Solar charging whilst on tour

[spoon boy]

I like most have trawled the net for info more than cod in the atlantic

I've seen the solar chargers for mp3's and the like that seem to be a single unit

However seeing tour tour reports and pictures I saw over a rear panniers and some over bob yak lookee likee items what appears to be a roll that when unravelled shows three solar panels.

Considering I am in need of charging my mp3 daily, my phone weekly and my p.c. monthly this would be a huge step up from the single freeloader single charger

anyone know of something similar?

[pastafarian]

http://shop.packyourbags.com/acatalog/Solar_II_12V_Charger.html

This one has some good reviews. Can't tell you anything from first hand experience, but it's what I plan to use for an upcoming tour.

[rualexander]

I haven't used any solar chargers recently but have occasionally browsed the market, there are quite a few types here :

http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/adventure.php

http://www.thegreenstoreonline.co.uk/default.aspx/Page/96/Category/12/SubCategory/60

Personally I used one of these : http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=31712
15 years ago cycling across Australia and it worked well although that was in the days when all I needed it for was my shortwave radio and my headtorch.

[spoon boy]

Thank you chaps all of those links they were very handy

rualexander .. that first link was the one I was after..many thanks

[David]

There is a "Third way"!

Google PowerMonkey Explorer.

This is a charging device that includes a solar charger which can charge a phone or Ipod. You can also charge the main device.

I prefer this to a true solar device as it also offers the possibility of a backup as you can mains chaarge the device.

Sun of a sufficient quality and quantity is too uncertain to go completely solar in the UK

[spoon boy]

Just in case anyone is considering the sun-ling 6.5w 4 panel folding system

it claims to have adapters for most phones...it doesn't. Most of the phones listed in thier manual are 5 years old.

You can however use the cigarette lighter adaption and buy the car charger for your phone and use the two

It states you can charge most mp3's..it doesn't in particular the ipod range. You can however buy an additional connection unit for the ipod.

It will not charge from the sun on it's first charge..but don't panic... you have to mains charge the battery on it's first hit..there after it should be okay...
as long as you have a universal adapter as the sun-ling only comes with a euro two plug mains  unit.

Beyond that.... I wished I would have bought a solar gorilla

will give updates as use occurs

[pastafarian]

I'm sure the Sunlinq 6.5w will be fine! I got one myself and it's charging a mobile phone as we speak. Will use it for charging AA batteries for the camera as well. It is probably not strong enough to power a laptop, but I don't expect to bring one anyway.

Considering you can get 20 AA batteries for 5 quid and portable renewable energy is expensive, sadly there is not much of an economic incentive to go for solar panels. There are no cheap ones, but perhaps a 12v solution is a bit more versatile. If need be you can hook it up to three other 6.5w or 12w panels, using a "y cable". I've been told some camera batteries will not charge on less than 10w, so that is something worth looking into for those who are serious photographers... Ideally it should all fit on the back of the bike. Here is a picture of the 6.5w panel:

http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/image/79929965

[spoon boy]

Thanks pasta

unfortuneatly the solar option is turning very sour

The company I purchased it from is now saying a lead is missing and one of the boxes they sent the panel in which was so badly damaged on arrival to myself that it could not be recovered.

Despite pointing out that all items sent were returned with the exception of the disintegrated box they are now using this as an exscuse not to refund.

I thought shonky companys like this were not in the envioromental solar market

I see a small claims court action starting.

For obvious legal reasons I will not paste the companys name on here but if you wish to avoid a suspect company emessage me for the companys name.. might save you the bill of £146 and rising

[spoon boy]

Well this is going well..not

despite offering every resolution over this they have now even stopped replying to emails and have switched all phones to answer phones.. very worrying

I have to be carefull what I say but I feel if a company is stiffing people then people should be fully informed to make an informed choice

Should you wish any items from a company called Solar equip from blackpool then be aware that refunds appear to be difficult to obtain, even with faulty equipment that has been returned and they may stop taking calls and replying to emails.

Beyond that all I can say is that I will update you when the claim goes in for recovery

[johnnyb]

Hi spoon boy

You might want to check out this dynamo-usb phone/device charger at http://www.pedalpower.com.au, that I'm looking at buying myself to fit to my schmidt's SON on my Catalyst.

I don't have experience of portable solar power packs, apart from browsing web sites on prices/capacity. An example is http://www.12volt.com.au/redirect.html?a=/General%20Htmls/webcat2003/solarpage.html.

Cheers, Johnny

[geocycle]

I like the look at that australian charger.  If it does what it says and doesn't overcharge then it might be what a lot of folk have been looking for.  How much does it cost?

[johnnyb]

I like the look at that australian charger.  If it does what it says and doesn't overcharge then it might be what a lot of folk have been looking for.  How much does it cost

Not sure of cost. I have been corresponding with PedalPower and they are uncertain whether the cable to the unit will fit schmidt's SON using cable's standard female connectors and may need schmidt's connectors joined to the cable wire. BUT I was informed that in a couple of months that they will have a universal cable available to fit a range of hub dynamo's.

Hopefully in a couple of month's I'll have an operating unit and I'll post my relative success, unless of course someone has taken the plunge before me.

Cheers

[jawj]

I've been away from the forum for a while, but returning to find my Holy Grail (useful DC output from a dynamo) being talked about has me more alert than a mongoose at feeding time.

Anybody had any luck with the PedalPower unit? JohnnyB?

(Sorry to hijack this thread, Spoon Boy... ;-))

[StuntPilot]

A good article here on solar battery charging on a long tour ...

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/index.html?o=1&doc_id=9258&v=rV

[il padrone]

That guy is obviously a bit of a 'powerhead' - all sorts of options and ideas tried for solar charging and AA/AAA battery charging, but then this

The Schmidt SON hub dynamo produces 3+ Watts when pedaling at a usual touring pace. That's about the same power I get from the Nomad 7 solar panel while in motion on the bike. The SON dynamo has almost no perceptible drag, and you have no worries about clouds, tree shadows, or aiming a solar panel in the correct direction....

....Unfortunately, a new front wheel with a quality Schmidt SON hub dynamo is at least 5 times more costly than a Nomad 7 solar panel. And a hub dynamo is only useful when riding the bike. A solar panel is useful in many situations. So for now, I don't plan to use a hub dynamo.

 

Seems that he never rides at night or needs to use bicycle lights.