Solar Trickle Charger?

[LarryBud]

Hi Folks,

I have a shed without electrical power. I have 4, 12 volt batteries to maintain over the winter. Only the mower is a good candidate to be be brought in while the others need to stay put. I'm looking at these trickle charge kits from Amazon. They look reasonable but I thought I'd ask for ideas.

I'd rather not drill holes in my building so my current plan is to build a portable wood frame for the panels, set it out in the sun, run the wires under the door and to each battery / machine. Unfortunately, my door is on the North side so I'll need to run the wires around the building to where the winter sun will catch it.

Any better ideas?

 

[DustyRusty]

A friend has been using one on his backup generator for quite a few years now, and it works well for him. He also has one on his sailboat and he is very happy with the results that it has given him through the years.

 

[fog107]

We used them on our heavy equipment through out the year….. weather equipment was on the job or sitting in the yard. Good for battery maintenance

 

[johnsayen]

Hi Folks,

I have a shed without electrical power. I have 4, 12 volt batteries to maintain over the winter. Only the mower is a good candidate to be be brought in while the others need to stay put. I'm looking at these trickle charge kits from Amazon. They look reasonable but I thought I'd ask for ideas.

I'd rather not drill holes in my building so my current plan is to build a portable wood frame for the panels, set it out in the sun, run the wires under the door and to each battery / machine. Unfortunately, my door is on the North side so I'll need to run the wires around the building to where the winter sun will catch it.

Any better ideas?

I’d try to find one that is UL listed. Why not pop a hole through the building and run a conduit through it, so you’re not tripping over wires all winter?

 

[ve9aa]

This won't exactly pertain to your question, but

I have a couple 100w panels facing south that keep a big deep cycle battery charged and even in the winter it keeps the battery topped up. Angle is important. I use it from time to time lightly, just to insure it all works.

During Hurricane Arthur here 6-7 yrs ago when we lost all power for a week I used a smaller portable 40w panel in sunny weather to charge a regular car battery and it literally took all day to barely get it charged after partially depleting it the night before.

Conversly, a long time ago I bought a 3w? 5w? panel that sat on the dash of my car that was plugged into the cigarette lighter and found it made no difference at all. (of course some of that is the way the car was parked facing North, East , South or West and the angle of the panel (basically facing straight up).

If all you are wanting is to keep the batteries topped up in your machines, I wouldn't even consider a teeny tiny panel (3w, 5w). Go bigger. Make sure it's got some kind of charge controller inline so you don't boil your batteries.

Summer, panels facing quite a ways up into the sky......Winter, panels pointed almost at the horizon. (you can find all the angles for your location online. A little off makes a big difference.

If you're in the northern hemisphere, face them due south.

Good luck !

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Have to ask why you don't want to drill ONE hole in your shed,seing how the door doesn't seal ?

As for ideas.....
drill one hole,just under the eaves area, mount std duplex receptacle boxes outside and inside,short 3/4" nipples joins them. This allows easy running of the wires, is 'clean' and vermin proof.
as for the 'kits', would have to see which one. HUGE issue is the wiring size and connections. If it's made of soy, I give the mice 2-3 days before they chew it all up ! You need at least 18GA wiring to get electrons from panel to battery,and NO splices,unless soldered.
The panels themselves have to be adjusted for best Winter orientation. Check online for your location,what compass direction and tilt is best for you. What 'looks good' now is NOT right for DEC,JAN, FEB !
'size' matters. The larger the battery, the bigger (capacity) the solar panel needs to be.
The simple way is to buy 4 'complete kits' (panel, MPPT unit, cabling) so each battery is on it's own. There's no reason to bring the rider battery in...

The better way is to cover the shed with panels,feeding one 'control unit' then go to each battery. You'll get more power. Each battery is isolated from the other in this 'pro' system.
Add another battery so you can have a light in the shed or just grab power from one in the mower ?
You'll have to clean the snow off the panels, be sure there's NO branches to shade them. Also, there's not as much solar power in winter, so you need large panels( higher power rating). You can easily lose 15 to 90% of 'panel capacity' from clouds . A light dusting of snowflakes will do the same.

Now if you absolutely don't want to drill any holes, the solution is to go 'wireless'. Have a system designed/built where the solar panels feed a QI-like power transmitter and the QI-like receivers then retransmit the power to recharge the batteries. 100% doable, BTDT.FAEH(Free Air Energy Harvesting). Big price tag though, depending on how much power needs to be transferred and how far.

 

[1badDart]

I have one on the south side of my barn that I use in the winter to keep the battery topped off and it has worked well. My brother uses a large one to keep the battery up on a fence charger.

I agree with johnsayen. I'd pop a hole through the wall and use a plug like most 12v sprayers use. Then make up a cord long enough to hook to my battery. When not in use the cord could be unplugged and put away for safe keeping.

This and $1.75 will buy you a cup of coffee in some places.

Justin

 

[GreensvilleJay]

BTW, a 20 Watt solar panel, might, MIGHT get you 1 Amp at the battery to trickle charge,and that's on a sunny day, correct azimuth and orientaion and zero line losses...
You also need a 'smart maintainer' style charger NOT a trickle charger or MPPT style. A maintainer will properly charge as required. A trickle can and will kill a battery('boil' off the juice...)

 

[07wingnut]

BTW, a 20 Watt solar panel, might, MIGHT get you 1 Amp at the battery to trickle charge,and that's on a sunny day, correct azimuth and orientaion and zero line losses...
You also need a 'smart maintainer' style charger NOT a trickle charger or MPPT style. A maintainer will properly charge as required. A trickle can and will kill a battery('boil' off the juice...)

I second that advise. Over the winter, a small 3watt solar panel killed the battery on the combine, slow motion boiled dry.

 

[SDT]

BTW, a 20 Watt solar panel, might, MIGHT get you 1 Amp at the battery to trickle charge,and that's on a sunny day, correct azimuth and orientaion and zero line losses...
You also need a 'smart maintainer' style charger NOT a trickle charger or MPPT style. A maintainer will properly charge as required. A trickle can and will kill a battery('boil' off the juice...)

Bingo.

You need maintainers not trickle chargers to prevent damage to batteries from long term overcharging.

Solar maintainers are readily available but more expensive than trickle chargers.

SDT

 

[tthorkil]

Last winter I tried a few solar chargers to keep my deer feeders 12V 8Ah SLA Battery charged to operate the DC motor that dispensed the corn.
I first tried the lower wattage chargers - 3W and 7W without controllers - they worked okay until the sunlight time diminished and the battery would occasionally go dead.
I then purchased a 20W panel with a controller that charges and maintains the battery and I never had any battery discharge problems the rest of the winter.

 

[LarryBud]

Tons of great feedback. Thanks to each of you who took the time to reply.

I KNEW it would not be as easy as I had hoped. So it looks like I need a Maintainer / Controller vs a trickle charger. I'm not opposed to drilling a hole in the building but I thought it would be easier to just run wires under the garage door rubber threshold.

I'm going to need extension wires not matter what. My machines will be scattered around a 30 x 40 shed and I'll have to have the panel (s) out in the sun somewhere.

Now, one big panel and split it off one for each battery?

Easy and effective are my priorities with cheap bringing up the rear but still in contention.

 

[mattwithcats]

Battery Tender makes several solar chargers…

Solar

Battery Tender® solar panels and controllers allow you to charge and maintain batteries with the sun.

www.batterytender.com

Fun thing about Battery Tender is that all their chargers use the same keyed connector,
so you connect one end to your battery, then leave it.

Battery Tender® Ring Terminal Accessory Cable

www.batterytender.com

I cut the ring terminals into “C” with a Dremel…

I used a 5 watt solar charger to keep my car battery topped up over 18 months…
Started right up…

 

[mattwithcats]

One solar panel, then run the plus/minus to a bus bar.
From the bus bar to one charge controller, then to a battery…

Four batteries, four controllers needed…

 

[nota4re]

OP - It's a great idea and will work well. I use one of these for each tractor as well as a dump trailer (which uses an automotive battery.) The link below is the kit that I have been using. Comes with EVERYTHING you need. Most importantly, it is a FLOAT charger so it will not over-charge the battery.

Complete Charging Kit

 

[Botamon]

I bought one of these from Northern Tool years ago and mounted the 15w panel on the roof of my barn. It is a maintainer, not just a trickle charger. I have a Miller welder, ATV, and other vehicles stored in the barn and this unit keeps the batteries at full charge. If this one ever went out I'd get another one in a minute...but I see the price has gone up considerably since I bought mine.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200328565_200328565

 

[Clint from Flint]

This is a good product I use on a light overlooking a deer feeder....with a solar panel and 2 deep cycle batteries tied together...and a digital timer.....when the piggies come in tonight..it's pork chops for dinner tomorrow....
https://sunforceproducts.com/products/30-amp-12-volt-digital-solar-charge-controller-2/

 

[LarryBud]

OP - It's a great idea and will work well. I use one of these for each tractor as well as a dump trailer (which uses an automotive battery.) The link below is the kit that I have been using. Comes with EVERYTHING you need. Most importantly, it is a FLOAT charger so it will not over-charge the battery.

Complete Charging Kit

Thanks for the link. This looks like it make charge 3 batteries? Am I correct or is it one unit for each individual battey?

I think my first choice is one panel, a control unit, then out to four batteries if I ca pull it off.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: This looks like it make charge 3 batteries?

NO !!
One connector goes to solar panel
One connector goes to battery
One connector goes to load or 'device' (usually an LED)

It's a poor (cheap) design as the same type of connector is used for 3 different purposes,so you can easily misconnect your equipment, probably do damage .
To have a unit handle 2 more batteries would cost less than $1 / battery in the quantity these are made in China. There's also a minor one time rewrite of the 'computer code', less than 100 lines. cost less than a buck, so nothing when spread over 10,000 units...

BTW if you want to do several batteries, you'll need a panel/ controller of at least 100 Watts. 20 watts per battery is the MINIMUM needed,and that's for a small( low capacity) battery

 

[LarryBud]

What if I get a 1-200 watt panel, run it to a 100 watt controller, plug in a power strip, then, plug in 3-4 110 batteries maintainers?

would they not suck juice as available and keep the fleet charged up?

still working the best system. Help from manufacturers is non existen. I need to figure it out on my own.

thanks