Advice on solar panel battery conditioners?

[ICBMW]

Any of you guys have any advice on solar panel battery conditioners? I am nowhere near a plug as I park in a lot. I was considering getting a solar panel trickle charger/battery conditioner that I can keep on the bike and plugged into my 1995 BMW K1100LT when I am not riding during the day (I work from home).

[johnny]

i use the deltran battery tender junior which is float maintain 12v .750a 15w... if i were gonna getts a solor battery tender... i would want it to match up to the deltran battery tender junior specs...

j o

[pdg]

Is your battery so knackered that you need to keep it charging all day, every day?

I've left my bike for up to 2 weeks at a time just chained up outside (while on holiday), came back, turned the key and off it went... The battery is now about 3 years old, is an Odyssey one, and I've never had to charge it at all, trickle or otherwise - the bike lives outside all year, come rain/shine/snow/whatever. The majority of my journeys are pottering around to town / to do work quotes and the like, under 10 miles radius and then a few longer rides thrown in now and again.

Even when my alternator drive failed and the bike died as I pulled up at home, it just sat for a few weeks while I waited for parts and got it back together - still had enough oomph to start it up without charging again.

But hey, if you're really set on one - I've not seen a solar battery 'conditioner' - imo a solar panel of a sensible size wouldn't provide enough power to actually condition a battery anyway. All the solar trickle chargers are just that, a panel with a voltage control module - the current will vary with available light and will cut off completely when it gets dark enough for the voltage to drop. Even if you find one marketed as a 'conditioner', good luck getting one that does what it says on the box.

[Dragwn]

Volkswagen sold one that plugged into the cigarette plug, don't know how well it works but I think I still have it in the box. I will have to see about digging it up.

[Zampano]

I bought this one on amazon 3 years ago for a car and have hooked it to the bike a few times when I was out of town. It sat for about a month and the battery was fine when I got back; so it seemed to work.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JO0KG/

[Motorhobo]

Does it have an anti-theft device? Someone stole my helmet once...frickin people will take anything not JBWelded down.

As long as you give it a good ride regularly, imho a good cover is more important than a tender. I say that from experience, having left my black brick uncovered for an extended period. It didn't like that.

My $0.02.

[ICBMW]

I can't park my bike near any outlets so I installed a solar battery tender. Hey, there's nothing more middle-age dork than a 19-year-old K tourer so this is just the next step. I think it looks cool.  I got the 2 watt version of the PulseTech Solar Battery Charger. It's not supposed to charge the battery but it's supposed to "clean damaging lead-sulphates from the battery plates, which helps maintain a battery that can accept, store and release its power when needed." The one I saw reviewed was a 5 watt so I hope the 2 watt is able to help some. I asked the manufacturer and they recommended the 2 watt -- told me it was perfectly fine. Have any of you tried anything like this?

[The Mighty Gryphon]

It's been a while since I have done any work on marine solar systems, but 250ma from such a small panel makes me think I have missed some remarkable developments in solar panels or there is some hyperbole in the specifications. 

Sure enough, the system only puts out 250ma for 20msec every 2 seconds, or about 1% of the time.  The effective charging rate is thus 2.5ma which is probably why their literature states it is a "conditioner" not a charger.  A panel that size should put out something like 15-20ma.  Maybe it is putting out some current in between the pulses, or maybe the power is being absorbed by the electrical circuitry of the pulse generator. 

If indeed the panel is putting out 25ma it should be able to maintain a charge in a 25 AmpHour battery given 10 hours a day of shadowless bright sun.

[ICBMW]

In other words: I should have gotten the 5 watt panel? I don't think I need "charging" per-se as I don't let the bike sit for the winter. I am a daily rider. All I need to "conditioning" because I am mostly not a distance rider so we'll see. It might just be a dorky accouterment.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Can't hurt, but be aware that your alternator will put more current into the battery in about one minute than this panel can in a whole day.

Where the solar panel shines(no pun intended) is in situations where the bike is left unused for extended periods(2-3 weeks and longer) and you want to maintain the surface of the plates to lower internal resistance which then permits higher cranking amps.

[Gio]

I use a few panels around the farm. The work-horse is a 40w and charges a pack of 3x 20Ah for electric fencing etc. I also have a 15w which maintains the generator / tractor in the barn and recently picked up a couple of small 2.5w panels that were on-sale at Canadian Tire for $10 ea ... not sure how much current they put out but are maintainers, not chargers, for sure. Came with the cig lighter plug as well as battery clips. Haven't found a real use for them yet but was thinking I might bolt the pair on top of the bike trailer, connect them together and give myself 5w of solar power for camping trips.

Nothing wrong with dorky accessories - but if you are riding daily I think your battery should be able to cope without any help.