Anyone using solar car battery maintainers?

[JC220]

Hi All,

I have a motley fleet of benzes per my signature. 90% of them sit for weeks on end and thus I spend alot of time planning when to charge which car in order to keep them all alive.

Most of them have recent new heavy duty AGM batteries so I do want to keep them in good shape!

I would like to try out one Solar maintainer first and see if it can prolong the stints a car can stand without the battery losing charge.
Like this one is what I have bought first:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/223140890601

Since it has OB2 connection I will set this on the dash of my w220 S430 which uses the most current.

Do any members use such a Solar charger?

 

[ace10]

Prior to running proper electrical service to one of my out buildings where I store farm equipment, I was using using a 15W solar setup from BatteryMinder. This was a fixed unit. It was fine, when it worked. But components failed at an absurd rate, and the warranty was a fraction of their AC setups. I won't buy anything from that brand now.

 

[gsxr]

I've used solar chargers in the past. Obviously you need good sun exposure, and they don't charge much (if at all) when it is cloudy. Depending on the idle current draw of the vehicle, you may need a higher-wattage panel. The only way to find out is to check the battery voltage about once per week to confirm it's at least remaining constant. With a properly-sized panel it should maintain near 13v.

☀

 

[MB V8]

These look of interest. In reading about them, I see many have clips for connection to a battery or they have a plug for the cigarette lighter adapter to recharge the battery. How can you re-charge the battery thru the cigarette lighter adapter.....or did I read that wrong?

 

[gsxr]

If mounted inside the car, you'll need to figure out how to connect the panel to +12v power. Cigarette lighter won't work because that is switched off when the ignition is off. Note this also means the car must be outdoors, not covered, and exposed to the sun.

Joe's original question was for a 1996-up vehicle with OBD-2 port, which can generally be used for a solar charger.

 

[alabbasi]

I have one and used it in my S55 when I first got it as it had a really bad battery. I suspect that it works better in Texas then it would in Ireland. I found that using the cigarette lighter attachment is next to useless. Plug it in right on the battery using the alligator clips or ring connectors.

 

[JC220]

If mounted inside the car, you'll need to figure out how to connect the panel to +12v power. Cigarette lighter won't work because that is switched off when the ignition is off. Note this also means the car must be outdoors, not covered, and exposed to the sun.

Joe's original question was for a 1996-up vehicle with OBD-2 port, which can generally be used for a solar charger.

I have one and used it in my S55 when I first got it as it had a really bad battery. I suspect that it works better in Texas then it would in Ireland. I found that using the cigarette lighter attachment is next to useless. Plug it in right on the battery using the alligator clips or ring connectors.

Yes it would very much so work better in a sunny area than in Ireland But the very positive UK reviews got me curious on this particular unit linked above in post 1.

It arrived today so I tried it firstly on a spare 019 battery. It is quite intuitive in that there is a blue LED which is off when the panel is in darkness and flashes when in daylight indicating it is then producing charge. A solid lit LED means optimal output is being generated - presumably full sun needed for that to happen.

On the test battery it did bring the volts up just a tad from 12.59 to 12.62 after a half hour or so. This in totally dull, overcast weather and rain. No sun at all. After unhooking it the battery kept this extra little charge so it was doing Something at least.

The subject vehicle at the moment is my 2001 w220 S430 which Is currently awaiting welding then MOT so is not turning a wheel at present. It is a power hungry beast and is due another battery pull and charge up.

But - let's just see what impact - if any this solar charger might have on the S430. I tested the battery before hooking the charger to the ob2 and it was a lowly 11.73 volts. (Yes I know this is too low and sulphasion occurs below 12.4 volts) Now this is not intended to charge a battery- simply to maintain it so I might be expecting too much here. But I'll re-check tomorrow evening and see what the volts are again just for shits and giggles. It may not be able to overcome the w220 standing current use unless in full sun- and the battery might need a proper charge before proceeding but lets see.



Installed on the rear parcel shelf- my house faces South so this is an ideal position for it. Cable length was ample too - even in the LWB w220 chassis

 

[TerryA]

Joe,

I can’t imagine you getting much use out of that charger in Northern Ireland. Not enough sun IMOP.

For me, “TOTALLY USELESS” Car stays in garage and has tinted windows.

lol

 

[JC220]

Joe,

I can’t imagine you getting much use out of that charger in Northern Ireland. Not enough sun IMOP.

For me, “TOTALLY USELESS” Car stays in garage and has tinted windows.

lol

Terry are you suggesting our weather is not good here? I think you might be onto something there!

 

[gsxr]

Forgot to mention - although I've used solar maintainers in the past, I generally do not do this anymore. I use AC-powered maintainers, and have tried a half-dozen different brands/models with mixed results. The extension cords are a hassle but overall they work well. After one minor debacle, I now check them all monthly, for any vehicle in long-term storage, to confirm voltage is normal.

And, for some vehicles stored outdoors long-term, I remove the battery and keep the battery indoors, connected to a solar maintainer placed in a south-facing window. This has worked fairly well to keep the loose batteries at 12.6+ volts, with a PowerPulse desulfator attached to help them live longer.

 

[alabbasi]

Move to Texas, it's what I did. All garages have power outlets and there's plenty if sun if you choose not to use them

 

[JC220]

OK so in checking the S430's battery voltage a few hours ago it was up by a whopping 0.01 volt However this does show that even on a bad day like today (not 1 second of sun just rain and miserable heavily overcast all day) it can hold off the standing power use of the w220 and add tiny charge on top.

I think I need to properly charge the battery first and foremost and connect the solar charge back on for a long term test. So my new outdoor socket (for the Kranzle) doubles for charging duty