recharging batteries?

[frog71_uk]

Hi All;
I was wondering how to recharge batteries outdoors. Say you are using a GPS for instance. I think I've seen some friction / spring system - like the rechargeable radios - What about little solar panels?
Does it exist or should I invent one, patent it and become a millionaire
Has any of you used them before?

... please don't tell me to take a spare pack of batteries, I know I'm french, but despite this great disadvantage, even I thought of this one

Just wondering ... And nice try @ footie by the way
Take care
L.

 

[Adi007]

I have one of these and it's mega cool on sunny days and kicks out a good 12 volts:

http://www.silva.se/outdoor/products/inst_solar.htm

Good on lower mAh rechargeables (800 - 1700 NiMH and NiCd) but I've not tried it with 2300 mAh batteries yet.

 

[mercury]

Total garages were selling these little garden lights for £3.99 that were solar powered with rechargeable batteries.

My darling eldest son lost his rag and gave one a kick and broke it

So now I have a solar powered recharger !

 

[Andy]

we did use a solar charger for a while but stopped awhen we moved over to Nimh, I didn't think you could use solar chargers with them, I'll have to try. It got put in a food bag and tied to a pack sometimes so I could charge batteries on the move and use them at night

 

[Adi007]

we did use a solar charger for a while but stopped awhen we moved over to Nimh, I didn't think you could use solar chargers with them, I'll have to try. It got put in a food bag and tied to a pack sometimes so I could charge batteries on the move and use them at night

I doubt that you could charge NiMH batteries any more than about 50% in a solar charger ... but OK for emergencies.

 

[leon-1]

Hi guys, you can recharge NiMh batteries by solar power, here is a linkhttp://www.selectsolar.co.uk/gadget.html#multi-charger

If you want a larger option of things to look at try http://www.mayasolar.com

They are both pretty much the same site, but this gives you options for charging a lot more than just AA batteries.

It's not a bad site, Leon :-D

 

[frog71_uk]

I found this link about wind up chargers:

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/win3mo.htm

It looks a bit gimmicky, but it's a good idea in theory. I am not sure how much effort it takes to charge a battery up like that though.

Do you think it also exists for A4 bateries?

I'm wondering 'cos if your in woodland, you may not get sufficient light for a solar panel.

Shame you can't have one of these devices like the kinetic watches, that recharges its own battery with the movement of your arm when you walk, this way you would optimise return on food ingested: a nice walk and electric power for free, and if your feeding from the wild, then that would really be super efficient :-D

Or maybe I should just get an electric eel in a glass jar?

 

[Stuart]

dont buy solar chargers from Silva!!!!

they are made by ICP and just rebadged Silva which then costs you a lot more

http://www.icpsolar.com/html/products.asp

ICP seems to have stopped selling that model though

I have never had a problem charging nHmH battrys in mine

the solar charge that i am currently using and recomend is available in maplins but i'm not sure of the procduct name

the manufacturers website makes no mention of it and the maplins site is down so i cant put a link up for it

 

[stevec]

stuart, is it one for charging car batteries? 20quid job? maplin site back up, but don't think you'll be able to do a direct link to the right page. there are some big solar panals there 100w-blimy :shock:
steve

 

[FGYT]

The Scotty from thses guys looks interesting found them at eh outdoor show at NEC

http://www.solartechnology.co.uk/Frameset.htm

Duncan

 

[Stuart]

Hmm thats odd the one i was refuring too is not on the maplins website either

thats where i bought it though, and last time i looked they were still on sale there

 

[alick]

Second the recommendation for Maplin - over the last year or two they have regularly had solar panels on sale -usually pretty decent and in different sizes. If there isn't a sale on right now, hang on and there's sure to be another along in a few weeks.

 

[stevec]

maplin do have a sale on at the moment, 40quid for a 12v 5W panel, its about 18"on a side max.
steve

 

[leon-1]

Stuart, how much did you pay for "the Scotty" @ Maplins?

Was it less than £35? If not they have it at the maya solar site above for that price. They have a number of bits there and the major problem is choice.

Since you have "The Scotty" is there any chance of getting a review on it? Things like how effective it is on a normal day and it's adaptability would be nice to hear about.

 

[Stuart]

I went into maplins today and they told me that the one i have has been discontinued :-( which is a shame because it was really good

 

[frog71_uk]

Looking at your links, I see that the suppliers offer various types of portable products. One of the differences is wattage (is that a word in English like voltage is?)

What is the practical benefit of more watts: that it charges batteries quicker, or that the batteries once charged deliver more power, or that you can charge more batteries at the same tim? Or is it for different applications?

Also, since by now you've realised I now nothing about electricity
can you plug a phone, GPS unit, radio etc straight onto a panel, or do the panels only serve as a means to charge batteries for use thereafter?

This is giving me an idea: buy one of these to charge my laptop and mobile phone batteries, get a bluetooth phone for remote access, and go work monday in the forest, tuesday on the beach ... thereby saving my boss the cost of office rental space ... what do you think?

 

[Stuart]

Ok i have tracked down the original maunfacture and told them of my disapointment and the discontiunation of this product and i'm working on getting some more

 

[stevec]

v=ir, where v=volts, i=current, r=resistance
p=iv, where p=power, i=current, v=volts.

voltage is a measure of the electromotive force of a battery or power source-how much "push" it has.
current, measured in amps, is a measure of the flow of electricity
power, measured in watts, is the amount of energy disipated by whatever you are powering. ie 100watt lightbulb

does this help at all?

 

[JFW]

http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/gadget.html#multi-charger

This link takes you to a solar charger badged with Exide logo instead of silva and with a price tag of £22.50 incl postage seems like a good deal.

Is this what you are sourcing Stuart?

JFW

 

[alick]

What is the practical benefit of more watts: that it charges batteries quicker, or that the batteries once charged deliver more power, or that you can charge more batteries at the same tim? Or is it for different applications?

Hi - yes "wattage" is fine. It is power that is measured in watts. Practically speaking, a higher wattage means that your battery will be charged faster. It doesn't put any more energy into the battery than a charger with fewer watts, it just does it quicker.

Depending on the sizes of the battery and the panel, bigger high power panels may actually be able to overcharge a battery. Probably only an issue if you decided to leave a set of ordinary rechargeable batteries hooked up to a panel for days at a time though.

Cheers