How do I charge batteries with Solar?

[Blowmax10]

What are the options for making a solar powered battery charger?

I have a charger that does all standard batteries including 9 volt but of course in has a 110 volt plug


How would all of u build a rig to charge batteries?

[eeyore]

If you want to use the charger you have you will need the solar panel and inverter (turns the 12volt storage into 110)

Or you could buy one that is designed to use solar like the 20 Watt Solar Battery Charger Kit with AccuManager 20 Battery Charger

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CDQQ8wIwAg# (i did not shop the price, just used a search, might look for a better price)

ACCUPOWER ACCUMANAGER 20 Multi-Battery Charger

Part Number K-AP20201T


Battery Charger for AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V Rechargeable Batteries
Includes FREE BATTERY TESTER

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Those solar yard lights have an AA in them and they go on sale about this time of year

[eeyore]

to piggtback on Matt's post saw this in Survival Blog yesterday

Letter Re: A Photovoltaic Lighting Option
By James Wesley, Rawles on September 11, 2011 9:42 PM
Hi Jim,

Just bought a bunch of these 'underwater' solar floodlights, from Northern Tool:

Sunforce Solar Powered Underwater LED Floodlight, Item# 121178

They are very bright for a single LED and they will stay on until dawn if they get a full day's charge. The light is more of a spot light and is better than most flashlights being able to light up over 60 feet away fairly well.

These are great for low maintenance perimeter lighting and [unlike typical solar pathway lights,] are waterproof. Their batteries are NiMH AA cells and are replaceable. The lights plug into the panel with a standard DC barrel connector. They have both stake and screw mounts for all sorts of mounting options.

They are currently on clearance for $19 and won't last long. They are a great deal at this price. - SBReader

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/09/...aic_light.html

[Cimarron]

My issue with solar yard lights is they don't have an on/off switch. Sometime's you reallly don't want that light signature..

[2531]

I know this is not solar, but it is a good, cheap alternative for when you have days without sunshine. I plan on building one out of a free lawnmower engine.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/vansant131.html

[heyman]

i use solar yard lights also. if you keep an eye on them as the sun goes down you just pluck your freshly charged batteries out. works like a dandy

[Matt In Oklahoma]

My issue with solar yard lights is they don't have an on/off switch. Sometime's you reallly don't want that light signature..

https://www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com/showthread.php?2717-Solar-Shed-Light&highlight=shed+light

this one here has a chain pull switch and the panel is movable and has a cord so the panel can be outside and the light inside

[barfife]

Amazon has a great little solar battery charger for $24-27 that chargers all small batteries as well as a USB plug for cell phones.

Examples:

http://www.amazon.com/C-Crane-SBC-11-in-1-Battery-Charger/dp/B001BKS3Z2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315863763&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/AAA-Solar-Battery-Charger-Batteries/dp/B0042Z14FO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1315863763&sr=8-5

Hard to beat if you are only wanting to charge small batteries. Read the reviews and see if it fits your need.

[Grantmeliberty]

Many of the outdoor solar lights do have an on-off switch. They do not have a very large capacity for charging, and generally have low milliamp hour cells in them. Some I have seen had 400 mah capacity cells, which is probably close to the amount which could be charged in a day. The NiMh AA cells I use have capacities from 2000 mah to 2650 mah, and it would probably take 4 or 5 days to charge each one.
Probably the optimum system would be to getr the Maha mhc9000 charger

http://www.amazon.com/Maha-Powerex-MH-C9000-Advanced-Analyzer/dp/B00454YCWY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315963130&sr=8-2

which could operate straight from 12 volts, then use a panel rated for 12 volts connected to a conventional or deep-cycle battery to stabilize the voltage. If you are going to be working around chargers and batteries it would make the most sense to have a decent digital meter to monitor voltage, and ideally a clamp on to measure current as well. Buying a single decent sized panel should reap many benefits in the long run.
The ten watt panel at this site produces less than an amp of current, so it could be left connected to a conventional car battery indefinitely without damage, it is effectively a trickle charger. You would be able to connect your small cell charger to the main battery, utilize its capacity to produce the amperage necessary to operate the charger, and then when you aren't charging small cells it would keep the larger battery topped off.

http://www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/module-folder/UPG/UPG10wattsolarpanel.html

[boltgun308]

I've been looking at this for a while now. The solar chargers on Amazon do not have the best reviews and most will not charge a battery set in a full cloudy day. They also have a real problem with 9 volt batteries. I think that I am going to get a 40 watt or bigger panel, morning star dual battery charge controller, 2 deep cycle batteries that I already have in my boat, and a 12 volt DC to DC battery charger. This should work very well even on 9 volt batteries and would be a good barter item to have post SHTF.

I keep my boat in the basement and I have plenty of room in the battery compartment to hard mount the charge controller next to my 110 volt on board charger. I want to mount the panel on the exterior wall high enough to require a ladder to remove to prevent theft as much as possible.