Solar charger?

Hi guys,

I just got a set of Powerizer RCR123 rechargeables for use in my new McLuxIII-PD light. (Wow!) This is a great setup for me with the single exception of being tied to a wall outlet.

Can anyone give some pointers about how to recharge these cells with solar power? I'd have to learn, but I am willing to make my own rig if needs be.

Any advice would be great.

Scott

If your charger is like mine, it runs on 12 Volts from the wall wart.

How about a small gel battery (say the 7 Ah ones uses in emergency lights and the like) and one of those auto store solar panels you put on the dash board to keep the battery topped up. About $15 each. Cobble it together (you might end up adding a small resistor if the charging current ends up too high) and you should be just fine. Should work fine through a window.

Doug Owen

Hi Doug and Scott,


While we're on this subject maybe someone can fill me
in on the difference (if any) between RCR123 and RCR123A,
as im seeing 3.0v on some sites and 3.6v on other sites
i've searched on the web?

The solar project sounds interesting.


Take care,
Al

Interesting topic.

Curtis

Thanks for the info.

I guess my batteries are RCR123A, not RCR123. I don't know about a difference either. I got them at www.batteryspace.com here .

I don't know a whole lot about it, but they do offer a solar charger for AA/AAA NiMH batteries. I suppose you can't use it for the RCR123As, since their chemistry is Li-ion.

I just got back from the bookstore, where I found a nifty book for novice electronics work. It is "Build Your Own Electronics Workshop" by Tom Petruzzellis. There is a section on battery power, and a design for a solar charger. The book seems to have ham radio in mind, but of course much of that stuff is good for modern LED lights too.

One way or another, my disaster preparedness goal is to get the capability for portable solar charging.

I have seen flexible Brunton solar panels. These would be perfect, except that they are tremendously expensive. I can see that this will take some effort.

Scott

A small article that got me started in 97: http://www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html

Also took a excellent on-line course from http://www.thoughtscreate.com/edusolarindex.html
Charlie Collins is the site owner and instructor. Good people. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hello Al,

The CR123A is the normal non rechargeable cell.

The R-CR123A is the rechargeable version. It is available in both a 3.0 and a 3.7 volt version. The 3.0 volt version comes off the charger at around 3.6 volts, and the 3.7 volt version comes off the charger at 4.2 volts.

The R-CR123 is an abbreviation for the R-CR123A.

The R stands for rechargeable.
I am not sure what the CR stands for.
The 123A is the size. It stands for a single (1) cell that is two thirds the size of an A cell (23A).

Tom

Hello Scott,

One way to utilize solar power is to charge a 12V battery. You can then hook up your chargers to run off the 12V battery.

Tom

nice article nightshade

Thanks Cy, Phil wrote a very public accessible article. My oldest boy made a excellent rig on wheels. He found a panel at a marine salvage yard. Taking his time, less than $98.00
was spent. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hello again,

Thanks for all the information!

Silverfox, so you're saying that the cells are available
in two different voltages? Wow that's interesting.
So i guess you either have to specify the voltage when
you order or else watch where you order from as to what
voltage you will be getting...right?

Thanks again,
Al