Can I use freestanding Solar panel to keep engine battery topped up. (1 Viewer)

[Casper46]

We have our MH garaged at home.
We are thinking of a free standing solar panel to keep engine battery topped up, both when in the garage and also if out and about with no hook up. Our engine battery seems to run down very quickly if the engine isn’t started up, and sometimes we would like to stay in one place for a few days.
Does this sound sensible.
Thanks

 

[Itsmcb]

As long as you use a suitable solar controller between the panel and the battery there is no reason why not

 

[RM_Marine]

Sounds like you may need a new battery

 

[Just smiffy]

As said as long as you use a controller for lead acid, however your vehicle battery should last weeks if not months in warmish weather with out starting so either your battery is knackered or you have a serious electrical drain ….

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

I have a small panel inside the front windscreen of my car. Just clips to the battery directly .its only around 30w but it does keep my car battery topped up when we are out in the van.

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[Casper46]

Sounds like you may need a new battery

Motorhome less than a year old. The solar on the roof keeps the hab batteries ok when the vehicle is not in the garage, and we can switch everything off with the isolator.
It’s difficult to find out what is pulling the energy out of the engine battery. We have just had a shunt fitted as the panel above the door tells lies with both power and water tanks. The water tanks we can fathom ourselves, but I worry about being in the middle of nowhere and finding that the engine won’t start.

 

[Pausim]

On a modern vehicle there are permanently live systems, including the ECU, that help drain a battery plus there is a self discharge rate of between 4% and 8% per month on the battery itself. Add to this the demands of a tracker or alarm system and you could be talking about having a problem in weeks rather than months. Some fitted radios are also known for draining a battery when they simply switch off with the ignition.

 

[Terry]

Your alarm will be pulling the starter battery down - known them to go flat after a couple of weeks or last 6 weeks depending on the alarm etc, It would be easy to wire your solar to charge both leisure and starter battery

 

[Just smiffy]

Do you have a pioneer radio by any chance…?

 

[Just smiffy]

Your alarm will be pulling the starter battery down - known them to go flat after a couple of weeks or last 6 weeks depending on the alarm etc, It would be easy to wire your solar to charge both leisure and starter battery

Yes a battery master sold on this forum would be the best bet, cheeper and less hassle then putting a panel out…

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[Hedgewitch]

As others have said, alarm and radio settings are often forgotten 'culprits', plus modern head units with enough trickery to keep Hogwarts going for weeks will also do it.

 

[Westbarn1]

I use one of these to keep my engine battery topped up: https://www.optimate.co.uk/battery-chargers/optimate-solar-duo-40w/
I think its the alarm/tracker that drains mine.

 

[Itsmcb]

Yes a battery master sold on this forum would be the best bet, cheeper and less hassle then putting a panel out…

It wont really help if the ops van is undercover in a garage

 

[Brains]

We have our MH garaged at home.
We are thinking of a free standing solar panel to keep engine battery topped up, both when in the garage and also if out and about with no hook up. Our engine battery seems to run down very quickly if the engine isn’t started up, and sometimes we would like to stay in one place for a few days.
Does this sound sensible.
Thanks

Do you have electricity in the garage ?

If so the easiest thing to do would be to plug it in with a £5 time clock so that it give the van say 1 hour of electricity per day.

FYI:
If you don't have electricity to the garage, then now could be the time to fit it, as you will have to do it sooner or later, as your next car will be electric, so you will need a charge point very soon.

 

[Terry]

It wont really help if the ops van is undercover in a garage

It will if the panels outside and wired into the van

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[TheBig1]

In the settings on the dashboard, you can disable the radio if the engine is off, or it continues to draw power. The alarm and any tracker will also leach off power. The only solution is to top up the battery. In the summer, it will top up via a solar panel outside the garage, but not in winter. Letting the battery get too flat damages it and each time shortens the life of the battery. I really would suggest running power to the garage in the long term

 

[Itsmcb]

you will have to do it sooner or later, as your next car will be electric, so you will need a charge point very soon.

Wow, that’s a very presumptuous statement.

 

[HKF]

...

FYI:
If you don't have electricity to the garage, then now could be the time to fit it, as you will have to do it sooner or later, as your next car will be electric, so you will need a charge point very soon.

Not in my household!

 

[Brains]

Wow, that’s a very presumptuous statement.

Why ?
Not presumptive at all.

80% of cars will be electric within a decade. A fossil fueled car will simply not be an option for the vast majority of the population.

That means that around 40% will need to be eclectic within the next 5 years. Which means about 10% of the new cars have to be electric every year.

Fossil fueled vehicles will be progressively banned for town centres, not just the big cities, but also local towns with a single high street and one supermarket.

 

[Brains]

Not in my household!

In that case I presume you will not be driving in a decade, so you don't care.

FYI:
UK Stats are here
Around a quarter of new cars are electric at the moment, but that figure will increase over the next few years

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[HKF]

In that case I presume you will not be driving in a decade, so you don't care.

Not neccesarily, but I'm not getting into a fight with you

 

[Casper46]

Do you have a pioneer radio by any chance…?

We have a Mercedes MBUK “thing” in the middle of the dash. It’s too complicated for me. The screen says’ hello Susan’ when I turn the ignition on.

 

[Just smiffy]

We have a Mercedes MBUK “thing” in the middle of the dash. It’s too complicated for me. The screen says’ hello Susan’ when I turn the ignition on.

It’s just that pioneer are known to draw a fair bit…

 

[Casper46]

Do you have electricity in the garage ?

If so the easiest thing to do would be to plug it in with a £5 time clock so that it give the van say 1 hour of electricity per day.

FYI:
If you don't have electricity to the garage, then now could be the time to fit it, as you will have to do it sooner or later, as your next car will be electric, so you will need a charge point very soon.

We do have electricity in the garage, I worry more when we are off grid, we seem to be having so many problems with power on this MH.

Our next car will not be electric. Hopefully our present car will last until the government decides that we are too old to drive.
At that point I’m going to get a quad bike to use for shopping, or a motorbike and sidecar so the dog can come with me.

 

[Westbarn1]

We have a Mercedes MBUK “thing” in the middle of the dash. It’s too complicated for me. The screen says’ hello Susan’ when I turn the ignition on.

Mine is the same, but without the 'Susan'

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[cyberyacht]

If they won't let you drive a car then they won't let you have anything else motorised I suspect. I'm approaching that point too.

Hopefully our present car will last until the government decides that we are too old to drive.
At that point I’m going to get a quad bike to use for shopping, or a motorbike and sidecar so the dog can come with me.

 

[Casper46]

If they won't let you drive a car then they won't let you have anything else motorised I suspect. I'm approaching that point too.

Husband is 80 and LV won’t insure him for the car so we’ve gone to Saga. I may need an electric Trike when no one will insure us.

 

[Yorick]

There are loads of simple solar chargers.

solar car battery charger - Google Search