Hi Paddlewisers, Ib^Ym back on the list after a couple of years hiatus. Ib^Ym hoping I can pick the brains of anyone on the list whob^Ys up on things electrical. As a winter project, Ib^Ym trying to put together a variation on the solar battery charger system described by Rob Walker in his article in the December 2003 Sea Kayaker magazine. His design calls for using a Morningstar SunGuard Charge Controller (http://www.nwpwr.com/products/Charge_Controllers/sunguard.htm) In Robb^Ys system, 10 AA batteries are charged in a series to trigger the 14.1V pulse point of the charge controller. Ib^Yd like to have a system that can charge fewer than 10 batteries at a time. I donb^Yt want to have to track depletion rates (which is necessary in the 10 batteries system to avoid having less depleted batteries start cascading their charge into more depleted batteries). I use pairs, threesomes, and foursomes of batteries in different appliances, and Ib^Yd like to be able to charge those sets together so as to have them all with the same depletion/recharge histories. I also want to be able to charge AAA as well AA batteries. Ib^Yd also like it to be a b^\smart systemb^] that wonb^Yt overcharge or drain batteries left in it, but which will trickle charge them to keep them topped up. In other words, an b^\idiot proofb^] system. I have the Powerflex 5 solar panel from ICP Solar Technologies (http://www.icpsolar.com/ssfamille.php3?id_rubrique=11) Its specs are: Rated power: 5 watts Operating Voltage (V) 16.5 Max. Current (Amps) 0.3 Open Circuit Voltage (V) 23 Ib^Ym going to get the optional 12-volt female cigarette adapter for it. And I have a couple of home battery chargers and their optional 12-volt male cigarette adapters. One is the Rayovac 1-Hour NiMH Charger (http://www.rayovac.com/products/recharge/index.shtml) The specs on the AC transformer for this unit (which is left behind when you use the 12-volt cigarette plug) are: Output 12VDC 1.5A The second battery charger is the Brunton Battjack: (http://www.brunton.com/catalog.php?item_id=279&subcategory_id=40&category_id=8&old_item_id=279&old_subcategory_id=40&old_category_id=8) I donb^Yt have the AC transformer for this unit, but the specs on the back of the battery holder are: Input: 12V, 500mA Charging Current: AA-500mA AAA-220mA Discharging Current: 180-240mA Any thoughts on whether one or the other of these chargers would work better plugged into the 12-volt female cigarette adaptor of the solar panel? Should I still have the Morningstar SunGuard Charge Controller wired into the line? Will it work, or will having fewer than ten batteries fail to trip the pulse controller? Also, the solar panel has a built-in diode (which I gather is to electricity what a one-way flapper valve is to water) to prevent reverse current and battery drain at night. Will the circuitry from the Rayovac or Brunton battery holder/chargers interact with this diode and/or the Morningstar SunGuard Charge Controller in weird ways to prevent the system working? Any and all help appreciated. Youb^Yre dealing with an electrical novice here. Cheers, Philip T. __________________________________________________________________ Switch to Netscape Internet Service. As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register Netscape. Just the Net You Need. New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups. Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I'm keen to hear the discussion on this, so if back-channel please cc to me as well. Cheers -- John Kirk-Anderson Banks Peninsula NEW ZEALAND *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 20 Nov 2004 at 20:31, kayakwriter_at_netscape.net wrote: > As a winter project, Ib^Ym trying to put together a variation on the > solar battery charger system described by Rob Walker in his article in > the December 2003 Sea Kayaker magazine. His design calls for using a > Morningstar SunGuard Charge Controller [...] > In Robb^Ys system, 10 AA batteries are charged in a series to trigger > the 14.1V pulse point of the charge controller. I didn't like this system for the same reasons you cite - I don't like the idea of having to charge 10 batteries at a time. I also prefer a smart charger. > I have the Powerflex 5 solar panel from ICP Solar Technologies > Rated power: 5 watts [...] > One is the Rayovac 1-Hour NiMH Charger > The specs on the AC transformer for this unit (which is left behind > when you use the 12-volt cigarette plug) are: Output 12VDC 1.5A I use this one (but not with solar (yet)) and it's a good charger. It can charge one to four batteries at once and each one is separately monitored. This makes for reliable charging. However, since it is a fast charger, it draws a lot of current. The problem is that the transformer output is 12V x 1.5A = 18 watts. This won't work with the 5 watt panel you have - you'd have to upgrade to a 20w version which is much bigger (I've looked into the same brand panel, BTW). Now that is the maximum power that the xformer can put out and the actual draw from the charger with only, say, two cells may be a lot less. However, it's unlikely that you could use a 5w panel and do much charging. > The second battery charger is the Brunton Battjack: > back of the battery holder are: Input: 12V, 500mA Since the SolarPort4.4 that it's designed to work with only puts out 4.4w, the 5w panel should be fine. Unlike the fast Rayovac, expect this combo to take several hours to fully charge 4AA batteries. > Any thoughts on whether one or the other of these chargers would work > better plugged into the 12-volt female cigarette adaptor of the solar > panel? I'd test the Brunton to see how it works. Should be fine. > Should I still have the Morningstar SunGuard Charge Controller > wired into the line? No - the BattJack should handle as a charge controller. > Also, the solar panel has > a built-in diode (which I gather is to electricity what a one-way > flapper valve is to water) to prevent reverse current and battery > drain at night. Will the circuitry from the Rayovac or Brunton battery > holder/chargers interact with this diode and/or the Morningstar > SunGuard Charge Controller in weird ways to prevent the system > working? Should work fine - the Brunton system uses the same thing according to the manual. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Just curious - has anyone ever used the cheap solar chargers like this?: http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?memberId=12500226&productId=613 I assume IF these work they would take forever (>8 hrs) to recharge a set of 4 AAs. K *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Monday 22 November 2004 06:36 am, Keith Wrage wrote: > Just curious - has anyone ever used the cheap solar chargers like this?: I've used a similiar charger backpacking and it does OK on the top of my pack if there's lots of sun, which is the case most of the year here in the SW US. A small panel like this doesn't need a controller because it doesn't put out enough current to hard 4 AA cells. (It still needs a diode to keep the batteries from discharging through the panel.) A good charger than can be used with variable DC input up to 18 volts is the Maha C777Plus II. It can charge from 2 to 6 NiMH or NiCd cells, and can also charge lithium ion batteries such as cell phone batteries. The charger comes with a 120-220 V AC adapter, so all you need to use it in 220 V countries is a plug adapter. It also has a car power adapter. It's at www.mahaenergy.com. Between my outdoor activities, digital photography, ham radio, and electronic gadjets I have a lot of batteries to charge. The C777 simplified my life quite a bit. Bruce Flagstaff, Arizona *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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