Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger

Product Details

Product Dimensions: 17 x 13 x 1.2 inches ; 2 pounds
Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
ASIN: B0006JO0TC
Item model number: 50022

By : Sunforce
Price : $49.95

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
The Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger gives you another reason to love the sun--it can help keep your vehicle's battery charged. It provides up to 5-Watts or 350mA of power to prevent the natural voltage drain of batteries over time. It includes both a lighter socket adapter and alligator clips to give you flexible connection options.
The Sunforce 5-Watt Solar Trickle Charger is compact and easy to install. Convenient Power That Helps Keep Your Batteries Charged The Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger lets you harness the power of the sun, the most powerful and plentiful source of energy available to us. Unlike nuclear and fossil fuels, solar power is clean and pollution-free, and the equipment requires very little maintenance to operate. This trickle charger is designed to stave off the natural voltage drain that 12-Volt batteries undergo over time. It can also maintain the charge of a 12-Volt battery while it is providing energy to small electronics like cell phone chargers or small pumps and motors. The Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger is constructed with durable ABS plastic and features amorphous solar cells and an ultra-bright blue LED charging indicator. Four mounting holes are pre-cut in the frame for easy permanent installation. It is weatherproof and remains effective even on cloudy days. The built-in overcharge/discharge protection prevents overcharging and reverse-current drain. This trickle charger is an ideal choice for automobiles, recreational vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, tractors, boats and more.
Sunforce Solar Panels are effective in areas of both high and lowersun exposure, making them ideal for use in the United States. View Larger About Amorphous Solar Power Solar panels convert sunlight into an electric current, they do not store power. Amorphous solar panels are created by spraying silicon onto glass in very thin layers, and are commonly known as thin film solar panels. This process allows them to be better at generating electricity in all lighting conditions, including cloudy or shady environments. They have a maximum operating temperature range of -40 to 176-degrees Fahrenheit, requiring virtually no maintenance. They can even withstand impacts from one-inch hailstones at 50 miles-per-hour. The Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger is designed to maintain an existing battery charge, and not to fully recharge a battery. It can remain connected to a vehicle battery at all times and will not adversely affect its operation or electrical components. Unless the trickle charger is permanently mounted, you should remove and store it to prevent physical harm while the vehicle is in motion.
The Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger gives you another reason to love the sun - it will help keep your vehicle's battery charged anywhere, anytime. Just plug this helpful 5-watt trickle charger into your vehicle's 12-volt lighter socket and position the panel to pick up the most daylight possible. Or, if you prefer, use the included battery clamps to connect it directly to the battery, so you can keep your lighter socket open for cell phone chargers or other accessories. Regardless of how you hook up the battery charger, you'll never get caught off guard without the juice you need to start your car. The amorphous solar panel is completely weatherproof, charges in all daylight conditions and has an integrated blocking diode that protects against battery discharge at night. The 50022 is the ideal choice for automobiles, recreational vehicles (RV), tractors, boats, electric fences, telemetry and more. It has a maximum power output of 5 Watts and 350Mah. With a maximum temperature range of -40 to 176-degrees Fahrenheit, this unit measures 14 x 0.75 x 13 inches (WxHxD) and weighs 4 pounds.

Product Features

Creates 5 watts of electricity for charging and maintaining 12-volt batteries
Works with automobile, tractor, electric fence, deer feeder, boat batteries and more
Made of durable ABS plastic and amorphous solar cells
Weatherproof amorphous panel charges in all daylight conditions-even on cloudy days
Includes 15" x 14-1/2" amorphous solar panel, 4 pre-cut holes for easy installation, 4 stainless steel screws, 9.5 ft wire, 12V DC plug, battery clamps and Quick Connect technology

Customer Reviews

I live on a river and built a campsite on an island across from my house (the dog loves it). I bought a deep-cycle marine battery but am getting too old to lug it in and out of the canoe for charging. So I got this little panel and, so far, have not run out of juice. And it's cheap enough so if someone steals it it's no big tragedy. I run a laptop, TV, fluorescent light and charge my cell phone. I even have a 12v car-vac to clean the sand out of the tent.
Of course, I'm not there 95% of the time so 5 watts is probably adequate. And I don't have to worry about overcharging. I screwed it to a big log in pretty open sun. So far, it has survived, even some small hail.
BTW, I use the power cord from an old vacuum cleaner and a 4-way 12v splitter to distribute power from the battery.

I recently ordered one of these panels (June 2007). The first one arrived shattered - the manufacturer packaging does not protect the panel much and it was inadequately packaged in the shipping box by Amazon. The replacement unit was also badly packaged for shipment.
I tested the electrical output in full sunlight and got 20V out into a 100 ohm load - 4 watts which is pretty good.
One thing to consider though is that this product is not very rugged. The solar panel has a plastic frame but the middle is unprotected on the back (and front). So unless you handle it very carefully it is likely to break.
Someone using this on a car dashboard would need some sort of protective carrier (like those insulated pizza boxes) to protect the unit when it was not being used.
------------ Update Dec 2007 ----------------
Panel stopped producing electricity in November. Had to send it in to Sunforce at my expense for warrantee replacement. They promptly tested it and sent me a replacement. One thing I did notice is that the plastic housing on the unit that I returned had developed some small cracks. I am using the unit on my car dashboard to keep my battery charged.