Solar battery trickle charger for a brand new battery
Discussion
Afternoon, folks.
I'm currently abroad and have been away since last autumn. I'm not anticipating being back in the UK until around May at the earliest for a brief visit before going away again for another several months.
My car has been parked up back at my place having initially been left elsewhere when I left, and I've family going to check on it and on my house from time to time.
The car's battery completely went a few days before I flew out and as I had plenty of errands to run, I purchased and fitted a brand new battery. It came with a 3-year warranty.
As the car won't have been driven for at least six months come May, and the fact that the battery hasn't been disconnected on either terminal, I'm concerned that the battery will somehow become prematurely (permanently) knackered.
I am loathe to rely on booster cables, purchasing new batteries etc every time I return, but I do need a car and the annual cost of a shed is less than a week's car rental!
My first queries are: are my concerns on damage to the battery above misplaced? Will the battery recover without any long-lasting damage?
Secondly and in the meantime (and assuming the battery is now totally flat), I'm thinking of purchasing a solar trickle charger and to arrange for this to be plugged into the OBD port pending my return, in the hope that over the coming months it slowly recharges and maintains battery charge but does not over-charge the battery.
My other queries are therefore whether this method will work (with a view to using it every time I leave for lengthy periods), and if the battery does suddenly kick into life, is there a risk of the alarm going off (and vexing my neighbours in the middle of the night)?!
Models I've considered include ones by Sealey and the AA - I'm assuming that a higher wattage will result in a faster charge time, unless others' experiences of them are that there's minimal if any difference.
Thanks in advance.
I'm currently abroad and have been away since last autumn. I'm not anticipating being back in the UK until around May at the earliest for a brief visit before going away again for another several months.
My car has been parked up back at my place having initially been left elsewhere when I left, and I've family going to check on it and on my house from time to time.
The car's battery completely went a few days before I flew out and as I had plenty of errands to run, I purchased and fitted a brand new battery. It came with a 3-year warranty.
As the car won't have been driven for at least six months come May, and the fact that the battery hasn't been disconnected on either terminal, I'm concerned that the battery will somehow become prematurely (permanently) knackered.
I am loathe to rely on booster cables, purchasing new batteries etc every time I return, but I do need a car and the annual cost of a shed is less than a week's car rental!
My first queries are: are my concerns on damage to the battery above misplaced? Will the battery recover without any long-lasting damage?
Secondly and in the meantime (and assuming the battery is now totally flat), I'm thinking of purchasing a solar trickle charger and to arrange for this to be plugged into the OBD port pending my return, in the hope that over the coming months it slowly recharges and maintains battery charge but does not over-charge the battery.
My other queries are therefore whether this method will work (with a view to using it every time I leave for lengthy periods), and if the battery does suddenly kick into life, is there a risk of the alarm going off (and vexing my neighbours in the middle of the night)?!
Models I've considered include ones by Sealey and the AA - I'm assuming that a higher wattage will result in a faster charge time, unless others' experiences of them are that there's minimal if any difference.
Thanks in advance.
take a look at the Optimate 20w solar. it has a regulator to prevent overcharging. unit needs to be outdoors as windscreens dramatically reduce uv. you need a big watt unit to make sure you're getting enough charge, but at the same time be protected in case you have several days of pure sunshine. winter in the uk could be problematic too. forget the small 5w dashboard units.
CABC said:
take a look at the Optimate 20w solar. it has a regulator to prevent overcharging. unit needs to be outdoors as windscreens dramatically reduce uv. you need a big watt unit to make sure you're getting enough charge, but at the same time be protected in case you have several days of pure sunshine. winter in the uk could be problematic too. forget the small 5w dashboard units.
Cheers, I'll take a look at this.One concern, however, is that although the car is typically in a communal car park, it is unattended and I'd hate to have any of the kit stolen by opportunists.
Car batteries are not designed to be deep discharged and will be damaged by that. That may completely knacker the battery the first time it happens, or just reduce the capacity. Each time it happens makes it more likely the battery will die.
If you are leaving the car for months you need to either keep the battery charged up, or isolate the battery.
If the battery is discharged or isolated the alarm won't work and you need to ensure your insurers are going to be OK with that.
A solar trickle charger might do the job if it's in a well lit area but if you're limited to what you can fit inside the car then I'm skeptical you'll get enough capacity. If you think it would be OK to put a ladder rack on the roof that would give you space for a much bigger panel, but you'll have to work out whether the environment is safe enough to make that practical. If it isn't, do you really want to leave the car there in any case?
If you decide to isolate the battery you'd need to ensure the battery was disarmed first and also ensure that you can lock and unlock it without the battery connected. You can expect to lose radio codes every time you do it but I assume you'd be OK with that.
If you are leaving the car for months you need to either keep the battery charged up, or isolate the battery.
If the battery is discharged or isolated the alarm won't work and you need to ensure your insurers are going to be OK with that.
A solar trickle charger might do the job if it's in a well lit area but if you're limited to what you can fit inside the car then I'm skeptical you'll get enough capacity. If you think it would be OK to put a ladder rack on the roof that would give you space for a much bigger panel, but you'll have to work out whether the environment is safe enough to make that practical. If it isn't, do you really want to leave the car there in any case?
If you decide to isolate the battery you'd need to ensure the battery was disarmed first and also ensure that you can lock and unlock it without the battery connected. You can expect to lose radio codes every time you do it but I assume you'd be OK with that.
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