The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Solar powered battery chargers.

Never have purchased a solar battery charger. I have been looking at them at different auto parts stores ,amazon etc. etc. Not quite sure the one I really want as they have solar battery chargers and solar battery maintaners. I am sure you already know my question, what is the difference between the two? I already have 2 regular 110 colt battery chargers..

I can't say what the difference is between a solar charger vs a solar maintaner is. Do you have plenty of sunshine available to run a solar device? I have what I assume is a solar maintaner hooked up to my VW camper since is sits in the sunshine. The truck sits under 3 redwood trees, so the shade does not allow any solar device help unless I wanted to try using a long extension cord.

Battery maintainers (aka trickle chargers) can only keep a nearly fully charged battery fully charged. They won't have enough output to charge a discharged battery.
A true charger will have enough output to charge a battery that's discharged.

I don't know what the output rate is to differentiate between the two, but a maintainer is probably below 5 amps, while a charger should output at least 10 amps.

A higher capacity solar charger will need a charge controller (usually built in) to keep from overcharging the battery.

Kevin, I have a 1.5 amp battery charger that is not a maintainer. It will bring a dead battery back to life over the course of a day or two.

I have a couple of low output "charger/maintainer" battery chargers.

I am looking to see if I can find a small solar "charger" to keep the battery in my vehicle that is in storage charged.

I use a
Amazon cheap
Newpowa 9BB 30W 12V Solar Panel High-Efficiency Monocrystalline 12V PV Module Designed for 12V Off Grid System, Charge Your 12V Battery of RV, Boat, Camper, Trailer, Gate Opener

And a

WERCHTAY 60A MPPT Solar Charge Controller 12v/24v Current Auto Focus MPPT Tracking Charge with LCD Display Dual USB Solar Regulator Charge Controller Multiple Load Control Modes

Works just fine sitting in the field and keeping battery charged for weeks sometimes.
I put a switch on solar wires so I could turn off power when moving it around etc.
plenty of options on all the online sites.

That's encouraging for I want to set up a 20-30w solar panel near the truck but out from under the trees which the truck lives under. Even though I try to drive the truck often during winter, there has been a week or two which the truck sleeps. As I noted earlier, I will need to set up the solar panel a little ways outside the dripline of the redwood trees in order to have full access to the winter sun. Food for thought.....

A note on charging types. there are two types of charging MPPT and PWM. Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) are two types of solar charge controllers, and the best choice between them depends on your system's needs,

Don't be fooled that it has MPPT on the label a lot of the cheaper controllers you see for sale are not true MPPT. (multiple videos, forums and other items explaining on the internet)

Most MPPT controllers are 80.00 or more.
For what I was doing not as concerned about either one.

But if you are looking for best efficiency and longer life and support for multiple battery types like LiFePO4 or lithium, It will be in your best interest to find a true MPPT. Most of the solar power sites and folks that deal with larger solar systems will have them. RV, Home, Outdoor camping etc.

For basic charging/maint of your flooded lead acid battery either will for you just fine.

I have used a similar solar panel as mentioned by hcb3200 above. It is listed as 30 watt but the most it would output is about 20-25 watt in bright sun.

"OYMSAE 30 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panel Solar Trickle Charger 30W 12V Portable Solar Battery Charger & maintainer with Cigarette Lighter Plug & Alligator Clip"

It is convenient to just plug it into the cigarette lighter socket or use the alligator clips directly to the battery. I think a maintainer has circuitry to reduce the charging current when the battery is fully charged. This trickle charger just supplies the output from the solar panel to the battery regardless of the state of charge.

Mark