battery charging question

[absentx]

Does anyone know if there is a charger available for the 7 to 12 AH batteries we use for our depth finders that plugs into a 12v car socket?

I just picked up the nomad 7.5 solar panel from goal zero and it has a 12V out on it and I am just dying to know if the thing could power a batter charger or my depth finder directly.

BUT I could use a car plug in charger anyways to top off batteries when driving to fishing spots, even if the solar panel doesn't have enough output.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by absentx

Does anyone know if there is a charger available for the 7 to 12 AH batteries we use for our depth finders that plugs into a 12v car socket?

I just picked up the nomad 7.5 solar panel from goal zero and it has a 12V out on it and I am just dying to know if the thing could power a batter charger or my depth finder directly.

BUT I could use a car plug in charger anyways to top off batteries when driving to fishing spots, even if the solar panel doesn't have enough output.

The same topic seems to come up again and again and agian...and again...charge your fish finder battery at home, problem solved. Im sure you can charge your battery from your car but why? You'd have to leave it plugged in for hours.....

You could charge your kayak battery from the solar panel....you'd have to put a solar controller in between the battery and the panel. Now could you run your fishfinder directly from the panel? Possibly depending on what kind of fishfinder you have....but again why? What are you gonna do in the dark or on cloudy days...?


Keep it simple! Battery/fishfinder. Leave the solar panel at home. Charge at home. If your battery doesnt cut it....buy a bigger battery, be happy.

[YakDout]

Tony I understand what you're saying about keeping it simple. However suppose you're in baja for 10 days and there's no power down there? Buy another battery? Or 2? I'm going down to abreojos for the second time at the end of this month and would suck to not have my FF/gps. Especially since I have navionics plus and downloaded all the depth charts for abreojos and surrounding waters.


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[absentx]

Yeah - I guess I left out a critical point to my post.

I do eight days on a river in late summer each year and I love having my depthfinder with me, so I am always looking for creative ways to keep my batteries charged for the full eight days.

Oh, and that doesn't mean load my kayak up with five 10 AH batteries...it means bring two at max and finding ways to keep them charged for the whole trip. The mapping and other tools on my depthfinder are invaluable for the trip.

So if I bring two 10 or 12 ah batteries, one of those would typically last about one and a half to two days. If I had to trickle charge the dead one on the solar panel for two to three days, that would be fine and really helpful! Much use in the real world with regular power? No, but precisely what I need when gone for eight days without access to anything other than solar energy.

[Team Sewer]

Originally Posted by YakDout

Tony I understand what you're saying about keeping it simple. However suppose you're in baja for 10 days and there's no power down there? Buy another battery? Or 2? I'm going down to abreojos for the second time at the end of this month and would suck to not have my FF/gps. Especially since I have navionics plus and downloaded all the depth charts for abreojos and surrounding waters.


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Problem fixed


http://www.portableuniversalpower.com/juicebox-r2/

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by absentx

Yeah - I guess I left out a critical point to my post.

I do eight days on a river in late summer each year and I love having my depthfinder with me, so I am always looking for creative ways to keep my batteries charged for the full eight days.

Oh, and that doesn't mean load my kayak up with five 10 AH batteries...it means bring two at max and finding ways to keep them charged for the whole trip. The mapping and other tools on my depthfinder are invaluable for the trip.

So if I bring two 10 or 12 ah batteries, one of those would typically last about one and a half to two days. If I had to trickle charge the dead one on the solar panel for two to three days, that would be fine and really helpful! Much use in the real world with regular power? No, but precisely what I need when gone for eight days without access to anything other than solar energy.

Ok well now that's a different question. Going out on an extended trip means that yes a solar panel would be great to charge your batteries. A 7.5 watt solar panel just isn't going to cut it to charge all your electronics quickly. I would suggest getting a bigger panel or, since you have a goal zero panel, you could daisy chain a couple of them together. Another option is to go for the goal zero yeti solar generator with the appropriate solar panel...expensive but exactly what your looking for.




I just recently invested in a Juice box Solar generator from Hardened Power systems. I got to use it in the field for the first time on this last trip to Gonzaga bay. It worked great! I used it to basically charge all my electronics and some of the other guys electronics. Having topped off batteries every morning was really nice. Put the panel out during the day to charge the battery, so I could charge my stuff again at night.

[YakDout]

That looks pretty sweet


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[YakDout]

May have to invest in something like that soon


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[alanw]

I'm sure there's something available or you could rig up yourself. It seems almost pointless to spend a lot of money on something when you have a perfectly good 12v battery/charging system as part of your car.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by alanw

I'm sure there's something available or you could rig up yourself. It seems almost pointless to spend a lot of money on something when you have a perfectly good 12v battery/charging system as part of your car.

Id have to disagree. Pointless...not really, my batteries take hours to charge. They usually charge overnight, i dont think running my truck all night long until the next morning is very practical or smart. I also cant run my truck while im out fishing...so pointless?

Not to mention that you could charge any usb device such as your phone, tablet, laptop, gopros, radios....etc... Oh yeah it has an inverter, so you can plug any small home appliance/battery charger to it as well... Still pointless...?

As far as rigging something up yourself...now thats possible. Its not gonna be as pretty, but for the money that youll spend...if you spend a little more you can have the real thing...

[alanw]

Originally Posted by ful-rac

Id have to disagree. Pointless...not really, my batteries take hours to charge. They usually charge overnight, i dont think running my truck all night long until the next morning is very practical or smart. I also cant run my truck while im out fishing...so pointless?

Not to mention that you could charge any usb device such as your phone, tablet, laptop, gopros, radios....etc... Oh yeah it has an inverter, so you can plug any small home appliance/battery charger to it as well... Still pointless...?

As far as rigging something up yourself...now thats possible. Its not gonna be as pretty, but for the money that youll spend...if you spend a little more you can have the real thing...

I'm sure that unit is useful (although incredibly overpriced) if you don't have a car with you, but my point is that if you are with your vehicle you can accomplish what that device does for much less.


JuiceBox: 30AH batteries, built in wall charger
Your Car: 40+AH battery, built in charger FREE (run car a few mins when needed)

JuiceBox: 450 watt inverter, USB ports
Amazon: 500 watt inverter with USB ports $33

JuiceBox: Voltmeter
Amazon: Voltmeter $2.61

Even if you don't want to use your car battery you could buy a spare battery(s) and charger to use, and still be hundreds less than the JuiceBox costs. You could even throw it in a surplus ammo can for an extra $15.

[walrus]

When you say keep it simple it depends on what your wants and needs are on a longer trip.

This is what I do on Baja trips and longer trips to the river, I keep it simple.
I run a go-pro and a small fish finder for 10 days, and them turn off water and sleep periods. That's simple enough for a small automotive battery (225CCA) to handle. This will cost about $32-$36. Just fully charge it before each trip and your all set. (weight 36 lbs)

If your idea of simple includes laptops, cellphones, tablets, and large powerful sonar systems, it does gets more complicated and expensive.
I have no experience to help you there.

[tsugg]

Just make sure someone on the trip is driving a 05 or later toyota tacoma and bring your home charger.The taco has a great 115 volt outlet is the bed! I'v charged everything with it in baja and the desert. Even ran a small microwave with it.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by alanw

I'm sure that unit is useful (although incredibly overpriced) if you don't have a car with you, but my point is that if you are with your vehicle you can accomplish what that device does for much less.


JuiceBox: 30AH batteries, built in wall charger
Your Car: 40+AH battery, built in charger FREE (run car a few mins when needed)

JuiceBox: 450 watt inverter, USB ports
Amazon: 500 watt inverter with USB ports $33

JuiceBox: Voltmeter
Amazon: Voltmeter $2.61

Even if you don't want to use your car battery you could buy a spare battery(s) and charger to use, and still be hundreds less than the JuiceBox costs. You could even throw it in a surplus ammo can for an extra $15.

You know what.. your absolutely right....Don't waste your money.

[wiredantz]

Originally Posted by ful-rac

Ok well now that's a different question. Going out on an extended trip means that yes a solar panel would be great to charge your batteries. A 7.5 watt solar panel just isn't going to cut it to charge all your electronics quickly. I would suggest getting a bigger panel or, since you have a goal zero panel, you could daisy chain a couple of them together. Another option is to go for the goal zero yeti solar generator with the appropriate solar panel...expensive but exactly what your looking for.




I just recently invested in a Juice box Solar generator from Hardened Power systems. I got to use it in the field for the first time on this last trip to Gonzaga bay. It worked great! I used it to basically charge all my electronics and some of the other guys electronics. Having topped off batteries every morning was really nice. Put the panel out during the day to charge the battery, so I could charge my stuff again at night.

HOLY MOLY BATMAN!!!

Dude how much money did you spend on those individual solar panels?


How much was the Juice box? I think this is an excellent investment.

[absentx]

The juice box is a nice solution if you have your truck with you. Zero power worries with that type of setup.

My situation is me and a kayak for eight days, That yeti 150 is probably the way to go, but I already bought the smaller solar panel so for this year I will probably just depend on the small solar panel to keep the phone and any other small devices charged.

Keeping a 12 battery charged in any capacity with the 7.5 seems to be a bit of a pipe dream.

[driftwood]

Anybody ever think of using wind power?
WIND TURBINE 1600 WATT WIND GENERATOR USED COMMANDER 11 BLADE 12V DC 2-WIRE 215

WIND TURBINE 1600 WATT WIND GENERATOR USED COMMANDER 11 BLADE 12V DC 2-WIRE 216

Time left:

[roby]

Originally Posted by YakDout

That looks pretty sweet


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I got to see the Juicebox in action at Baja and that thing works well. It's very pricey, but you really do get a quality product.

[Wintersun]

I have been out on the road camping and needing to recharge the finder's 8 AH battery. I found the DC/DC chargers from Powerstream that allow me to recharge the 8 AH battery while I am driving down the road. I plug one end into the cigarette lighter socket and attach the other end to the battery. The output from the alternator would be otherwise lost. The output is 7.5 amps continuous so the 4 amps needed for the 8 AH battery takes less than 40 minutes of driving.

I later added two solar panels to my camper to recharge its 220 AH battery pank. Their 12 amp output usually recharges the camper's batteries in 3 hours. The camper has a 12v socket so I could plug the Powerstream DC/DC charger into it and recharge the finder battery in less than an hour. A 8 AH battery is not going to be discharged more than 50% DOD so I only am adding 4 AH of charge.

I already use the excess power from the two panels to charge our laptop and cell phone batteries so adding in the finder battery is not a big deal. Taking 4 AH out of the 220 AH battery bank overnight that will be replaced in 20 minutes the next day is a no brainer.

Batteries last the longest when they are fully recharged after each use and not discharged by more than 50%. I know these batteries are cheap but I see nothing virtuous in being unnecessarily wasteful.