Solar AA battery charger by Crane

[PeAK]

(Moderator note: Hot linked pic removed IAW CPF Rules.)
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If this Crane ES879 charger uses a buck converter to multiply the current output of the solar panel, then I can see the claimed 3-4 hour charge time being possible. Pretty neat and practical for those long trips away from civilization...I've been there.

Gaia,
PeAK

 

[TranceAddict]

the picture look like it was taken at retro 80'

this is the sanyo eneloop solar charger, isn't it more promising ?

http://www.sanyo.co.jp/eneloop/lineup/charger.html

 

[Calina]

For english information about the sanyo eneloop solar charger, see:
http://us.sanyo.com/HIT-Power

 

[chocho]

If you just have AA batteries to recharge, I have gotten a lot of mileage out of my PowerFilm AA Foldable Solar Battery Charger which I bought from Sundance Solar. It is excellent in the field. I like its design for several reasons.

1. It's really compact - about the size of a wallet including 4 AA batts.
2. It's decently fast - but requires direct sunlight as advertised.
3. The batteries are shielded from the sun during charging.
4. It's very durable. :thumbsup:
5. It's very durable.

-Chris

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I have one of these chargers , though it`s not by Crane , I have had it a couple of years and not really used it.

A close up of the charging meter on the Crane has the same values as mine.

I charges battery`s in parallel, below is a picture of the charging times on the back of the unit.

EDIT : I just opened mine up, there is only a couple of resistors on the back of the meter, but no transistors or chips at all, I dont even see any diodes to prevent reverse charging, unless they are built into the solar panel.

 

[filibuster]

Looks like this charger was designed 20+ years ago to charge NiCad cells.

With the top output listed at 160mA it would take 12 hrs to charge two eneloop type capacity AA cells. More realistically it would take closer to the 16-24 hrs to charge two AA's. That's 3-6 days of sun for just two AA batteries.

The PowerFilm charger mentioned earlier should be able to charge two eneloop AA's in one days worth of sun.

I think +3x faster charging is worth 3x the price for the PowerFilm AA charger.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Do solar panels wear out eventually? Mildy interested in the foldable one.

Also how are the batteries shielded from the sun? I was hoping there was a 20-30 foot extension with a separate battery pack that could theoretically stay inside your home and run the solar panels outside with the wire running under the sash of your kitchen window. Now that would be great.