Solar BatteryTender

[RedRider]

I saw an interesting product on www.woot.com this morning. If you are not familiar with woot, they sell one product a day for really good prices - generally refurbs and/or overstocks. $5 shipping for anything. I am not associated with woot in any way, just buy things from them periodically.

 

Today, they have a solar battery charger. The description claims it to be a standard charger with float charging technology. Appears to be a 'battery tender' type product that runs on sunlight. Claims to work with gel type batteries also.

 

I thought this might be nice for some folks who store their bikes in sheds without electricity. It is too large to be a travel charger (over 3 feet long). $100 + $5 shipping.

 

If interested, just go to the website and it is on the opening page.

 

RR

[lonestarmedic]

That is a decent deal. I have been shopping for a solar charger. Most are around 100-120 dollars. However that is for a bare charger. The controller is 30-40 dollars extra. And this one has the good controller with the 2 stage charging. Helps to prevent sulfation of the battery. It is 3 feet long. I am ordering a slightly lower wattage unit that folds like a briefcase. I want to store it behind the seat of the moving van I own when in use. Then I can place it in the windshield and hook it to the controller and through the lighter plug. I only start the truck once a month and I usually boost it with my Expedition just to make sure.

 

JB

[CMIKE]

VW uses a small 3.2 watt charger to keep the VW batteries up while they are on the lot or in transport. Some go with the cars some stay at the dealers. This is a little small 18.8 max voltage unit with a cigarette light plug on it. IT is used only as a maintainer charge.

You can go to Ebay and type in VW SOLAR Charger...it will come up with many for about $20 - 25. cut the ends off of it...and put some clips or a plug to connect to your battery. This should do as a .26 amp trickle charge on a bike battery.

[flb_78]

I too wish to be friends with the armadillo.

[tz89]

89 VR 27k

 

Has anybody had any experience and lessons learned from using a solar battery tender?

 

Any good brands or suppliers of panel or controller? Any thing especially useful for a bike? Creative mounting ideas?

 

I'm in Oregon which is supposed to be suprisingly decent for solar. It looks like I'll have to keep my VR under the carport at my apartment complex this rainy season. Luckily I have it at the south end, with unobstructed placement possible mornings through noonish. If this thread revives, I'll post a picture of the location.

 

I'll need to figure out how to place it so it works, doesn't get stolen too easily, doesn't get the landlord worked up, doesn't create a hazard such as trip wires.

 

I'm thinking of a securable hook or mount on the end of the exposed roof beam, or a panel on a stand somehow secured to or by the weight of the bike.

 

My bike has the connection wired to the battery. In a best case scenario I run a wire into the bike cover and plug it in, and the whole she-bang costs less than $100.

 

Tom

[Condor]

Solar panals only produce max watts when pointed directly at the sun. If you install one in a fixed positiion the output really fades as the sun's angle increases. Amount of sunshine also plays a part... especialy in the higher latitudes... Most panals are rated at optimum sun conditions, when in reality that's only for a couple of hours a day.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Solar panals only produce max watts when pointed directly at the sun. If you install one in a fixed positiion the output really fades as the sun's angle increases. Amount of sunshine also plays a part... especialy in the higher latitudes... Most panals are rated at optimum sun conditions, when in reality that's only for a couple of hours a day.

 

 

So your saying it wont work?

 

I've had a solar panel mounted on my pickup for 11 years and it works great. My pickup is only started and short-tripped occasionally, so to keep the battery from losing charge due to parasitic drains I installed a small 5 watt panel on the headache rack and I have not had a dead battery since then.

 

I'm not familiar with any particular brand of solar battery 'tenders', but I'm guessing they should work ok. Solar 'chargers' dont have to put out MAXIMUM power all day...they only have to offset the normal self-discharge and parasitic drain that most lead-acid batteries suffer from.

 

Actually they arent 'chargers' at all, but simply a maintainer. Most arent capable of REcharging a battery, but they can certainly MAINTAIN a battery, if sized correctly.

 

 

[Condor]

So your saying it wont work?

 

I've had a solar panel mounted on my pickup for 11 years and it works great. My pickup is only started and short-tripped occasionally, so to keep the battery from losing charge due to parasitic drains I installed a small 5 watt panel on the headache rack and I have not had a dead battery since then.

 

I'm not familiar with any particular brand of solar battery 'tenders', but I'm guessing they should work ok. Solar 'chargers' dont have to put out MAXIMUM power all day...they only have to offset the normal self-discharge and parasitic drain that most lead-acid batteries suffer from.

 

Actually they arent 'chargers' at all, but simply a maintainer. Most arent capable of REcharging a battery, but they can certainly MAINTAIN a battery, if sized correctly.

 

 

 

Didn't say it wouldn't work. Don't have a clue where you got that from?? All I said is they aren't very efficient and higher latitudes and sun challenged areas. You're blessed with lots of sun. Take a look at where the poster is from. Think it might rain there a little?? Your 5 watt panal probably puts out less than 1 amp at best, and not knowing what you paracitic draw is on the truck... clock.. radio presets??... it's probably just barely keeping up with the loss. Do you need the panel? It all depends on what you mean by occasionally, but I seriously doubt it.?? I sometimes leave my truck sit for 1 to 2 months and never have a problem with it starting, and it pulls a lot of amps.. it's a diesel. With a 91amp alternator it recovers very quickly. This is an old thread, but the post I responded to is recent, and he'd be better off using a battery tender. BTW I run a 75watt panel on the boat and it will charge a battery. So much so that it needs a rectifier to controll the output.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Didn't say it wouldn't work. Don't have a clue where you got that from?? All I said is they aren't very efficient and higher latitudes and sun challenged areas. You're blessed with lots of sun. Take a look at where the poster is from. Think it might rain there a little?? Your 5 watt panal probably puts out less than 1 amp at best, and not knowing what you paracitic draw is on the truck... clock.. radio presets??... it's probably just barely keeping up with the loss. Do you need the panel? It all depends on what you mean by occasionally, but I seriously doubt it.?? I sometimes leave my truck sit for 1 to 2 months and never have a problem with it starting, and it pulls a lot of amps.. it's a diesel. With a 91amp alternator it recovers very quickly. This is an old thread, but the post I responded to is recent, and he'd be better off using a battery tender. BTW I run a 75watt panel on the boat and it will charge a battery. So much so that it needs a rectifier to controll the output.

 

The little 1 watt and 2.5 watt solar 'chargers' wont actually 'charge' a lead-acid battery, only maintain it.

 

Large 50-150 watt solar panels WILL charge a battery, assuming enough days of good sunshine. I own a few of those also. But thats not what he was asking about.

 

And yes, in my situation a panel is needed.

 

 

[Condor]

The little 1 watt and 2.5 watt solar 'chargers' wont actually 'charge' a lead-acid battery, only maintain it.

 

Large 50-150 watt solar panels WILL charge a battery, assuming enough days of good sunshine. I own a few of those also. But thats not what he was asking about.

 

And yes, in my situation a panel is needed.

 

 

 

Didn't refer to them as chargers...just panels... Didn't say he was asking about a big watt panel. His original post refered to a small maintainer... With a 5 watt panel you're only putting out .22 amps for a very short period of the day. I doubt it's making that much of a difference in even maintaining the charge. And..... a small 5 watt panel will charge a battery... it just depends on the size of the battery... But it's a moot point as we're talking 12 volts here.

[tz89]

I don't have a place to plug in a tender, so I have to find a way to make something work.

 

It seems like it rains everyday, but it doesn't, though anything I get will have to stand up to regular drenching and exposure.

 

I am pretty far north (45 degrees) but solar is happening everywhere here, so I guess it is working despite the reputation for rain.

 

Thanks for jumping in a reviving the thread. I'll post a picture of the challenge this weekend.

 

Tom

[friesman]

this far North, those things only work well for June, July and Aug, the rest of the year the sun starts to get too low in the sky to get much of a charge. And in Dec/Jan our daylight is only about 8 hours and the sun really doesnt get very high in the sky.

 

brian

[Flyinfool]

I have the Harbor Freight 5W on my RV.

The Rv gets used once or twice a year and that panel is enough to keep the battery happy.

I just have the panel laying flat on the roof, so in winter yes it can get covered with snow but the dark color of the panel warms it up as soon as the sun comes out to help clear the snow. This little 5W panel will charge the battery back up if you have a month to wait, I do.

I keep the panel hooked up year round.

[Condor]

I don't have a place to plug in a tender, so I have to find a way to make something work.

 

It seems like it rains everyday, but it doesn't, though anything I get will have to stand up to regular drenching and exposure.

 

I am pretty far north (45 degrees) but solar is happening everywhere here, so I guess it is working despite the reputation for rain.

 

Thanks for jumping in a reviving the thread. I'll post a picture of the challenge this weekend.

 

Tom

 

What you might give some thought to is installing a DEKA AGM battery, and forget about a tender. They hold a charge for months. They're probably the best bang for the buck in an MC battery....

 

http://www.bohannonbattery.com/html/deka/etx18l.html

[Freebird]

The very best solution, if you don't ride the bike in the winter, is to remove the battery and put it in basement or someplace else that is out of the freezing weather. Hook a battery tender to it and it will be ready when riding season comes around again.

[tz89]

Here's a picture of the solar panel. I snuck it up on the roof of the carport and ran the wire and a retrieval rope down the post held by zip ties. I'm hoping to not attract the attention of the landlord or any thieves. Just for fun I included a decoy rope on my cover so that anyone who notices the wire might think it is just another rope or something.

 

http://db.tt/VxBhMARl

 

 

http://db.tt/yK3foU8B

 

 

The panel itself is Sunforce 50013.

 

I'll report later on whether it keeps the battery up. Hopefully I'll get frequent riding between rain days.

 

t

[tz89]

The bike has had to sit 3-4 weeks between rides and the weather has been mostly overcast, lots of rain and just a few sunny days. But even on sunny days this far north there is not a lot of sun time on the solar panel, and the angle is much less than ideal.

 

But, so far so good. I have not had any issue with a dead or weak battery.

 

And the landlord has not complained about my stealthy installation.

[Flyinfool]

Unless you have something that is drawing power on the bike, the solar will keep up with no problem, even in the worst of winter weather.

I have a solar charger on my rv battery and even in the winter it finds enough light to recharge the battery after light use.

[twigg]

89 VR 27k

 

Has anybody had any experience and lessons learned from using a solar battery tender?

 

Any good brands or suppliers of panel or controller? Any thing especially useful for a bike? Creative mounting ideas?

 

I'm in Oregon which is supposed to be suprisingly decent for solar. It looks like I'll have to keep my VR under the carport at my apartment complex this rainy season. Luckily I have it at the south end, with unobstructed placement possible mornings through noonish. If this thread revives, I'll post a picture of the location.

 

I'll need to figure out how to place it so it works, doesn't get stolen too easily, doesn't get the landlord worked up, doesn't create a hazard such as trip wires.

 

I'm thinking of a securable hook or mount on the end of the exposed roof beam, or a panel on a stand somehow secured to or by the weight of the bike.

 

My bike has the connection wired to the battery. In a best case scenario I run a wire into the bike cover and plug it in, and the whole she-bang costs less than $100.

 

Tom

 

Take the battery off the bike and stick it on a tender indoors.

 

They don't like freezing either ... It will kill a battery.

[Flyinfool]

Take the battery off the bike and stick it on a tender indoors.

 

They don't like freezing either ... It will kill a battery.

 

Freezing will only hurt a discharged battery.

The solar tender (or any tender) will keep the battery charged and prevent it from freezing.

The battery has not been out of my rv in 10 years and it was never bothered by even -30*F, same for my bike truck and cars. They all have solar tenders except the truck which is my daily driver in the winter. In the 35 years that I have been driving in Wisconsin weather I've never brought batteries in the house.

 

As I said the key is to keep them charged. A discharged battery will freeze and can be destroyed. I learned about that too.

[twigg]

Freezing will only hurt a discharged battery.

The solar tender (or any tender) will keep the battery charged and prevent it from freezing.

The battery has not been out of my rv in 10 years and it was never bothered by even -30*F, same for my bike truck and cars. They all have solar tenders except the truck which is my daily driver in the winter. In the 35 years that I have been driving in Wisconsin weather I've never brought batteries in the house.

 

As I said the key is to keep them charged. A discharged battery will freeze and can be destroyed. I learned about that too.

 

Agree with all of that Jeff ... but ...

 

The guy I responded to was having to go to all sorts of lengths to deal with a landlord who he doesn't want to upset.

 

Motorcycle batteries are small, discharge frighteningly quickly and are least likely to be checked just when they need it the most. That is, when it is 0F outside and there is a foot of snow on the ground.

 

So I was simply suggesting that rather than go to expensive alternatives, just take the battery off and bring it indoors ... problem solved and no expensive solar chargers to worry about.

 

If you install your battery with a couple of pieces of strapping under it, it will lift out in a minute :: shrug ::

 

Folk will do what suits them, it just seemed that one easy and obvious solution hadn't been mentioned is all.

[tz89]

Interesting follow up discussion. I think it all depends on one's circumstances.

 

Here in Salem we don't get 0 degrees and a foot of snow. Foot of rain, maybe, and it has been flooding here this week.

 

For $25, a few odds and ends, and something like ingenuity, my bike is plug and play. That's important here where I have to snatch unexpected riding opportunities whenever I can.

 

It is relatively easy to pull the battery although I do worry about these old brittle parts, I mean on the bike. I like to leave them alone if I can.

 

I was curious to find out if this low wattage solar panel would do anything in this place. So far, so good. By season's end I'll know if my battery is still good. If not it is not necessarily the battery tender's fault. But if the old battery is still fine then my confidence will be high for next year.

[twigg]

Interesting follow up discussion. I think it all depends on one's circumstances.

 

Here in Salem we don't get 0 degrees and a foot of snow. Foot of rain, maybe, and it has been flooding here this week.

 

For $25, a few odds and ends, and something like ingenuity, my bike is plug and play. That's important here where I have to snatch unexpected riding opportunities whenever I can.

 

It is relatively easy to pull the battery although I do worry about these old brittle parts, I mean on the bike. I like to leave them alone if I can.

 

I was curious to find out if this low wattage solar panel would do anything in this place. So far, so good. By season's end I'll know if my battery is still good. If not it is not necessarily the battery tender's fault. But if the old battery is still fine then my confidence will be high for next year.

 

The best bit about the disagreements and the simple genuine differences is that when folk find this thread later, there is someone for everyone.

 

Rarely is there just one solution to a problem, so the debate informs more people than simple agreement about everything.