Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Jonny D on January 22, 2012, 01:22:44 pm
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Does anyone use solar battery chargers to charge their battery? The reason I ask is my battery's are crap the first one i got with my machine lasted for a few months then it would only hold a few hours charge then i got another one off a customer and now they both only hold between 2 -3 hours charge and thats it.
So i was thinking about getting a solar battery charger to charge the battery while i'm working. Do you think this would work, would it charge my battery enough to work all day?
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cover the whole of your van roof in solar film!!
got to be worth looking into??
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Solar would be a good solution but I would tend to look at why your batteries are not lasting, I have had old car batteries last longer...
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i dont know why it does it at first i thought it might be a bad battery but thats the second one doing it now
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Maplins do a trickle charger for 25 quid that looks like it should keep it topped up but would ask their advice first. Would be simpler than split relays etc if worked properly....
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wont work, buy a new battery
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Would you like to give more detail? Be good to know why you think that... He should start with a new battery in my opinion but cant see why wont work but I am no expert...
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i am assuming that he has a van mounted system, the solar power wont give enough power to run the pump properly, and if battery is knackered it wont store enough charge to make pump work, easier option new battery on a split relay
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what battery would you recommend? Because i dont know why my battery only holds about 3 hours charge and i dont want to buy a new one for it to happen again. Does anyone have any ideas why this happens?
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But if you start with a brand new battery and attach a trickle charger that works during daylight hours then surely it wont ever get too low? Like I say I am no expert just curious to learn from anyone that knows more...
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i use a 44 amp car battery on a split relay, no probs up to yet,
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thats different GD, he was looking at getting a solar so didnt have to buy a new battery, that might work,
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i have tried this and it didn't work,its a trickle charge,not enough to power the system,buy a leisure battery
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A small solar will not have enough to charge a battery in use as Santa Vader has said. They can be of use as trickle chargers keeping a battery topped up whilst not in use, but the battery has to be in tip top condition to start with.
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If you start with a good battery then you are not looking for it to run the system just keep it topped up in a similar way to a split relay, I have just seen people have had issues with split relays....
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dont you use a leisure battery wired thru relay to your van battery will always charge when driving !!!!!!!!!!1 I think thats what most do on here Johny Boy !!!!!!!!
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Hi all I was having the same problem with my 110 amp leisure battery not holding charge I was talking to the guy at my local caravan shop and he said your charger needs to be a mInimum of 12 amp and to completely charge it can take 72 hours also you have to run them flat once every 3-4 months so I bought another battery then I could have one charging while I use the other one Then alternate them on a weekly basis hope this helps
Paul
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The amount of time a battery will last will depend on how much current per hour you are using and on what type of system - pump -hot - cold water- a pump controller.
How long the battery will last will depend on the current draw of your system (amps per hour)
as a general rule a WFP system is going to draw between 2 and 9amps an hour. It may be worth checking all your connections and ensuring the cables are as short as possible. This would help minimise current drop through the cables.
A split relay is a good idea as it will help trickle charge the leisure battery.
The charging capacity is controlled by the alternator which is generating current.
The amp per hour charge rate is dependant on a number of factors for example the length of time the engine/alternator are running and how quickly they run.
Most alternators are designed to trickle charge a battery so the longer and faster they run the higher the charge rate. (Up to the maximum capacity of the alternator and battery) There is also a restriction based on the maximum capacity of the alternator and battery in any system plus any drop off through the wiring due to resistance.
The ampage per hour rate will drop off as the battery nears full charge, the batteries capacity to take amps drops as the voltage capacity nears its maximum. The only way of physically pushing higher current into the battery would be to increase the Voltage capacity and increase the maximum generating capacity of the Alternator.
Ohms Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm%27s_law
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The amount of time a battery will last will depend on how much current per hour you are using and on what type of system - pump -hot - cold water- a pump controller.
How long the battery will last will depend on the current draw of your system (amps per hour)
as a general rule a WFP system is going to draw between 2 and 9amps an hour. It may be worth checking all your connections and ensuring the cables are as short as possible. This would help minimise current drop through the cables.
A split relay is a good idea as it will help trickle charge the leisure battery.
The charging capacity is controlled by the alternator which is generating current.
The amp per hour charge rate is dependant on a number of factors for example the length of time the engine/alternator are running and how quickly they run.
Most alternators are designed to trickle charge a battery so the longer and faster they run the higher the charge rate. (Up to the maximum capacity of the alternator and battery) There is also a restriction based on the maximum capacity of the alternator and battery in any system plus any drop off through the wiring due to resistance.
The ampage per hour rate will drop off as the battery nears full charge, the batteries capacity to take amps drops as the voltage capacity nears its maximum. The only way of physically pushing higher current into the battery would be to increase the Voltage capacity and increase the maximum generating capacity of the Alternator.
Ohms Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm%27s_law
Hi Ian
You are absolutely right. I would also like to add the following.
I did a quick search on the internet and found a solar panel 15cm x 2cm x 41cm which has an output of 15w. I guess this output is measured under the most ideal conditions - eg. in the Australian desert with the panel at exactly the right angle to catch the sun's rays perfectly.
15 w is 1.25 amp hours. Lets give them the benifit of the doubt and say that the panel would produce 1.25 amp h at battery charging volts (13.8 - 14.1 volts.)
As Ian says your pump will be drawing 2 - 9 amps. I believe ours will draw around 3 - 4 amps per hour even on a controller. So before you start, your solar panel is already only producing a quarter of the pumps useage in ideal conditions. In the real world that panel will probably only produce half an amp, so you are even worse off.
As an illustration, fill your bath with cold water and then pull the plug out to empty it. But you must keep the bath full by adding water with a cup from another container.
The full bath would be your fully charged battery; emptying the water will be your pump and trying to keep the bath full with a cup with water is your solar panel.
This solar panel is advertised for £75.00 plus postage. This solar panel would be fine to keep a fully charged leisure battery fully charged over winter when the mobile home is parked up and not being used, but not much use for anything else.
We use split charge relays which help to keep the batteries charged, but we don't do enough mileage to really make a difference. My son in law works 2 days a week and drives 18 miles home and back that night. He has an 85amph Humax Leisure battery on a split charge relay on his Transit Connect. When he leaves for home his battery is about 50% charged and when he gets back the following morning its about 75% charged. We still have to 'bench charge' all our batteries every few days to keep them fully charged - and it works this way for each of our vans. My first 110amp leisure battery lasted 3 & 1/2 years and my sons first leisure battery lasted 4 years. My replacement is about 18 months old and his is a year old - works perfectly. My son in laws battery is 4 months old so hasn't got any credability yet.
We initially tried to run my son in law's pump off his van battery, but it just went flat and won't start his van - hence the reason why he now has a separate leisure battery. BTW - we all have Shurflo pumps and Varistreams.
Spruce
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I used a solar charger for 3 years, first on my pickup then on my trailer.
In any 12 month period I had to charge the batteries 2-3 times, this was in winter when the light levels were low.
I only ever used old car batteries. I plan to fit it to the top of my van at some point.
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i use a pure freedom trolley as a van mount.battery is a 12v deep cycle leisure battery.never had any problems.takes 3 hours a night to fully charge for next days work.had it 20 months now.