Was out til 3:am last night installing this thing.
6watt, .365amp solar cell. 28khz at 16.5v max pulse desulfation controller soldered inline. I mounted the controller under back seat in opposite pan from battery on top of a thick vibration dampener. Trying to keep it far from anything audio as it probably emits a small field of interference. Think the control box will stay cool down there?
Woops, I thought everyone would know its just a solar battery charger, but not the normal kind.
It sends energy from solar panel into battery at high frequency pulses to remove sulfate buildup that accumulates from normal battery use. Lead plates inside any lead-acid battery get dirty with use, this thing places the junk back into electrolyte solution where it belongs.
With clean plates and a more conductive electrolyte, the battery will have more capacity for amp hours, can dish out more power in small time frame or be charged with less resistance (charges more quickly). Essentially making lead acid, agm, or gel-cell batteries last quite a bit longer.
A battery left me stranded recently so I got this thing.
Oh yeah, it does sound cool. I only use Optima 6-volt batteries because they last a lot longer and have better cranking power and juice to the coil. This sounds like a good trickle charger solution, except I keep my cars garaged and out of the direct sunlight ...
Mine stays under covered parking but the back window is facing out for the sun. Looking at the controller it does seem to work even in very cloudy weather. Small light on controller shows how much light is being collected. Blinks red very slowly in dim conditions, with increased intensity blinks faster until light changes color to yellow and finally solid green at max capacity. Lets hope it doesn't catch fire or blow up my new optima yellow top. Still considering some sort of battery overload protection to rig up, not sure what I would get though.
Will let you guys know what voltage it keeps the d34/78 Optima at when my new meter arrives.
Snowing again right now so I probably wont be getting that green light anytime soon. Was planning to change plugs today too
The solar panel keeps the yellow top Optima at 13.6v even when not driven for a few days. Temps are around 50f day and 30f night. I have to admit it seems to have made the battery a bit more powerful than when first purchased. No complaints so far. Starts well and I never see that red generator light during idle.
The panel does get hot under intense sun but not so hot it would catch fire, I hope. If considering this, mount panel in a way so the heat can dissipate from aluminum backing. Definitely avoid mounting panel to something that would catch fire easily. Needs contact with air unless you intend to mount panel backing to metal, where it can disperse heat easily.
If the battery desulfation really works, wont be replacing the Optima for many years.
