ALLPOWERS 18V 12V 5W Portable Solar Panel Car Boat Power Solar Panel Battery Charger Maintainer for Automotive Motorcycle Tractor Boat RV Batteries

I was a bit skeptical of these after reading so other reviews, so I did a bit of testing. Hopefully my results will be helpful. My situation is that I am retired, have 2 vehicles and don't have a need to drive much. But it seemed like every time the weather turned bad, the 4WDs battery was dead, and every time it turned nice the rag-top was dead. Not only a pain to drag out a charger, but it's really bad for batteries to sit there dead. So I decided to get one of these and, if it worked out well, get a second so I didn't have to swap it between cars. After a couple months use and a bit of testing, here's what I can tell you: 1) Don't expect this to charge a dead battery. Not designed to, and won't. What it will do is offset the natural loss in the battery and the minimal drain that the vehicle may have when off due to such things as the computer, security system, etc. There is an isolation diode contained within the solar panel to prevent back-feed drain regardless of whether the lighter or clip-on cable is used. 2) The Red LED on the lighter plug is your friend, if you know how to use it. a) Connect lighter plug to solar panel, but do not plug into lighter socket. Aim panel towards sun and observe that LED lights, then aim away from sun and it goes out. This proves that the panel is generating electricity. b) Disconnect lighter plug from solar panel and plug into lighter socket, with ignition off. Verify that LED lights. This proves that socket is live with key off. c) Connect lighter cord to panel, and install panel either on the dash, windshield or (my preference) on the passenger's visor which can be rotated to catch the best sun based on how you park. Protect the panel from the elements; this is not an outdoor panel. 3) Do NOT disconnect when driving, just rotate so it does not impede your visibility. The isolation diode will protect the panel and vehicle from each other regardless of whether the car is running or not. Frequently plugging and unplugging the lighter socket increases the chances of a bad connection inside the socket. If you must disconnect, do so at the panel end instead, and make sure the LED is on before reconnecting. If it ever seems as though it has failed, repeat the tests in step 2 above. If you do the above, I think you'll find this does what you need it to, and does it well. Hopefully this fills in the gaps in the manual, as well.

I have an '01 Tacoma V6 that is driven maybe once every month or so. It's parked outside, so I needed something solar to keep it charged. I was a bit skeptical at first, but this little panel has kept the battery fully topped up. Cranks right up without skipping a beat. Very impressed, and just can't beat the price! Update: after over 2 years, the solar panel itself starting coming apart at the seams and basically disintegrated with tons of little fibers all over the place (still worked though!). This is with minimal movement; the truck sits parked and is rarely driven, so this was definitely because of sun damage. I tried a few different chargers, but ended up coming back to this one. A viable LED function is what a lot of the other replacements were missing, and it was always guess work to determine if the battery was actually receiving a charge. This one has an LED at the plug location that will only light if the connection is properly secured AND the panel is receiving light.

The panel puts out the rated power. However, I have several vehicles, none of which have an active cigarette lighter plug when the ignition switch is not left in the accessory position. So, while leaving the car for a prolonged period in an unsecured area, I'm supposed to leave the key in the ignition? Therefore I use the short cord with the clips to attach directly to the battery. The charger worked well then, but the cord is way too short. My suggestion to Allpowers is: (1) Provide a longer cord to attach directly to the battery for those many customers who need to do that. The cord-to-cord connectors they use, would work perfectly to disconnect the panel and its longer cord from the short cord left attached to the battery. Do not use a cigarette plug or connector anywhere. (2) If a cigarette lighter plug is still to be provided, delete the problematic LED light, altogether. (3) Change the panel housing from fabric to plastic and make the unit waterproof, in case one forgets to disconnect and bring the panel in when it rains. Otherwise the panel puts out even more power than another I have used for years.

Lo uso para mantener cargada mi batería asta hora vavien

Variety of mounted by laying on the dash, via suction cups (4 included) or straps on the back of the unit. Can be hooked up via car charger cigarette lighter plug or battery charging clips, both cables are supplied and measure 1.5 meters/5 ft. An LED light indicates charging. So far I've tested this on my riding mower and boat batteries, I verified before and after charges with a metered charger, and this charger definitely added "juice" to the batteries. I plan on using this for maintaining my batteries over winter (unit will be mounted on a south facing window). This would also be great for vehicles that sit for a prolonged period of time.

Had it on my Seadoo all summer - routinely in the past I had a low charged battery when reaching October but not this year - every start all summer till pulling out of the water in the Fall was strong. Recommend as a trickle charger/maintainer - will not charge from a dead battery. Works as stated.

works like a charm on the boat topping up the battery.

I was a bit skeptical when I ordered this. But it did solve the issue I had with my car. My car has a parasitic power drain, I couldn't/can't find the issue and if it sat for a few days, the battery would be very low or dead. This is cheaper than paying a mechanic $75/hour or more for a few hours to find the issue. This solar panel, plugged into the cigarette lighter is keeping the battery near full.. offsetting the power drain. Problem solved.