LEDrock
Enlightened
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2008
- Messages
- 282
I'm planning to get a solar charger with the main purpose of charging AA and AAA batteries. I have about 50 different flashlights and other battery powered lights and they all use AA or AAA batteries.
One thing people have advised me about is that solar charging isn't as reliable, and that solar chargers will often lose power when a cloud passes over the sun, and then doesn't recover afterward, requiring unplugging the charger and then plugging it back in to to a faster charge. Otherwise, it continues charging very slowly even after full sunlight returns.
When I see this mentioned, it's always in the context of charging a smart phone. What I'd like to know is whether or not this problem also happens if a solar charger is used with a battery charger. My guess is that it doesn't because the recommendation is to use the solar charger to charge a battery bank, and then use that to charge the phone. If the drop in charge rate from passing clouds affected a battery charger, then it would affect the battery bank being charged. But then again, that's a lithium power bank rather than a charger for AA Ni-MHs. Does that make a difference?
One thing people have advised me about is that solar charging isn't as reliable, and that solar chargers will often lose power when a cloud passes over the sun, and then doesn't recover afterward, requiring unplugging the charger and then plugging it back in to to a faster charge. Otherwise, it continues charging very slowly even after full sunlight returns.
When I see this mentioned, it's always in the context of charging a smart phone. What I'd like to know is whether or not this problem also happens if a solar charger is used with a battery charger. My guess is that it doesn't because the recommendation is to use the solar charger to charge a battery bank, and then use that to charge the phone. If the drop in charge rate from passing clouds affected a battery charger, then it would affect the battery bank being charged. But then again, that's a lithium power bank rather than a charger for AA Ni-MHs. Does that make a difference?
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