Do Solar Panel 12v Battery Tenders Work?

[Link]

I see tenders for as cheap as 15$, How would it work on my rv battery for winter storage?
ty Don.

 

[LVLAaron]

They work fine. I have several. Mower, generator, etc.

 

[gary0529]

I keep one on my big tractor battery- those big diesel’s need a bit of battery to heat up the glow plugs and then crank the engine, especially when it’s cold
Mine keeps the battery at 12.6 to 13.3 volts pretty consistently
I really dislike having to walk back from the barn to get the truck to jump a depleted battery and the solar panel trickle charger keeps things ip to snuff

 

[rayporter]

i have one that puts out more amperage than most. works great on my gennerator.

 

[cmysix]

it will not, for a decent "tender" you need at least 5 amps on a full-size car/rv battery, get yourself the 5 amp DELTRAN tender and you won't regret it about $50, comes in a water proof model too.

 

[M-61]

I see tenders for as cheap as 15$, How would it work on my rv battery for winter storage?
ty Don.

I’d have serious thoughts about a $ 15 charger.
I think I have 4 battery tenders working right now, for years I’ll add, and never a problem.

 

[padom]

Make sure your buying the correct charger/tender for your type of battery... most solar batteries today are LiPo4 batteries that requires your charger to have a specific LiPo4 setting and uses a higher charging voltage of 14.3V.... you can damage LiPo4 batteries and/or shorten their life drastically of you don't use the correct charger/tender...

I use these NOCO on my LiPo4, AGM, Deep Cycle, Boat, Trolling motor and Solar batteries. I own several of these and work great for many years


NOCO GENIUS10, 10A Smart Car Battery Charger, 6V and 12V Automotive Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, Float Charger and Desulfator for Motorcycle, ATV, Lithium and Deep Cycle Batteries https://a.co/d/5y64Bgy

 

[ebb]

YES

 

[Rocketvapor]

Don't expect much output from the cheap solar chargers.
5 to 10 watts output in full sun.
Some have overvoltage protection that will stop the charge at 14.5 volts or so for Li-ion/LiFePO4.
Some Li-ion, LiPo, LiFePO4 multicell batteries have cell level BMS to protect each cell from overcharge, undercharge, BUT SOME DON'T.
Packs designed for some RC devices are blast to charge, blast to discharge and need external cell level monitoring.
I make battery packs for experimental projects.
My latest are a pair of 12volt 25AH LiFePO4 packs with a 30 amp BMS.
To charge I use a ToolkitRC M6D.
I can set charge profile, end voltage, charge current, etc.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

My home gate opener has one. My big marine 12 volt battery lasted 5 years before having to replace it.

 

[284winner]

They work great if they have full sun. I just bought 4 a couple weeks ago.

 

[rjtfroggy]

Solar I never used, but the 110v ones I have four running 52 weeks a year and all do the job.
Example, my lawn mower is stored in out door shed, bought it in 2013 and it has been plugged in from day 1, just finished season 11 never a problem.

 

[284winner]

Solar chargers are nice when you don't have power as an option. Been using them for game cams for a while. I never need to buy batteries anymore for my game cams. Huge plus

 

[M-61]

Solar chargers are nice is you have enough sun.

 

[joshb]

My home gate opener has one. My big marine 12 volt battery lasted 5 years before having to replace it.

Works well on my gate too. My panel is 2x2 ft.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Works well on my gate too. My panel is 2x2 ft.

I think that’s about the size on my Apollo unit too.

 

[nakneker]

My house, shop are off grid, everything is solar. We have tenders on the gate openers coming into the place and use them a at camps. Pretty awesome. I don’t know about different brands or how cheap you can go and still get a productive product.

 

[Cecil S.]

Its better than nothing but purchase a good one.

 

[drover]

I have been using the el cheapo ones for a lot of years and they have worked well for me. The charger on my tractor is 20 years old and the one on my riding mower is about 15 years old and they have never failed to charge. If I recall correctly I bought them at a Cabelas for $14.99.

drover

 

[mauser284]

Not if you live in a state that has nothing but gray skys and snow once Fall and Winter hit.

See what the draw is on your car when off. THe more electronics the more parasitic draw you will have.


If the solar pannel doe not exceed the draw than you have your answer. You need to understand lead acid batteries and the difference between a surface level charge and a deep charge.

You also need to think about voltage and how long the vechile is sitting.

I live in Michigan and if I am not driving a vechile for months at a time nothing short charger will do the job. If I lived in Georgia that would not be an issue though.