Solar Trickle charger

Sam Spade wrote:

nmhuntr wrote:

Thanks a lot. All I want is a trickle charger.

To repeat......because this is important......you do NOT want a "trickle charger" because it just keeps going and going whether it needs to or not and over a long period can actually damage your batteries by running them dry.

You NEED a smart battery controller to go along with whatever panel you get.

THEN....if you can charge them up good and completely disconnect them, 90 days later they should still be fine. If they are NOT, then they needed to be replaced anyway.

My bad. When I say trickle charger I mean a controller that charges at a low amperage and monitors when and if a charge is needed.

What Sam said above is true. I made the mistake of putting a 6Watt panel on and connecting direct to the battery. All was good for a while and then the battery was DED dead. It killed the battery. Now I have an AGM connected to a smart controller and 15 watt panel. 3 years now and no problems. The only thing to be mindful of is location.

If the panel is not getting full on direct sunlight, it will not produce enough to keep the battery charged! During the winter, being up north where I am, the angle of the sun is too shallow so over time it will draw down the battery instead of charging it. In my situation since I don't need the battery to power anything I just disconnect it instead, and use the panel spring through fall. In fact, just hooked it up last week and in one weeks time the battery is back to full charge.

Now if I can just figure out why the LED strip lighting failed. Only have a couple 4 led groups firing, the rest are all dark.

nmhuntr wrote:

Thanks a lot. All I want is a trickle charger.

To repeat......because this is important......you do NOT want a "trickle charger" because it just keeps going and going whether it needs to or not and over a long period can actually damage your batteries by running them dry.

You NEED a smart battery controller to go along with whatever panel you get.

THEN....if you can charge them up good and completely disconnect them, 90 days later they should still be fine. If they are NOT, then they needed to be replaced anyway.

Battery Tender makes a good one, but mine came from Harbor Freight. It works for me every day.

Ava wrote:
There is not a big draw with these chargers so a reasonable size cord would be fine. Any extension cord that is about 50ft should have at least 16 ga. wire.

Thanks
I am looking at about 15 feet

There is not a big draw with these chargers so a reasonable size cord would be fine. Any extension cord that is about 50ft should have at least 16 ga. wire.

Here is a good unit by Eco-Worthy at a good price.

Ava wrote:
Battery Tender is a good brand that works great as it will charge then step down to float level. Sorry I just realized you were looking for solar power.

Thanks a lot
Would you know how much an extension cable would effect it?

Battery Tender is a good brand that works great as it will charge then step down to float level. Sorry I just realized you were looking for solar power.

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I have a Deltran 15 watt charger and it is top of the line. It will keep either the house or the chassis batteries topped off if fully charged when applied. It was very expensive+- $150. If I were to buy mow, I get at least 30 watts. Google Solar battery charges and compare. For $150 I could make one from the wires and battery clips to the controller and a 60 watt panel.

I have no other personal experience, just stuff I've gleaned from the forums.

Thanks a lot. All I want is a trickle charger. Once I get it to the house I can charge them for a couple of days if needed. I just done’t want the battery to go bad while not in use