistent charge required to actually do the battery any good.

One suggestion was to get a lorry battery, on a plank of wood & run a trickle charger (via inverter) from that, but then manually charge the lorry battery every now and then.Not something I've tried yet, not sure I will.