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ritchiet002 Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2003 Posts: 1676 Location: Kaneohe, HI
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 10:25 am Post subject: solar trickle charger |
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Aloha!
Last year we became bi-coastal. We stored our 2014 Ford Focus for 6 months in a covered space in our condo. When we returned the battery was "stone" dead.
It was suggested to me, though the battery was strong, the drain of the modern electronics had caused the discharge.
Questions
1. Is this true?
2. If I put a solar trickle charger on it, will the ambient light in the parking
structure keep the battery charged? The area is quite bright and my space is
flanked on two sides by open wall structures that get good, but indirect light.
3. If I go the charger route, does anyone have tips on the charger wattage and
efficiency I should use? FYI it will be in Hawaii for the summer and fall
months, so available hours of sunlight should not be a problem.
Mahalo _________________ Somewhere there is a jar with your name on it!
From now on, I'm gonna connect the dots my own way!______________________________________ |
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Bob Loblaw Samba Member
Joined: August 17, 2008 Posts: 865 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 1:28 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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1. Is this true? Absolutely. Modern cars are always sucking juice.
2. If I put a solar trickle charger on it, will the ambient light in the parking
structure keep the battery charged? The area is quite bright and my space is flanked on two sides by open wall structures that get good, but indirect light. Unlikely, but there's only 1 way to find out for sure.
3. If I go the charger route, does anyone have tips on the charger wattage and efficiency I should use? FYI it will be in Hawaii for the summer and fall
months, so available hours of sunlight should not be a problem. Ctek chargers are the way to go, I think.
https://www.ctek.com/products _________________ sent from a phone using poor grammar and spelling |
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20278 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 8:08 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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Disconnect the battery when you leave. Batteries lose about .5 volts per month just sitting on the shelf, so when you get there, throw it on a good quality charger for a couple of hours and hook it back up.
I spent many years as a grunt mechanic in a boat shop back in the 90's. This is what was done with every boat we serviced and stored for the winter. The batteries sat on a shelf in the back of the shop, or sometimes were left in the boat, but always disconnected. In the spring they would be charged back up (we charged them in parallel, sometimes a dozen at once) and reinstalled. _________________ nothing |
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Cusser Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2006 Posts: 31378 Location: Hot Arizona
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20278 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 8:23 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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Cusser wrote: |
I say bring the battery into the house and plug into a trickle charger. |
He won't be around to monitor it. Probably not good to leave that unattended for many months at a time. _________________ nothing |
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Cusser Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2006 Posts: 31378 Location: Hot Arizona
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 2:51 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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cdennisg wrote: |
Cusser wrote: |
I say bring the battery into the house and plug into a trickle charger. |
He won't be around to monitor it. Probably not good to leave that unattended for many months at a time. |
I do similar with my lawn tractor battery each winter except that's in the garage so I don't need to remove the battery. _________________ 1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297 |
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mark tucker Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2009 Posts: 23937 Location: SHALIMAR ,FLORIDA
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 6:54 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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I tried the solar charger...more dead batterys then ever... I think they draw power when the battery is over 6 volts......possiably shooting rays up to the sun causing sun spots. no solar charger and no more dead batterys..... I don't like trickle chargers. neither do batterys. but!!! if your leaving it for extended times it may be worth putting the trickle charger on the car and disconnection the battery....then reconnect the battery start the car and drive off...but first disconnect the charger before driving off into the sunset dragging a battery charger. |
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Jacks Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2006 Posts: 2348 Location: San Clemente, Ca.
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ritchiet002 Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2003 Posts: 1676 Location: Kaneohe, HI
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 1:48 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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Ok-----The rest of the story
The car will be sitting in a tandem parking stall. I am leaving a key in a "lock box" next to the vehicle in case the building management needs access to move it. It can't be towed because the truck can not fit in the structure let alone get up to the 5th floor. Jacks post has me worried. Does anyone think the warnings in Jacks "link" pertain to solar chargers too? I was going to put on a "disconnect" terminal on the battery, but was just wondering about the also using the solar. I have to research the fire issues. I think that it would be more relevant to a plug in charger that charges 24/7--???
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl...sQ1QIINCgH _________________ Somewhere there is a jar with your name on it!
From now on, I'm gonna connect the dots my own way!______________________________________ |
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cbeck Samba Member
Joined: January 14, 2014 Posts: 2495 Location: high ridge, mo
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 5:40 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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I have installed and serviced dozens of solar vehicle gate operators, both 12 and 24 vdc. I have wired panels in both parallel and in series. If the equipment does not have a charge controler built in, we must provide/install one. There is a diode in the + feed from the panels so we don't discharge tuckers battery while the panels are not producing power. The controler can go in a weather tite box with the output leads coming out to your car connected to your battery with your choice of how to connect to your battery. Maybe refer to what the rv industry is doing. _________________ My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779 |
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ritchiet002 Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2003 Posts: 1676 Location: Kaneohe, HI
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 10:34 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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cbeck wrote: |
I have installed and serviced dozens of solar vehicle gate operators, both 12 and 24 vdc. I have wired panels in both parallel and in series. If the equipment does not have a charge controler built in, we must provide/install one. There is a diode in the + feed from the panels so we don't discharge tuckers battery while the panels are not producing power. The controler can go in a weather tite box with the output leads coming out to your car connected to your battery with your choice of how to connect to your battery. Maybe refer to what the rv industry is doing. |
They do make some with a controller to prevent discharge, but it does not say anything about over charging, can I assume that is not a problem with a solar charger in less than optimum light conditions? _________________ Somewhere there is a jar with your name on it!
From now on, I'm gonna connect the dots my own way!______________________________________ |
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cbeck Samba Member
Joined: January 14, 2014 Posts: 2495 Location: high ridge, mo
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 1:07 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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On cloudy days our panels still put out over 90%. Never checked em in the rain. We try to avoid the 12 v systems, but a pair of 12 v 20 watt panels put out close to 40 vdc wired in series on a sunny day. We get our equipment from liftmaster/chaimberlin group. _________________ My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779 |
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Zeen Samba Member
Joined: July 24, 2004 Posts: 1308 Location: The Sunny Part of Michigan
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 3:52 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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I've been using these on my VW, Mercedes, and boats for winter storage for several years:
https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BM3B-Automatic...le+charger
They work as advertised; never over charged and always ready. You can wire it up with the included quick disconnect if your building manager needs to unplug it and move the vehicle.
There's no reason a solar version wouldn't work if it had the right controls built in, but that's an important "if". _________________ The consequences of your decisions should not be confused with fate. |
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ach60 Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2001 Posts: 4139 Location: Santa Maria
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 9:53 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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Charge up the Battery, and then disconnect it.
Put a tag on the key for the lock box, "Battery Disconnected".
When you come back, connect battery and go for drive.
If she no start, then charge the battery, or just jump the car.
All this other stuff is a waste of time & money.
I locked my convertible in storage for 6 months this way while I moved.
Car started right up, but left rear brake stuck, made a hell of a bang when I dumped the clutch to break it loose. _________________ Good Luck
Al |
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busdaddy Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004 Posts: 51149 Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 10:08 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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I've had good results with the little ~6" X 12" dashtop chargers as well as pulling the clock and ECU memory fuses. Disconnecting the battery works too but is messy and requires tools, not too much fun if you are getting back to the car in the middle of the night after a long trip and not in the mood for wrench work. _________________ Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.
Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Слава Україні! |
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Gary Person of Interest
Joined: November 01, 2002 Posts: 17069 Location: 127.0.0.1
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 4:49 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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My dad used to make chargers out of power supplies used for handheld electronics (think cell phone chargers or DC power adapters). He would clip the end and solder grounding cable clips to each wire. He'd use the ones rated at 800-1000 mA to keep automotive and lawn mower batteries topped off all winter with zero risk of overcharging the batteries.
_________________ West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) |
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Joe 20 Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2005 Posts: 655 Location: Ohio
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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What a great idea for an old cell phone charger!! I wonder if there are any fire/safety issues? |
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Malokin Martin Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2007 Posts: 3100 Location: E-burg
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 9:13 pm Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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Didn’t some hippies light their bus on fire last year doing this exact same thing? |
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20278 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2018 7:00 am Post subject: Re: solar trickle charger |
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Malokin Martin wrote: |
Didn’t some hippies light their bus on fire last year doing this exact same thing? |
They had a big, home-made battery pack that stared the bus on fire, not a commercially made trickle charger. _________________ nothing |
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