I have installed large, glass, metal-framed solar chargers on a previous boat, but wanted something light, flexible, and removable for the tender to a large motor yacht. This unit seems to work well and provides 0.3 to 0.5 amps of charging current under typical conditions in San Diego in the winter, which is enough to keep the battery charged when the only draw is occasional running of the bilge pump when it rains.
What I have used it for:
On a sunny day, I took it to the park and laid it out flat on a park bench when the sun was as close to zenith as it can be at noon in WI in the beginning of April. First I charged my I-phone. A simple 12 volt usb adapter plugged into the 12 volt cig. plug did the trick and the phone immediately started charging, no issue with "charging not possible with this accessory" messages like I got trying to use my Brunton 5W thin film charger. This is the 14 watt and worked great, charging the phone just as fast as the wall charger can. Finished with that, I then charged an Ipod. With that at 100 percent, I plugged in a Brunton Solo Batt Pack and started charging 4 eneloop AA batteries. I finally departed with a haze forming in the sky and the sun's angle lower at about 3:30PM. The panel laid flat the entire time and was not canted toward the sun. So, in 3.5 hours, it was able to charge two devices, one from about half charge, the other from below 20%. It also put enough charge into the eneloop batteries to charge my Ipad that night by about 5%. That's not bad when you consider a set of AA charged in a LaCrosse Tech wall charger only charged the Ipad about 17%. In 1.5 to 2 hours it managed to bring the batteries up from a low charge to almost a third of the charge they would have had overnight plugged into the wall.
I can't speak to the panel's ability to charge laptops, but I was surprised when I took my Panasonic portable dvd player and plugged it into the 12 volt cig. plug. It started charging! I am impressed. My advice is go big. I have messed around with the smaller panels because of an acute case of the cheaps. They never did what I wanted them to. Finally getting the panel big enough made all the difference in the world. I would never recommend a panel smaller than 14 watts. I would also recommend that if you want to take one of these panels backpacking, take a foldable one, not the roll. I love the roll model, but it does take up some room and you have to be careful not to squash it flat when it is rolled. Between the Brunton and the Powerfilm (I have both brands) I would definitely recommend Powerfilm. The cells are made in the USA and it just plain works better.
Buy PowerFilm R-14 14w Rollable Solar Panel Charger Now
Looks like good quality will leave it to charge the battery of my boat year round lets see how it resists...Read Best Reviews of PowerFilm R-14 14w Rollable Solar Panel Charger Here
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