Solar trickle chargers

[oldchuffer]

Rather than use my mains trickle charger i was wondering about using a solar charger. Does anyone have experience of using one? Any recommendations?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Rather than use my mains trickle charger i was wondering about using a solar charger. Does anyone have experience of using one? Any recommendations?

I bought one about 15 years ago it was out if one of those new inventions magazine. It failed to produce enough current to charge my slave battery. The solar tech might have improved now.

[oldchuffer]

Interesting. I have a fear that it would need a decent regulator to avoid overcharging, and they seem quite expensive. May just stick to my mains version unless anyone has any suggestions.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I use a MB low amp C-Tek charger plugged in 24/7 on my Merc. I have a second slightly more modern C-Tek unit to keep my bike & a slave battery topped up. Electric consumption is slightly more than my Broadband router when on maintainace mode.

[MCTID]

I have used a small Solar Panel Charger sitting on the dashboard for about 5 years in my Peugeot 207 Convertible. It's a second car and rarely used...especially in the Winter. It's plugged into the Diagnostic Socket in the Glovebox - as the Fag Lighter is dead when the Ignition is off..........the Diagnostic Socket always remains live so the Panel just happily charges the Battery......it doesn't need bright sunlight to do its job and rarely let's me down.

Mine is a doddle in use and it's been a great bonus for the small cost - about £40 including the angled plug to connect it to the Diagnostic Socket....I wouldn't entertain using the crocodile clips ! You can buy dedicated Sockets/ plugs so you can leave the Panel connected longer - and safer.

You can always mount it on a garage or shed roof and run an extended cable to your bike if it's stored inside.......it's worth every penny just for the convenience of knowing that your bike will start whenever you need to use it.

[Moorey]

Small panel ones don't have regulators because they produce very little charge and are designed for much larger car batteries. I wouldn't use one. To me even leaving smart charges on bikes all the time does batteries no favours and dries then out. I now if not been used regularly put the charger on for 24hrs take it off for a month and repeat.

[oldchuffer]

Thanks for the responses, this, together with researching a bit more makes me think i'll stick to my C-tek unit for now.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Our Merc is connected 24/7/365 except for a couple of hundred miles a year to a MB smart charger. Our first lead acid battery lasted over 10 years I think I topped it up twice. The current AGM sealed battery is now  6 years old. They are pretty big batteries 110 ah or therabouts.

[TrickyMicky]

When I was a child, in our house, and some of our relatives, we used a radio which was powered by an "accumulator", as they were then known, basically just an ordinary head acid battery. This was used until the battery was drained flat, then a man would deliver a freshly charged one and take your discharged one away. The radio would drain the battery VERY slowly, and the discharged ones were re-charged at no more than a trickle. They lasted for years.  Moving on to a later period of my life, I worked for a motor parts wholesaler, and we sold Tungstone vehicle batteries. When talking with one of their engineers, he said that the worst thing you can do to a battery is to leave it flat, next on the list, but not so bad, was to keep it fully charged all the time. A Battery thrives on being discharged followed by a re-charge, the ebbed flow of the current helps keep the plates clean. He then mentioned the old "accumulators" and said they had the best life of any battery.  If I lay my bike up for any length of time, I sometimes just leave the parking lights (LED's) switched on for quite a few hours, and then connect to a very slow trickle charger.
   Recent case in question, I now own a GB250 Clubman which does not have a front parking light (USA Spec.). I did not realise that the steering lock has two positions, one with the rear light on, and the other without. As I park in the garage with the bike facing outwards you can guess!  Two days later, there was still enough power to illuminate the neutral light, (just!). 5 hours on the trickle charger and it started on the button with no ill effects. Batteries like to work. Have fun.
   PS. I had a C-Tek unit some years ago, It is in a landfill site somewhere.

[Athame57]

... my slave battery.

What is a slave battery here? Sorry if it sounds like a doughbag question but I've never heard the term before and google is producing odd results!

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

... my slave battery.

What is a slave battery here? Sorry if it sounds like a doughbag question but I've never heard the term before and google is producing odd results!

Its a good spare battery that I can use for jump starting, powering my Strobe light - testing bulbs etc.

P.S. In the 1960's before the advent of Power Packs most car dealers had a small wheeled trolley containing a couple of 6v large capacity batteries connected in series for jump starting vehicles - they were reffered to a the Slave Batteries.

[Lobo]

There’s a lot of science to battery longevity, and as I read it, the best way to slowly knacker one is to allow it to discharge fully.

Cycle life depends on the Depth of Discharge (DoD) and assumes that the battery is fully charged and discharged each cycle. If the battery is only partially discharged each cycle, then your battery will actually last for longer than the stated design life.

There are plenty of graphs wrt DoD about, but a reasonable aid to longevity is to avoid taking it < 50% capacity.

Last year I bought a 12v ride-on jeep for our 2yo grandson, and modded in voltage cut-out circuitry because I know that his dad would simply allow it to be run flat, and knacker the relatively expensive batteries. At the time I did a fair amount of research… mostly forgotten now 🙁.