Solar Powered Battery Charging

[Mad Manny]

Hi, I need advice.

I have a mate.
My mate has a LC79DCabV6 4.0.
It is NOT his daily - he drives it infrequently.
The battery went flat.
In a jump start gone wrong the battery got fried.
He put in a new battery.
I have him a 3.5Amp charger.
Problem solved.

But now he has relocated.
The LC79DCab V6 4.0 is now parked in a basement no where near a power point.

There is sun exposure very nearby.

So I need ideas on how to keep the battery charged, given that there is no accessible power point.

[Mad Manny]

I found this:
https://optimate-battery-charger.co.za/ ... 7MLsVTsUJh

Optimate 12v Solar Battery charger.
Panel can be max 2.0m from charger.
It's 0.97 Amp, so it's not very powerful.
But it's purely for maintaining the battery. Not charging it.

R1870.00

[Mad Manny]

Also found this, at TakeAlot.
Pretty much the same as above, but slightly cheaper & can charge Lithium...

https://www.takealot.com/optimate-duo-1 ... 0YqAz6Q2iU

TM522-D1R1 729.00

[Mad Manny]

A 3rd option
https://www.takealot.com/optimate-duo-2 ... ID90971721
Has a far better output, 1.67 Amp

TM522 DC R2 029.00

[AndreasR]

if its the cranking battery you are talking about then fit a battery isolator switch. Park and isolate the battery. Or just disconnect the battery when you park it. Battery should stay charged for three months if not longer. If he drives the car less often than this he needs to give it to me.

[Mad Manny]

Yes, disconnecting the battery is an option, but then he has to reset the clock & radio each time.
But certainly a cheaper & simpler option.

[jakeslouw]

Yes, disconnecting the battery is an option, but then he has to reset the clock & radio each time.
But certainly a cheaper & simpler option.

I had one of those on my old One Ten V8. Perfect solution.

[grips]

You can buy a 20A 12v solar charge controller for around R500. Add a 100W panel for R560. That will be good for between 5 and 8 amp charge. You can add another panel if you need more charging power.

On gensets we use 1 amp trickle chargers. The keep the 24V batteries full when not in use.

[Paul#25]

Putting solar panels in an area that is not secure won't work long term. The panel will relocated to charge a battery in a shack very soon after installation. Affirmative shopping is a reality that I'm sure you will have heard of.

[iandvl]

I think I've got a small panel and PWM charger at home he can hav mahala. Let me check and see if the option will work.

[Bugger]

I would do same as Grips have suggested


I have seen 150W panels charger a battery on the roof of a kombi standing inside the workshop with alot of outside light
No direct sunlight

So first avoid Paul's shopping and attaching a panel on the roof rack with the 20A charge controller

[Mad Manny]

Thanks guys.
Paul, he doesn't live in the East Rand.
But yes, you need to bolt it down...

[Jadranko]

i keep 180w panel permanently on roof rack and battery inside load bin with victron in between.this is my HAM radio setup
that is used monthly so i need to keep battery charged.

in my experience:
panel can be hardly seen due the ridge of the roof rack.
black trunking/sleeve camouflages wires nicely.(i learned this with ham radio.best camouflaged antenna is black wire.human eye thing.)
victron reads current under shaded carport plus building shadow at work place
at home it reads current under IRB galvanized roof that is 300mm above panel.

[Bugjuic]

Cheap R200 PWM controller 12 V - https://www.takealot.com/20a-lcd-dual-u ... lsrc=aw.ds

Any small 40-100W panel that no one wants, bolt it down, run cables that are lying around (Old 2.5mm house wires will also work), tuck the PWM controller away safely and there you go for R500-R800...

Nice thing with this is, you can achieve 4A power, thus really no need to worry. I have used similar PWM controllers on longer stays, and really convenient, as it has USB outputs to charge up phones as well...