Posted: 4/17/2016 2:13:52 PM EDT
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Does anyone have any advice/guidance on buying a solar charger? I am looking for something to recharge batteries and such - the size of the panel is not too much of an issue but portable/semi portable would be nice.
Thanks in advance for any insights. |
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I run everything through USB.
I have a solar panel that has a USB output and AA/AAA chargers that take USB and of course, cell phones and tablets are default USB chargers. I have this $40 16W charger bought from Amazon (NRA smile link) and a high tech $26 charge nearly any dang thing also from Amazon. PS: over-buy your solar panels. My biggest load is 7.5 watts but when with something twice that to charge twice as many things or to gather more light during rainy days for one thing. |
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Like Paul states, USB NiMH/Li-ion 'battery' chargers and portable solar panels are commonplace right now and pretty well made.
For USB, I bought a SunKingdom 14w folding panel with 2.5A and 2.1A outputs. I bought a few USB chargers from Xtar--their VC4 4 bay NiMH/li-ion charger, their single bay NiMH/li-ion XP1 and their single bay li-ion MC1+ chargers and they work fine. My bases are covered from AA/AAA NiMH batteries to 10440>26650 li-ion cells. The Xtar VC4 can be a bit slow, but it does both chemistries and it can handle various sizes in both chemistries with its 500mA and 1A charging rates. I also built a 12v system using two 30w rigid panels, a couple of 12v AGM/SLA mother batteries and a digital controller and this works well with my 12v chargers like my Maha and Opus jobbies. Charge the mother batteries up during the day and then run the chargers off of them at night, is how it works. With a 5v USB setup, you might invest in a 10,000mAh to 20,000mAh li-ion power bank and use that as the mother battery. Look for one that allows you to replace the 18650 li-ion cells once they die. Chris |
| Theres a few usb rechargers. Of AA,AAA. i own a few solar panels including goal zeros. Currently i dont think theres anything better for power and size then the 21w powerpoint anker pannels. The new power point line has 3 pannels, the older version had 4 pannels for pnly 14w. |
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Quoted:
I run everything through USB. I have a solar panel that has a USB output and AA/AAA chargers that take USB and of course, cell phones and tablets are default USB chargers. I have this $40 16W charger bought from Amazon (NRA smile link) and a high tech $26 charge nearly any dang thing also from Amazon. PS: over-buy your solar panels. My biggest load is 7.5 watts but when with something twice that to charge twice as many things or to gather more light during rainy days for one thing. The XTAR chargers are great... |