12v harbor freight solar battery charger

[rizzo]

I have a couple 12v 1.5 watt solar battery chargers from Harbor Freight. I noticed that these do not have a regulator on them and you have to buy that part separately. The Regulator is $29 and I saw the charger is on sale for $12.

My questions are:
-How do I know if I need the regulator?

-This charger says 1.5 watt and another one they have is a 5 watt charger. I am used to measuring charge in amps. How does this translate?

-I want to use this to maintain the large (about the size of 2 or more 6TL's) battery on my excavator, the stock battery on my S-15 blazer and the stock sized pickup battery on my mud truck. What do I need to know to make sure I am doing it right?

-would I be better off buying a different solar charger for the excavator and using the 2 HF chargers on the smaller batters?

Feel free to include any other information that would educate me on the subject at hand.

thanks in advance

 

[rizzo]

link to regulator
7 Amp Solar Charge Regulator

link to 1.5 watt charger
1.5 Watt Solar Battery Charger

link to 5 watt charger
5 Watt Solar Battery Charger

 

[rizzo]

how is this charger multi votage?

MILITARY M37 M38 M38A1 M715 M35 M211 M135 NOS 12 - 24 VOLT SOLARGIZER IS-24-L | eBay

is there a switch?

 

[cranetruck]

My guess is that the 1.5A charger has a built-in regulator.

Consider this, lead acid batteries sulfate when not fully charged. When you crank the engine to start, the batteries are immediately recharged at a high rate and remains fully charged (no sulfation).
If for some reason the batteries are not fully charged when you shut down you vehicle, a trickle charger will take a long time to restore full charge and the batteries allowed to sulfate, which will reduce the battery capacity over time. To restore charge IMHO, a minimum of 50 Watts (4 to 5 amps) would be required and that would in turn require a very expensive solar panel. Just something to think about. Lots of references on the net...

 

[papakb]

According to Joules Law power (P) = volts (V) x amps (A). Rearranging the formula to P/V=A you get 1.5 / 12 or .125 amps. This isn't enough to do serious damage to your batteries but it isn't a good idea to leave any charger connected to a battery permanantly. Solargizers are an exception because of the way they pulse the battery to flash off any sulfates forming between the plates and their built in charge controller.

 

[Speedwoble]

My questions are:
-How do I now if I need the regulator?

-This charger says 1.5 watt and another one they have is a 5 watt charger. I am used to measuring charge in amps. How does this translate?

Watts = Amps*Volts, so the 1.5watt version is 0.125 amps at a nominal 12 volts.

 

[deuceaid]

So you have just over a 10th of an amp with the 1.5 watt panel , and four 10ths of an amp with the 5 watt panel. Just about any battery can (safely) have a float charge hooked up to it that is about 1/ 100th of the rated AH ( amp -hour) capacity of the battery . example a small 14 AH battery ( like in a motorcycle) could have a charger that puts out 0.14 amps hooked up most of the time. if the large battery is 120 ah, then a 1.2 amp float charge woud be fine.

You are only going to have the panel (charger) working during sunlight hours. the only other thing to do is make sure it has a blocking diode so that charge in the battery can not bleed off back thru the solar panel at night. ( i think the charger your referring to has one)

all of the afore mentioned does not mean You can just forget about the battery. electrolyte (battery acid) still needs to be checked for levels in a vented battery ( the most comon type) and only and distilled water to bring the level up to where it should be.

any other questions , just ask, I have been taking classes for this over the last half year.

 

[drbombe]

12 volt power

I took a 5 hp briggs, and hooked it to a 12 volt 80 amp generator. I use that for jump starts/battery charging and running all sorts of 12 volt lights, ect. It also has a 120 volt starter for the briggs, so fire up the Honda first to start the 5 hp and your off to the races, nice for lots of 12 volt power.

 

[rizzo]

how is this charger multi votage?

MILITARY M37 M38 M38A1 M715 M35 M211 M135 NOS 12 - 24 VOLT SOLARGIZER IS-24-L | eBay

is there a switch?

anyone know the answer to this? Is it labeled wrong?

 

[rizzo]

I took a 5 hp briggs, and hooked it to a 12 volt 80 amp generator. I use that for jump starts/battery charging and running all sorts of 12 volt lights, ect. It also has a 120 volt starter for the briggs, so fire up the Honda first to start the 5 hp and your off to the races, nice for lots of 12 volt power.

I have two semi truck batts in my M1008. It is my jump start/charger if I need it.

 

[cranetruck]

anyone know the answer to this? Is it labeled wrong?

The "Solargizer" is not a charger, it puts out a series of electrical pulses, which desulfate the battery plates over time. It can be made to run on a wide range of voltages, so the labeling is okay IMHO.

 

[rizzo]

The "Solargizer" is not a charger, it puts out a series of electrical pulses, which desulfate the battery plates over time. It can be made to run on a wide range of voltages, so the labeling is okay IMHO.

right. I guess the way I read it, is that one unit can do all of those voltages. That is what puzzled me.

 

[tennmogger]

anyone know the answer to this? Is it labeled wrong?

The Solargizer is different from a 'normal' solar panel because for a normal panel to charge a battery, the panel output has to be higher voltage than the battery.

The Solargizers use a small panel that only puts out 4 or 5 volts. That voltage is processed by the box to put out a higher voltage spike. That spike is what helps prevent sulfation. The pulse actually is a charge, it's just so short a duration that it does not count for much.

The pulse does not really care what the battery voltage is, it acts as an unregulated current source. That's why there's no switch required for different battery voltages. The pulse just has to be somewhat higher than the voltage of the highest battery voltage it's made to work with.

That 1.5 Watt solar panel would be a better 'maintainer' than the Solargizer because it puts more energy into the battery. As long as the battery voltage is not pulled higher than 13.8 to 14 volts during long term charging, all is well.

For anyone who likes to play with stuff like chargers, maintainers, etc, search for a little device called a "Watt's up". This little meter can be placed between the output of a charger or solar panel and will display real-time voltage and current, but will also calculate peak volts, peak amps, ampere hours, and Watt hours. Up to 60 volts and 50 amps can be handled. Best $50 I've spent lately.

Bob
WB4ETT

 

[rizzo]

I understand now and Cranetruck's reply makes perfect sense too.

Thanks everyone

 

[Makincold]

anyone know the answer to this? Is it labeled wrong?

I stumbled on this thread looking for the exact same info myself
I sent an e-mail to PulseTech Products and there response is below. (My original e-mail to them is at the very bottom and there reply right above it)
Based on there response I'm torn on if I want to use it for 12V or not. There answer says yes you can use it on 12V but don't... Confusing...
Lets see what the experts here say!




"You may use the 24 volt Solargizer on batteries up through 24 volts but it is not recommended. It will not over charge the batteries because it is not a battery charger, rather it is a battery maintainer. But the pulse is much less efficient. It will take much longer to desulfate the battery plates and increase their capacity."

Best regards,
Rick Gregory

PulseTech Products
1100 S. Kimball Ave.
Southlake, TX 76092

Tel: 800-580-7554
E-mail: rgregory@pulsetech.net
Website: Xtreme Charge Home | Xtreme Charge
E-catalog: Specialized Products - Pulsetech



Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:17 AM
To: Rick Gregory
Subject: IS-24-L Application question?


Good morning

I have a technical question about the IS-24-L industrial solargizer

I own several of them and want to use one on an Ford F250 diesel with Qty(2) 12V batteries in parallel

I have found a few references on the internet saying that this particular model, key words to me being "up to"

"Battery maintenance for all battery systems up to 24 volts"

and from your site it looks like its application range is 2V-24V?

735X150 24-Volt w/ lugs 2-24 Volts

PulseTech Applications Chart

I realize you make 12V models for the same application but since I own several of the 24V models I'd like to use one of them if it is within the application range

 

[SCSG-G4]

Solargizers put out about 50 volts A/C in little pulses (brighter the sun falling on them, the faster the pulses), so they work with both 12 and 24 volt batteries. While not enough power to actually charge a car/truck battery, they will keep them from sulfating. I have charged a 1 AH British radio battery with a Solargizer, but it took a couple of months! YMMV.

 

[3dAngus]

Correct. Those little solargizers are not really chargers. If, and only if, all your electical systems are in perfect shape, and there are no leaks, the solargizer you are referring to does not charge the battery, it just keeps it from normal drainage or discharge over time.

Good enought for me. Otherwise, in a perfect system, you would have to charge the batteries once a month. They help keep the batteries topped off ,once they are topped off, without further interference, and provided they have the sun for maximum output, which is just slightly less than a trickle.

Batteries naturally decal over time in minute amounts.

 

[LiveFreeOrDieTryn2B]

I was just curious if the HF charger will work on a 24v system will one work?

 

[3dAngus]

This is a really old thread and a lot has changed since. What I can tell you is, in my research, the single best solar charger for a 12 volt battery is on your favorite auction site. It is 14" wide and white frame so you would need to paint it OD Green. It puts out about 17 volts in full sun and .8 amps. You would need one for each battery. They cost a mere $30, and you can get a controller if you wish for another $10
I use these for my deuce battery on my fish dock where I automatically turn on lights to attract fish all night. They are Led lights and low current draw og .2 amps at 12 v. I also use one on my lawn mower where it starts up faster than ever before due to the battery being fresh and warmed up. Also, another on my boat. It is a long starter run to get going and I need to have a strong battery to get the fuel ignited. Also, I ordered 4 new solar panels for my golf cart to keep those very expensive batteries fresh. I bought all these panels for the cost of one of those little military solargizers, and they are far more powerful at $30 each and .8 amps then anything I've seen the military uses, but then, solar is twice the power and half the price it was just three years ago.
Good luck.

 

[LiveFreeOrDieTryn2B]

I have a 24v system I just wanted to know if using one would hurt my batteries or do I need one for each battery and disconnect them to use them individually?