Quote:
Originally Posted by mjeronimo
That's what the guy at the cg said that the solar panel put out 1amp. But can I charge through the 12v outlet by the television ?
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I think this is the charger you're talking about
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http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt...l#.UyQs3jbD-po
You can try, but that "cigarette lighter socket" is actually a 12 VDC feed from the TV amplifier. It does connect to the fuse panel in your power supply center (converter), but it may not be electronically connected to the battery when unplugged from shore power in such a way that it would allow charging to occur.
The way to check is to unplug shore power, disconnect your battery, plug in the "solar charger" in that socket, measure across the battery cables and see if 12 VDC is being applied. If it is, the only available source would be the solar charger., indicating that it is supplying power to the battery. Don't expect much (if any) benefit from a 1.5 watt charger. It's likely rated at 1.5 watts in full sunlight when facing the sun directly. Any off angle or cloudy conditions will reduce the output to much less than the rated output. Your parasitic drain on the battery is probably at least 5 watts and probably more like 10-15 watts, so you'll still be in a negative drain condition even with it operating at full power, and certainly even less on cloudy days and when not pointed directly at the sun.
I'd think that if you're going to get any benefit from this type of solar charger, you'd need to completely remove the battery from the RV circuit by disconnecting it electrically and then apply the charger directly to the battery terminals. If there's any parasitic drain, this small a charger won't keep up.
Let us know how it works if you decide to experiment.