Anyone recommend a good solar trickle charger?

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Willie1971

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Feb 11, 2011
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I have old interstate batteries and I want to transfer them to my motorcycle trailer.

I wont be using them often but I wanted to get a nice solar trickle charger to tend to them.

Anyone have anything they know works well?

Thanks

Willie

 
Willie, not sure I understand you but Harbor Freight has a solar trickle charger that you put on your dash, etc and plug into a 12v source to trickle charge an auto battery. I'm sure many others sell similar also but I've never used any of them. Have a look at this one.

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-watt-solar-battery-charger-41144.html
 
Well, "trickle charge" merely means a low amp rate, so any solar panel with a rating under about 20 watts should qualify. The output voltage needs to be at least 14.0 for charging (most solar panels are a bit higher than that) and 20 watts @ 14v is 1.4 amps.  Watts = Amps x Volts, so one of the small 12-18 watt panels will be even lower in amps.  1 amp for one battery  is ok, but if you have multiple batteries in parallel you can use a higher wattage panel.
 
Thx

Well my thoughts were to put my old interstate battery's to use in my motorcycle trailer.  I leave it parked in my back yard while the rv is at a farm down the road.  Once disconnected from the rv the tailer is dead and dark.  I find myself in there a lot since I store the ATV's inside 24/7.  I figure I have some wire and parts left over from the big install it wouldn't cost much to wire the trailor so it can be independent of the rv. 

So what I need to design is a micro solar system.  I'll check the links and see what harbor freight has.

Ironically I was throwing the box away for the big solar charger and I saw a brochure I missed hawking the companies other products.  There is a small 10 amp charger in there.



More research is needed on my end.

 

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