Battery charger

krick3tt · Post by **krick3tt** » Thu May 25, 2006 11:06 am

I am planning a long trip in the pinz and would like to use an aux 12v gel battery, not connected to the system, to operate a 12v cooler. I also have a small solar panel I would like to use. Is there a device to put between the solar panel and the battery to recharge it?
I am not an electrical wizzard but I imagine the battery hooked directly to a solar panel will not just recharge the battery but drain the battery. Looking for something simple and not too expensive. Ideas anyone?

Morris, 73 710M

M Wehrman · Post by **M Wehrman** » Thu May 25, 2006 5:24 pm

Most solar panels come with a blocking diode to prevent night-time discharge.

hrafn · Post by **hrafn** » Thu May 25, 2006 8:01 pm

Morris,

Check out my article on solar power for the Pinz here:

http://www.sdp-pinzgauer.org/html/solar ... the_k.html

krick3tt · Post by **krick3tt** » Fri May 26, 2006 9:04 am

Jay,
That does look like the answer. Where can I obtain a charge controller like the one you have installed? I think my solar panel is only 20 watts, it is not enough to operate the cooler by itself but should recharge the battery.
I have a 24 to 12 converter for the radio and CB but I wanted some power at night for the cooler when the pinz is off. I had trouble with the memory on the radio, too. I got a marine analog radio that seems to work ok.
Thanks for the tip.

Morris

hrafn · Post by **hrafn** » Sat May 27, 2006 5:26 am

Morris,

I bought the Morningstar charge controller on eBay for about 50 bucks. There are also many places on the Internet that have them too, for example:

http://store.solar-electric.com/ss-20l.html

I chose the model that has the LVD (low voltage disconnect) to avoid damage to the battery, although that might not be necessary if you use a deep cycle battery.

wd8cdh · Post by **wd8cdh** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:39 am

Hi Morris,

I suspect that you will need more than a "small" solar panel. Most of those coolers draw about 3 amps so you will need much more than 3 amps from the panel since the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. A better option would be to use a battery equalizer as a charger from the 24V system to the 12V battery. That is what I have been doing for many years. I also disconnect the equalizer and 12V battery from the 24V system with a couple of relays when the ignition is off.