has anyone used a solar charger to keep the battery flow going flat if left for a while....

Morning all,
I use one on my P38 (still looking for the "right" grey Supercharged!), it is a 4watt unit and cost £18 off Ebay

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=121191944934&view=all&tid=1311491694002).

I was a bit sceptical but it does seem to work. The battery on my p38 is over 8 years old and although I can leave it for two weeks and it will start , with the solar panel connected it spins over much faster-the battery always seems fully charged.

Regards

Steve

I have one. Left the car for a week with a dodgy battery and it did start (just).

It's a big unit though.

Hi Andy and while I sell battery chargers, I regularly recommend to people in situations where a vehicle is to be left unused for long periods, to use a solar panel to charge and maintain the battery while not in use.

Most battery chargers will charge the battery and then go into float mode and then stay in float mode either permanently or for long periods of time. This is actually not that good for a battery.

Whereas solar panels turn on at sunup and turn off at sunset and this is the idea charge maintenance for any lead acid battery.

If you use a solar panel around the 5w size, you do not need a regulator, just connect the panel directly to the battery’s terminals. 2007 TDV8 Lux

can you connect it to the power socket in the boot to charge?

Yes.

so this would help with keeping the battery healthy then?

Yep, if you park outside, face the RR north and lay the solar panel on the rear cargo cover and it will keep the battery maintained, no matter how long you leave the RR unused.

If the RR is garaged, fit a long lead to the solar panel, run the lead to the rear power socket but make sure you have enough lead so that you can hang it over your driver’s side mirror.

This will remind you the solar is connected and make sure you don’t drive down the street with the solar panel in tow.  2007 TDV8 Lux

Solar battery chargers will only maintain a battery in a charged state if the power output of the charger at any time is greater than any battery drain on the car ie a solar charger with a maximum output of say 5W can only cater for a battery drain of less than 5W. Also in the UK solar chargers will not give anything like the rated output apart from in summer, on a good day.
I'm afraid the only real solution to battery drain is to sort the problem at source with a good mains powered battery charger as a back-up.
Obviously in Aus etc solar chargers would be an extremely good idea but in the UK definitely a bit iffy.

Mine is 15w and worked in Scotland - but it was a particularly sunny time in Scotland.

+1 on getting the battery drain sorted.

I have checked my car and know that the battery drain is fine, but since I sometimes go well over a month without driving it, and it is parked on the road not near a main socket, I think I'll get a 5W one of these just to keep it topped up. My normal drain is something like 50mA from memory, so even if the solar charger is only charging for 1/3 of the available time it only needs <2W to keep it topped up.

MC

i dont suppose anyone could point me in the right direction of where i could buy a good one?

maplins have a good range andy... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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nicedayforit wrote:

Solar battery chargers will only maintain a battery in a charged state if the power output of the charger at any time is greater than any battery drain on the car ie a solar charger with a maximum output of say 5W can only cater for a battery drain of less than 5W.

Hmmm...

A 5W solar battery charger in the uk.

Might well be ok in the summer provided you car doesn't have much of a battery drain but in winter given that we are down to about 7-8 hours daylight in which case if you were lucky the charger would be producing about 1W maximum, I regret I don't believe for a minute the charger would contribute anything meaningful to the state of the battery.
By all means if you have problems with your battery maintaining charge buy a 5W solar charger and plug it into a FFRR in the middle of winter and leave it for a few weeks, but when you go back to it just remember to take a set of jump leads with you.
It's interesting that whilst some FFRR's seem really bad for batteries holding charge, others appear to be able to stand for weeks and then start without problems.
Given this I presume all FFRR's could be made to have no problems and hold battery charge like other cars do.
Most I have left my own for is 3 weeks without using it, the battery was showing 12.3V but the car started fine, how long it would have gone until it didn't start I don't know.
If you need to guarantee to start the car after a period of non use imo the only ways to do it are with a second battery either permanently fitted to the car as a "starter" battery or a supplementary battery carried around in the boot.
From what I can determine such a battery capacity would only require to be in the order of 30-40AH.
Jump start packs seem popular but I wouldn't personally rely on one.

Each to their own