Posted: 1/3/2012 1:00:22 PM EDT
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Can anyone make a recommendation on a solar powered battery tender/trickle charger?
Intended use: I will mount the panel on the roof of my barn and use it to maintain the batteries on my tractor (12V system) which is hard starting in the winter. I would want this system to keep the battery fresh for cold starting in the winter. Particularly after a snowstorm + power outage that prevents me from using an A/C powered charger to jump the tractor. I plan to keep it connected to the tractor batteries throughout the cold months. I have seen the BatteryMinder stuff on their site and am considering their solar package with 15W panel and quick disconnect cables. Any advice? |
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I got one of those sunforce solar chargers sport chargers i think is the model.
It stays on the lawn mower and it works fine. I seem to remember its only like 1 watt, and Im sure its colder in VA than here. actually this is what i have. solar charger |
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Quoted:
I would want this system to keep the battery fresh for cold starting in the winter. Particularly after a snowstorm + power outage that prevents me from using an A/C powered charger to jump the tractor. If you have AC power most of the time, an AC-powered battery maintainer is probably the way to go. Batteries don't self-discharge very quickly - Even after a week with no AC power, your tractor battery should still have most of its original charge intact. And during a snowstorm, you're probably not going to have much sunlight on a solar panel anyway! 
Note that when batteries are exposed to cold temperatures, they temporarily lose some of their ability to supply cranking power. This happens whether or not a battery maintainer is connected - The only way to avoid it is to warm the battery up. There are AC-powered battery heater blankets available for this purpose - or, you could simply store the battery in a warm location until you needed it. |