No annoying music in the background. Facts, measurments, figures, clearly understandable speaking. Well done sir, you ROCK! Thank You!!! Thumbs up and subscribed
Good review on this product. I have the exact same one connected to my battery in my 2004 Dakota pickup. I leave the panel on the dashboard and the connectors are fasten to the truck battery all the time. This battery is 12 years old and going strong. Never had a problem with the battery or starting my truck. GOOD PRODUCT
This is a very good video. You covered some important topics that many people are not aware of when buying these solar chagers and using them long-term. Your method or outlining specific questions and answers is much appreciated. You have probably saved several people some headaches and possibly damaged batteries. Cheers
Right on Keith, Thanks for watching. Maybe you got a defective kit, or part. Do you know how to test each component separately to find out which is bad? -Chuck
Your channel is criminally undersubbed. After going from WJ Handy Dad trunk video to yours, I subbed and I enjoy your content and thorough reviews of products. I have 4 cars, and I can only drive one at a time. Generally the one that's garaged gets a wall trickle charger. I've been running extension cord and playing musical charger to the others in the driveway every so often, but it's a chore and I'm kinda lazy. Now I learned I can musical solar charge the others. That Q&A sheet is what I needed. Since I work all day while it's sunny, I reckon I can get that little micro-processor deal and the solar panel combo to charge a different car each day and rotate accordingly. The Vette and the Vic use next to no amp draw while parked, and Camaro shuts off most of the amp draw stuff after 5 days of sitting, but my BMW uses a lot of power to run all the computers, even while sitting. This video is a lazy man's dream. Keep up the good work.
Nicely done review. My experience with the solar panel kit was that it didn't charge my tablet even 1% in bright sunlight after 90 mins. True, I didn't use the regulator but there was no change eithe way in the tablet battery.
I have had this exact solar panel connected to my Duracell AGM battery from a 2017 Toyota Camry hybrid for the last two years. I do not have a charge controller connected. The highest my battery has been is 14.1 V. Many days it is only sitting between 13.6 and 13.8 V. I do not believe a charge controller is necessary with this solar panel.
@@PanzerPlatform Prior to installing the solar panel I was having problems with dead batteries because the vehicle would sit for up to three months at a time.
Appreciate this feedback. Fwiw, AGM batteries are more sensitive to overcharging (thus why they always have their own settings on chargers). Over 14v could be getting close to boiling off the hydrogen, so you may want to watch it. But this is good feedback 👌 thanks-
@@georgehofgren6123 your information is not correct. Agm batteries are designed to handle 14.8 after a deep discharge and 13.6-13.8 float. Both My car and truck charge batteries at 14.1. If anything, I’m not giving them enough voltage after discharging the battery. The whole reason I stopped using a charge controller was because the battery was still going dead after about 2 weeks. These panels do not put out enough to warrant a charge controller.
So I bought the 1.5 watt and it's just not strong enough to charge my battery over 11.7 even after being plugged in a week in sunny Phoenix. Battery started at 9 watts so it did raise it but it won't push past the 11.7w. My car alarm seems to kill my battery if u don't drive truck for a couple days so hoping the 7 watt will keep battery juiced up when I'm not driving and alarm is armed. Thanks for the video Chuck.
Right on John, Thanks for watching. This solar panel is meant to be used with a charge controller. Without it, it may overcharge, and damage your battery. -Chuck
Due to me parking my Town Car "head first" into the garage while in Florida, I feel the need to have at least one battery charger here at all times. A couple of years ago, I bought the lowest priced Schumacher charger at Walmart. It seems to work okay, but your Schumacher seems like the deluxe version compared to mine. Last year Harbor Freight sent out coupons for their Cen-Tech battery charger for $29.99, so I bought one. It seems a little more heavy duty than the Schumacher. In Maryland, I have my decades old battery charger made by Century. I think I paid at least $60 for it back in the 1980's. It still works great, and I have used it many times. In a month or two, you should give an update on the solar battery maintainer. If it can barely charge a cell phone, I would be curious to know if it can maintain a car battery. I assume that your 2010 Mercury is the daily driver, while the 2004 Crown Vic is driven only once every so often to charge the battery. Frank
Hey Frank, I wanted to apologize for failing to properly describe the shortcomings of the included USB charger that was provided with the Solar Panel Kit. When the panel is connected directly to a car battery in direct sunlight it provides 495mA of current, and 206mA of current in 100% cloud cover. I have measured the parasitic draw on my Panthers, and its around 41mA. Given those figures this panel would be more than adequate to keep a battery fully charged, maybe even over charge it. However, when connecting the included USB charger to the panel, and then plugging in a cell phone to the USB charger, the charger only provides 150mA of current. I also tested a brand name usb charger with an SAE pigtail (Battery Tender $10), and it provided the full 495mA of current from the panel. So I believe the included USB charger is just poor quality. -Chuck
Chuck, Thanks for the information on this 7 watt solar panel. If I would leave my car sitting for a long period of time, I would buy a solar panel and a charge controller and leave it hooked up 24/7. Frank
Yo Kev, Thanks for stopping in. You can leave it hooked up if you use a solar charge controller like this; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uXj4tnvdIS8.html -Chuck
Hi there, thanks So much for this review. That was Great info you gave on the Schumacher bench charger. Fwiw, if the newer version functions as well as yours, I personally think it's a great value for $60.- You didn't mention if the Schumacher also desulfates, which i have found to be excellent for refreshing 3+yr old batteries... Thanks 👍-
Right on George, Thanks for watching, and the kind words. I saved up my desulfation speech for this video. lol ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-W7WAD2NMTwQ.html -Chuck
My thunderbolt charger actually drained my phone from 88 to 71 in 20 min. I charged the phone using my car up to 77, then plugged it back into the HF solar panel and after 10 minutes, it stayed at 77, another 10 min and it dropped to 72. Mine was garbage.
The 7 watt Harbor freight solar battery charger I bought a couple of years ago came with a charge controller. What I would like to know is whether I can use a small gauge extension cord to lengthen the power cord.
Right on Walter, The only way to deterime that would be measuring the current with a multimeter (set to amps of course) while the panel is hooked up, and providing electricity to your load, (battery, cell phone charger, etc.) I would like to take a measurement with, and without the extention cord to see the difference. Do you have a multimeter? -Chuck
Hey so can i install the solar panel on car roof, connect cables to a deep cycle battery, connected to that solar charge controller to power a 1000w inverter?
Yo Raptor, Thanks for watching. I get what you're trying to do, but unfortunately this solar panel is just not powerful enough for that set up. You would probably need the 100 Watt solar panel, or larger for that set up. -Chuck
I have a dumb question? Why do you have the chargers are your Panthers going dead all the time for no reason or is there something I need to be looking forward to with my panther
Yo Brandon, That's actually a really good question. I guess I'm the dumb one for assuming everyone already understood the benefits of using a battery charger/maintainer (even if your vehicle get driven everyday). My crystal ball is forecasting a "Viewer Question Video" in your future. lol -Chuck
Yo Brandon it might be a while before I get to that video so here's the short, short answer. Based on my experience, for my application using a battery maintainer with a "De-Sulfation Mode" may increase the lifespan of your battery, and alternator. The last battery in my '04 Vic lasted 10 years. When I replaced in 2018 it still tested good. I just replaced it anyway because of its age. I didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting stranded. Also my '04 Vic has 161,000 miles and its still on the original alternator. Of course this is not scientific proof of anything. But I have a hunch my use of a battery maintainer since I got the car has something to do with it. -Chuck
I don't have a controller and I am not the controller. Panel output voltage drops as the temperature rises. The battery would not allow itself to be charged beyond a certain voltage by a small panel, in my case 15.5V. Cloth tape placed on the panel limits the average output power of the panel to just about right for the car.
@@fungames24 Right on Fun, I agree with you there are ways having to deal with the added cost of buying a charge controller. However, Page 3 of the Owner's Manual specifically states; "Use an appropriate charge controller whenever connected to battery" in big bold black letters. There's a few comments below from users who left the solar panel unattended, and it boiled the water out of a battery due to overcharging, and caused irreparable damage. -Chuck
Yo H, Thanks for stopping in, and the great question. No battery charger should be left unattended for longer than 24 hours without checking it. Read the user manual, and use your best judgement. -Chuck
Can I use the seven watt panel on my new 35AMP 12v battery in partial shade without a charge controller? I tried a 1.5 amp mini panel and it looks like it will take weeks to charge! I'm really only using the panel several hours a day and disconnect it at night and I am right now checking my inverter voltage meter to see the output and it's still 11.3 and hasn't changed in 40 mins with the panel straight with no controller. I'm hoping you can help me quickly and thanks 🙂
Yo Terrie, Thanks for watching. During my testing I found this panel can easily provide full power even in the shade. I do not recommend connecting this panel directly to the battery. You must use a solar charge controller to prevent overcharging, and causing damage to the battery. The only quality "brand name" charge controller I could find is listed in the description. -Chuck
@@PanzerPlatform I'm on the road and my auxiliary battery is everything and my first time charging it. Harbor Freight not far so I can grab one from them in the morning. I disconnected it and thanks so much. I am using a new 400w inverter from Walmart..Easy Start and I am not sure if it's operating properly...no fan on and LCD SCREEN only shows output voltage... battery is taking a long time to charge... I'm going to keep learning, and thank you so much!
Did this work for you? I'm about to exchange the one I got. It just reverse charges through the usb and burns out batteries connected with the clips. Is it worth it?
Yo Jeff, Thanks for watching. After my test & evaluation the included USB charger is simply a toy, and should not be used. Just to clarify, what do you mean? "burns out batteries connected with the clips". Do you mean 12 volt car batteries? As for your question "Did this work for you?" Yes, maybe even a little too well. Based on my application, and the available sunlight, I found when connected directly to my car battery, and times it would "over-charge" and requires the use of a Solar Charge Controller. I mentioned this in the video, but I obviously failed to explain it properly. Let me know if you need anymore help. -Chuck
@@PanzerPlatform great info, the only data I could find so far on this. I was charging a small 2.5v battery on the clips, which reversed charged and shorted out in partial sunlight. My mistake as you pointed out, its not safe unattended. The night circut led allows for it to drop too low before cutting out. It will safely reverse charge through the usb however and drain the whole days work. The panel works good for me, I charge 5v 6700mAh batteries through the usb and get about a 40% charge on a full day in AZ. Then I can use partial sun for headphones. Im wondering what the usb circut is actually rated for in the adapter. Cant find it out there. Maybe a 1 amp 12v car charger hack might work better for the usb? Anyway this is fun and I'm slowly learning solar. Appreciate it
Great video, I'm shocked at just how weak these things really are. I have two of the 1.5W versions hooked together and I use them on a truck battery, then now on my motorcycle battery. I was wondering about leaving them on all the time, but here's the thing, they don't do anything at night, even if you get a street light, they still wouldn't do anything, so it's not like they are on all the time. I was hoping that two of these would be about what the float chargers are (1.5amps) but they aren't even close. My dual panel is running 0.25 amps and your 7 watt is running 0.58 amps. I guess the real question would be, is that enough? The actual chip to shut one of these on/off wouldn't be hard to program, but then you'd have to power the chip. Someone even suggested that the tiny LED was wasting power. I'd love to see someone hook this up to an RV and see how well it does over the long term, maybe a few years test to see how long the batter lasts. HF doesn't have the best prices on solar, I'm seeing 20 watt panels under $30, don't know if the quality is similar or not.
