Battery Tender solar maintainer

[Aaron Coffee]

I see Battery Tender now makes a solar battery maintainer. Would this work to keep a teardrop battery charged while camping, I can usaully go 2-3 days (depending on usage) on my battery. My current TD has a boat charger (don't remember brand, Pro-marine maybe, bought it at Cabelas). Just thinking for build #2.
Here is a link.http://batterytender.com/solar.html

[madjack]

...the short answer is...not really...the most powerful one(15w@150bux) they show only puts out around 1amp in maximum sunlight...considering the inherent inefficiencies in solar charging, you would get between 4ah to as much as 8ah with attention paid to placement in and tracking of the sun...but don't count on more than 4ah...now how much power you use would havvta be calculated...these things are just what they state, maintainers not chargers...............
madjack
p.s. our chi-com friends at Harbor Freight sell a 45W unit for around 170 bux on sale...this size would be the minimum I would consider for keeping the battery up while camping............mj

[bdosborn]

The battery tender setup is about 3 times as expensive as what you should be paying. While I've never used the HF setup, it gets TERRIBLE reviews at the solar forum. Besides, you can get a 45 watt panel that's about half the size of a HF, a single panel instead of three and costs $120 on eBay. Add in another $30 for a Morningstar Sunguard controller and you're paying less for a much higher quality system.

UL Solar 45 watt panel

Morningstar Sunguard

Bruce