Battery maintainer

Has anyone used the Solar powered Battery Maintainer. If so how well do they work. Looks like a good way to keep battery charged for 5 X 8 dump trailer, if it works well. Thanks.

Neighbor bought one to 'maintain'/charge a battery on a tractor he had on a remote farm wirth no power.It worked.Did what it promised.

the ones I have looked at were not to in "damp/wet" areas, have they started making them to be in the weather? if they do I would by several, I use the 110volt plug in maitainers and really like them but a solar would be even better to me for my outside units cnt

I have one on my Massey... Keeps the battery topped off. This will be the second winter for it. I made sure that I got the 'outdoor' version so that it could be out in the rain/weather.

I've got one, BatteryMinder from Northern Tool. It works good but I had to make my own mounting brackets. Otherwise it works just fine, even in very cloudy weather and rain.
Solar Battery Minder

You don't need an expensive setup like that. It's a waste of money. All you need is a 10-12 watt, 12 volt solar panel hooked directly to the battery with no other electronics. It's cheaper, weather proof, and is all that is needed when charging a full size battery. I have several trucks and tractors with 12 watt panels hooked to them. My old Allis Chalmers HD6 with a 24 volt system has dual 12 watt panels hooked in series. Been that way for 5 years now.

You can buy brand new 10-12 watt, 12 volt panels for $40-$50 if you shop around (with free shipping). Sometimes even cheaper.

A 12 watt panel can only put out 8/10ths of an amp max in the brightest sun and most of the time it will be less then half-and-amp. No controller needed. Even 15 watt panels don't need controllers unless you live somewhere in the southwest where the sun is really bright almost every day.

A few examples:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10watt-solar-panel-Mono-crystalline-12v-charge-batteries-Rv-marine-/251084154370?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a75c82602

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&sowigan=&Breite=185&Quer=&Felge=14&Speed=&kategorie=6&LoadRange=&Marke=&ranzahl=4&suchen=View+tires

It is the BEAT Invention for Battery maintainers, Works Excellent!! Onec You Buy it thats it, No more cost, Larry

I'tll Do the Job! Larry

If a charger has the ability to do any meaningful charging,it can and will over charge thereby doing damage unless it includes a means to adjust rate of charge. Granted you may leave a tiny charge on your tractor 24-7 without obivous trouble but the guy across the road has nothing on his and gets the same results.
Having said that,I believe a good maintainer will extend the life of any battery because of it's ability to desulfate which an alternator can't match.

RE: your comment "you may leave a tiny charge on your tractor 24-7 without obivous trouble but the guy across the road has nothing on his and gets the same results"

Not true. All lead-acid batteries self-discharge when sitting. Average rate even if unhooked is 5% to 10% per month. Putting a small maintainer on it prevents that. A 10 watt solar panel can do it fine in moderate sun areas and no controller needed.