[Shop-talk] Solar car battery chargers

[Mark Andy]

Howdy,

On Mon, 11 Oct 2010, Fred Katz wrote:
> Be careful of using those solar chargers without a regulator. A friend 
> of mine used a 1.8 watt on his F-150 truck, had a new battery just a few 
> months old. After sitting in the sun for several months, it killed his 
> battery. Over-charged it. He got a free replacement battery, but is now 
> more careful by disconnecting the solar charger after a couple days use. 
> I use a 5 watt solar charger, got it from HF on sale for $30, and don't 
> leave it connected more than a day at a time.

That pretty well sucks.

Does some version exist that doesn't cost a billion dollars and you can 
just plug it into the cig. lighter and leave it there for a month with no 
ill effects?

Mark