[Shop-talk] solar power for battery charger..

[Randall]

---- john niolon <jniolon at att.net> wrote:
>   a.. Charger Input Voltage : AC 100-240V 50-60 Hz 0.6A Max; Charger Output
> Voltage : 12.0V=1000mA
>
>
> The line above is right out of the spec page...

That's 1000mA, not 1000 watts.  So the rated maximum output is 12 watts.
Also, the 0.6A is a maximum, not a typical value.  I'm guessing it is a peak
repetitive sort of value, the charger only draws current at the peak of the AC
sine wave.  So actual input power is much lower than current times voltage.

> so... what Ibm hearing from you is a 15 watt panel  with a controller
> feeding a 12vdc battery...  then what ??  I use an inverter to power the
> charger itself ???

That would be the only way to use this charger without internal modifications.
Really not practical in my opinion, as an off-the-shelf 50-60 Hz inverter is
going to consume a fair amount of your power budget (requiring a larger
panel).  A better approach would be a DC-DC converter that could accept
whatever voltage your panel produces (no battery at this point), and drive
into the DC-DC converter already inside the charger.

Or just gut the charger and insert your own solar controller.  Nuts & Volts
has run several articles on solar battery chargers in the past year or two.

Randall