Paging the battery topper uppers ....

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223251&criteria=solar charger&doy=25m8

"Solar-Powered 12V / 2.4W Battery Trickle Charger only £9.99 "

20 quid off

--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, BMW R45, 01 Kawasaki ZX12-R, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
07 VW Passat SE Estate for comfort
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

Nice price but I'm never sure if they are considered 'waterproof' (or
even weatherproof) enough to be permanently fixed outside, especially
when they come with 'suction cups for easy mounting' so presumably for
*inside* a car, caravan or boat window?

Nothing stopping one going round it with some silicone I suppose but
it would be nicer to have something ready to rock.

I was looking for something that could be attached to an external
window sill (our front window faces South) so a long and thin panel
and at good angle to shed rain and catch sun and right where the bikes
are.

All the best ..

T i m

 

I have a similar one inside my garage keeping a spare bike battery
"happy". The business end is inside a window and gets sufficient light
to work.

 

If you looked further down the page ...

"Q)Is this unit waterproof. Can it be mounted outside. - Patrick
A) This unit is weatherproof, but not fully waterproof. We would not
recommend permanently mounting this product outdoors."

I'll pop down the road and take a look

a tenner is hardly going to break the bank

 

I have one in the car - works for me

(unlike that crap data logger)

 

Doh. You would have thought they'd put that up as a feature?

Indeed, my Maplin is further than a pop though. :-(

All the best ..

T i m

 

Ime, you need a minimum 5W panel for it to be of any use to keep
comfortably ahead of the self-discharge rate.. Also depends on the
silicon solar technology involved - the cheap stuff is less efficient,
as you would expect, but you can always have a bigger one.
Having said that; I've had a 5W amorphous silicon one happily
trickle-charging a battery in the SOJC for the past year while it's been
laid up.
Some useful info here...
http://home.att.net/~africantech/solar/amorphous/amorphous1.htm
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

I don't think there would be a problem leaving one of these out in the
open, you could put a bit of silicone around the join between the glass
front and plastic border

It seems robust enough

for a tenner ...

buy one

 

Sorted out the interface, but there's still a problem with knowing
whether its logging or not

 

well .... it's going to slow down the discharge rate at the very least. I
have a smaller one on a battery in the shed and it always seems to keep its
charge for emergency jump starts etc

--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, BMW R45, 01 Kawasaki ZX12-R, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
07 VW Passat SE Estate for comfort
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

Much depends on what type of panel, size of battery, siting of panel,
dirtiness of panel (amazing how little shite it takes on a window or the
panel itself to cut down the useful light).

I'd say to anyone who's thinking of one to go for it anyway - at that
price you could get two and parallel them up easily enough.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House