ICP BatterySaver Pro 5 Watt Solar Charger

[oneeyedjackass]

Anybody ever use one of these solar chargers ? Have one laying around the garage and was thinking about mounting it to top of AC cover for keeping the battery topped up. Do I need to connect it straight to battery or can I go to closest 12V thats always hot.
thanks
http://www.4lots.com/browseproducts/...r-Charger.html

[daveb]

I think the FAQ's are fairly straight forward. 5 watts aint much in fact it's almost nothing. With multiple batteries and depending on their age, it might not be enough to put a dent in losses. Yes something that small can be hooked to the system w/o a controller (a controller keeps panels from overcharging a single battery or battery system). But between the losses of sun angle and haze, you might be not getting what you want out of a small panel like that. Still "something" is better than nothing and it might prolong battery death. So what works in full sun might be worthless in limited sun. Even larger panel arrays (50W) might only put out enough to slowly charge many battery systems. YMMV.

[oneeyedjackass]

Thanks. Sounds like it might be better not to hard wire it in for now. Think I'll just use it when the rig is parked and see how it works.