Can this trickle-charge a 12v battery (on camper) to cover parasitic loads? Do I run it through my solar charge controller? Battery is AGM... Thanks!
1336070
To charge a 12v battery you will need a voltage of at least 13.6v. For a trickle charger, you only need a small current and if the charging current is below the "14 hour charge rate" voltage regulation shouldn't be needed. Ideally, the trickle charge current should be around the self discharge current of the battery, this varies with battery design and capacity. Three of these solar panels in series will deliver 15v @ 500mA (on a good sunny day). Depending on the capacity of your battery, this may be OK as a trickle charger setup. Maybe the battery supplier can advise on the maximum trickle charge current for your particular battery.
1269793
Good question. I would ask the manufacturer I had a question of them once and they were fairly prompt in answering. With mine I only need to connect to the batteries on my pick up camper and charge away!
732734
Yes, when the 12V battery is connected to another via the jumper cables the power is "shared" both ways. When you first connect it up to a drained car battery, there will be a fair exchange of power where this unit will "recharge" the car battery some (yet I think of that like connecting 2 buckets of water together and watching the levels equalize since both have a limited amount they carry). If the car is running the alternator's charging power will go into this (as well as it's own battery) or if it's not running then this unit can help start the car. If you have this unit plugged in to AC power to "recharge" and had it connected to a car battery, it will send power to both, just beware that the &lt;1 amp trickle charge can take 12+ hours to recharge this alone (so recharging a car battery as well can take 48+ hours which may seem so slow to you that it makes you think nothing is happening). If you don't mind the time it takes, that will work, otherwise if you want to charge a car battery in under 12 hours you'll want a car charger labeled 5-10 amp output.
943269
Yes, without a charge controller, it will boil your battery. You could purchase a 5W solar charge controller and leave it plugged in all the time.
1995203
I charge 2 6v lead-acid batteries (in series) with it for RV - have had no trouble. This link gives the various charge rates and protections. Not sure how the controller would handle 1 bad battery of 3 wired parallel.http://www.directdepot.net/manuals/Go_Power_MAN_GP-PSK_80.pdf
683675
yes you can trickle charge it from solar panels from the same outfit. You can also plug it into your house current so it is ready to take on your outings you get it for to begin with. The real problem or drawback is the really short warranty. I had used my goal zero twice before finding that once it is not plugged into a charger, it would lose a bar of charge over night. Rather disappointed in the short warranty making this something they would not replace the unit for. Love the product over all, but very unhappy with the short warranty and battery quality. deep cycle should not be this way.
1060823
look at it like this . a regular battery charger has a lot of power. a nice powerful solar cell will hardly light up a flash light bulb. the only way a solar cell is going to charge a battery is over a long length of time as a trickle charge. the trickle is relatively so small that it really does not matter if you put 12 or 24 volts on the battery. it's still a trickle. i put six solar cells (powerfull ones) on one battery. it charges faster but there is really just not enough power to fry a car battery. just make sure your diodes are good so that the battery will not discharge over night. the answer is yes though, and the more the better, and forget v. & i. regulators unless you have a yard full of cells again you are not generating that much power, probably, if you are like me. - i like all paralel at 12 v. though. i have no need of a 24 v. source.
150750
This would probably work fine to charge your car battery, but it would be slow. This is more of a trickle charger than a fast battery charger. There are actually some better choices out there for car batteries. I have a classic car, and I keep a Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger attached to that, and it keeps the battery totally charged. If you want a really fast charge (which is harder on your battery, it will reduce the life of the battery) you could use something like the Schumacher SE-5212A 2/10/50 Amp Automatic Handheld Battery Charger.
1563651
Yes, since you can use it to charge even a vehicles battery if needed, it will trickle charge any 12 volt battery.
981796
Hello Jennifer, Yes, the Guardian 12V Charge Controller will charge any 12V battery. The Guardian can handle a maximum of 90 Watts input. You can use 3 - 4 Boulder 30 panels with the Guardian to charge your 12v battery. Thank you for your interest - I hope we can help you - Denis, PrepareDirect
716898
It will over charge your van battery. An additional piece is required. A voltage regulator connected inline with the charger. Battery tender might be another name
659085
A 12V battery can be charged from any 12V source including the AC charger, a car or even solar panels intended for such. Some OEMs market a cord for connecting battery packs like this to the car via the lighter outlets so they charge as you drive (the Clore ESA1 and Schumacher SAC-109 are examples). Just be sure that the lighter outlet is turned "on" while doing that so the power gets thru to the battery. Also the cars power may instantly make this battery show "full" when hooked up, but it does take time for the battery to absorb the power, so that's why they recommend charging over a long time with the AC trickle charger (or while in the car you need to leave it for 1/2 hour, yet it's still a guess as to whether or not the battery has absorbed all it can or not).
2112135
I've never tried it, but typically it should not charge because the 6v solar charger is specific to dry-cell rechargeable battery. A 12v battery is acid filled and you must have a 12v solar panel with trickle to charge acid filled battery. Otherwise it could blow up!
1867174
I don't know about that one. I've always hooked up the 12V battery directly to the solar charger. A lighter adapter didn't come with the solar panel.
1363056
This is essentially a battery charger. The items you wish to run run on AC where this device is DC. Generally what you would use this to trickle charge a battery that is connected to a small inverter, that converts DC to AC. You would then plug your devices to the inverter. Note This panel output may fall short if you are using these appliances allot.
912507
A very bad idea. You *could* do it if you insisted, but it's just a really bad idea. Here's why: Flooded, AGM and Gel batteries each have *different* charging requirements. So solar charge controllers have built into them 3 different charging algorithms, one for each type of battery. If you have two or more different types of batteries combined in the same bank, the controller can only use one of the three charging programs to charge them all -- and that means that some of the batteries in the bank would not be charged at the proper current rate, resulting in less-than-optimal charging from some batteries in the bank at best -- and/or damage to some of the batteries at worst. A very bad idea. You *could* do it if you insisted, but it's just a really bad idea. Here's why: Flooded, AGM and Gel batteries each have *different* charging requirements. So solar charge controllers have built into them 3 different charging algorithms, one for each type of battery. If you have two or more different types of batteries combined in the same bank, the controller can only use one of the three charging programs to charge them all -- and that means that some of the batteries in the bank would not be charged at the proper current rate, resulting in less-than-optimal charging from... » Read More A very bad idea. You *could* do it if you insisted, but it's just a really bad idea. Here's why: Flooded, AGM and Gel batteries each have *different* charging requirements. So solar charge controllers have built into them 3 different charging algorithms, one for each type of battery. If you have two or more different types of batteries combined in the same bank, the controller can only use one of the three charging programs to charge them all -- and that means that some of the batteries in the bank would not be charged at the proper current rate, resulting in less-than-optimal charging from some batteries in the bank at best -- and/or damage to some of the batteries at worst. « Show Less
1976488
As others have responded, this is a trickle charger. Think of your battery as a bucket full of water that slowly evaporates over time. The purpose of this device is to keep the bucket full by keeping a very small trickle of water going into it while there is light striking its panel. It will not develop anywhere close enough to actually "fill up the bucket" should you be very, very low, and certainly can't generate enough to jump start your vehicle should the battery be very low. Its whole purpose is to make sure that the battery does not get low while you leave your vehicle unattended for weeks or months. As others have responded, this is a trickle charger. Think of your battery as a bucket full of water that slowly evaporates over time. The purpose of this device is to keep the bucket full by keeping a very small trickle of water going into it while there is light striking its panel. It will not develop anywhere close enough to actually "fill up the bucket" should you be very, very low, and certainly can't generate enough to jump start your vehicle should the battery be very low. Its whole purpose is to make sure that the battery does not get low while you leave your vehicle... » Read More As others have responded, this is a trickle charger. Think of your battery as a bucket full of water that slowly evaporates over time. The purpose of this device is to keep the bucket full by keeping a very small trickle of water going into it while there is light striking its panel. It will not develop anywhere close enough to actually "fill up the bucket" should you be very, very low, and certainly can't generate enough to jump start your vehicle should the battery be very low. Its whole purpose is to make sure that the battery does not get low while you leave your vehicle unattended for weeks or months. « Show Less