Discussion
No power in the garage so am thinking of installing a solar charger to keep the battery topped up. Obviously it will only be supplying power during hours of daylight, but I'm still a bit worried about it overcharging the battery. What happens if you do this??
Conditioners like the Optimate seem to boost charge batteries that need it with a constant current of up to 3 Amps before swithing to a constant voltage stage at around 0.2 Amps or less to keep it topped up, and I think are capable of deciding not to charge at all if appropriate. Solar chargers don't seem to have any cunning electronics at all and are permanently feeding. Power output is typically 5 to 15 Watts, ie a current of up to 1 Amp or so. Is there some sort of seperate regulator you can buy that would switch it on or off?
Any electronics buffs out there?
Cheers!
Conditioners like the Optimate seem to boost charge batteries that need it with a constant current of up to 3 Amps before swithing to a constant voltage stage at around 0.2 Amps or less to keep it topped up, and I think are capable of deciding not to charge at all if appropriate. Solar chargers don't seem to have any cunning electronics at all and are permanently feeding. Power output is typically 5 to 15 Watts, ie a current of up to 1 Amp or so. Is there some sort of seperate regulator you can buy that would switch it on or off?
Any electronics buffs out there?
Cheers!
I pick up my 1st TVR (W-reg 4.5 Chimaera) on Fri and am scanning rapidly to learn more before getting my sweaty palms on it.
I've seen and heard quite a bit about battery conditioners etc with TVRs. Is it just something for cars driven only occasionally? I'll be using mine most days.
Searching everywhere for more info, but any recommended sites for info etc much appreciated.
I've seen and heard quite a bit about battery conditioners etc with TVRs. Is it just something for cars driven only occasionally? I'll be using mine most days.
Searching everywhere for more info, but any recommended sites for info etc much appreciated.
maxwray said: I pick up my 1st TVR (W-reg 4.5 Chimaera) on Fri and am scanning rapidly to learn more before getting my sweaty palms on it.
I've seen and heard quite a bit about battery conditioners etc with TVRs. Is it just something for cars driven only occasionally? I'll be using mine most days.
Searching everywhere for more info, but any recommended sites for info etc much appreciated.
I had a T-reg 400 for 6 months or so last year, it had an Optimate wired in. I used the car daily but didn't use the Optimate once.
I use mine pretty much everyday, and the only problem i had was the old battery gave up on me a couple of months back, but that was down the cold weather, old age and it not having the cranking power it needed i think.
But otherwise i've had no problems just relying on the alternator doing the job.
But otherwise i've had no problems just relying on the alternator doing the job.
*doh!*Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff