Anyone any experience of trickle charging their lorry batteries using solar panels?

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porkpie

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as above. My old Cargo has ok ish batteries, but like most of us it will only get used once a week at most. I just had an issue with the starter motor fixed and the mechanic mentioned that rather than relying on the battery isolator, it was best if they were trickle charged and the benefit would be that the old beast should start without its customary sniff of Easy Start. He recommended using a solar panel charging unit that you can plug into the ciggy lighter. It works even in dull conditions and won't need to be left in all the time - he suggested just sticking it inside the cab window.

Any experience, comments, views most welcome - ta!
 
I bought a cheapish one for my leisure battery, only had it a couple of months and the other night the blue charging light was flashing, well it can't of been charging as it was night! So wonder if the rain has killed it. At least in your cab will be dry.

They are used a lot by caravanners overwinter.
so my advice is don't buy a cheap one and watch just how much it charges (volts) as some of them are really low and don't charge enough.
 
I have a trickle charge solar panel for my lorry. It was half price at Maplins so only cost me £10, for that price I thought it was worth a gamble.

There's a drain on my battery that no-one can find so I still use the isolator switch and connect the panel directly to the battery. It sits on the dashboard and I put the cable through the top of the window and under the bonnet, takes about 20 seconds. It does have a cigarette lighter plug but my isolator switch is wired up to cut the power from the clock, alarm, cigarette lighter etc.

I do think it works because I've used my lorry every day this week so thought I wouldn't need the solar panel and I've had to jump it every day :(.
 
i had one which i used on my electric fencing batteries (car battery and tractor battery) certainly kept them topped up longer, well until pony escaped and trod on it:rolleyes: Maplin used to do them at good price;)
 
I paid for expensive ones - circa £360 for 15w crystalline ones, one for 24v and one for 12v for living.

They work over the summer and I didn't need to isolate, but this time of year there is not enough sun to work efficiently

However if getting a company to install them, make sure they do it correctly - PRB the professional horsebox builders left socking great holes in my roof that caused a massive leak and numerous trips and £1,000 bill from another garage (PRB are not handy for me, and I assumed it must have been leaking somewhere else)
 
Yes, have used one on my old Dodge. Got my panel from Maplins too; you need to check that your cigarette lighter is live even when the ignition is switched off for it to work......if so, then it's just plug the panel in and off you go. If it isn't then, in my case, it was get trusty mechanic to do some re-wiring or put in another socket.
 
We dont have a lorry to start, but do keep the garden tractor topped up as suggested, and a friend keeps a car this way whilst he is abroad.
Works well in the above 2 instances, good luck.
 
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