What's the best way to charge?

[Sparkyprep]

Thanks, Sparky, I'll check it out. Do you recall how long it took in the sun to charge the battery up for you?

It took quite a while. About 10 hrs in bright light. It will take longer on cloudy days.

[MountainGirl]

A good sized UPS (uninterruptible power supply) like used on computer equipment. Charges during the times of good power, runs for a while when power is down. I have several, main use is to protect electronics from nasty power. When the power is out I shut down the electronics and use them to charge phones and power things like small battery chargers and LED lights.

Hi, thanks!
The UPS itself is charged up though with "good power" which I take to mean grid or gen or large solar system; i.e with an inverter.. Is that right?

[Back Pack Hack]

Hi, thanks!
The UPS itself is charged up though with "good power" which I take to mean grid or gen or large solar system; i.e with an inverter.. Is that right?

Yes. A UPS is basically a battery bank, very similar to what you're already using. They're typically free-standing, self-contained units. You hook them up to utility/generator power, and they have chargers built into them to charge & maintain the batteries.

[Sparkyprep]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpo...?skuId=3938817

I have 3 of these in my home, backing up and protecting various systems.

[Inor]

I have a little solar charger that came with our emergency radio that works great. The thing is maybe 7X10 inches when fully unrolled and has a micro-USB connection on it. It takes about 3-4 hours to charge either of our phones from about 50%. I do not know how many watts it puts out, but I have run a Raspberry Pi directly from it with no additional power and it works fine. Plus it is flexible so it rolls up into a roll less than an inch in diameter.

[Dwight55]

Hi Dwight, thanks for your reply!

I googled your idea... and it looks like any kind of artificial light could be used to charge through a solar cell - IF it's bright enough..seems I recall having an old TI calculator that kept itself charged under my desk light.

What I'm tryin to do, is have a way to charge a phone while out in the boonies totally, without a cabin light to use or plugged into the cabin's solar system to charge directly. LOL solar toys; we have a daisy with a bee on it in the kitchen window that flaps its leaves & clicks all the time & drives the cats nutz. I like that.

The other thing you can do is get a GM alternator off any fairly late model GM car (others may work as well).

You only need three things for it to work: 1) mount it securely, . . . 2) run a shaft up from it thru the roof to a wind catcher that looks like half balls on the end of sticks, . . . they turn easy in almost no breeze, . . . 3) a battery for the alternator to charge. They have a built in voltage regulator, . . . so you can safely leave it hooked up to that battery indefinitely, . . . and with your inverter hooked to the battery, . . . you can charge all sorts of stuff.

I'm gonna fix one here at my place later this year, . . . for the same reasons.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Back Pack Hack]

If'n you're handy with small electronics projects and soldering:

Git yessef some TEC1-12706 thermoelectric peltier podules and one or two L7805 voltage regulators. The former will produce electricity from heat (like a fire), the latter will regulate it to 5VDC. Splice in a USB cord and you're charging devices off your woodburner.

Probably the same technology built into these.

You can buy 10 peltier modules and 20 regulators online for less than $25, so you can make several chargers.

[Deebo]

I'm going out on a limb here, but there has to be some kinda "hand crank" that charge a battery?
Also, there are ways to convert 9V batteries to charge a cellphone, its slow, but better than a dead battery.

[MountainGirl]

The other thing you can do is get a GM alternator off any fairly late model GM car (others may work as well).

You only need three things for it to work: 1) mount it securely, . . . 2) run a shaft up from it thru the roof to a wind catcher that looks like half balls on the end of sticks, . . . they turn easy in almost no breeze, . . . 3) a battery for the alternator to charge. They have a built in voltage regulator, . . . so you can safely leave it hooked up to that battery indefinitely, . . . and with your inverter hooked to the battery, . . . you can charge all sorts of stuff.

I'm gonna fix one here at my place later this year, . . . for the same reasons.

May God bless,
Dwight

Another good idea. Thanks!

[MountainGirl]

If'n you're handy with small electronics projects and soldering:

Git yessef some TEC1-12706 thermoelectric peltier podules and one or two L7805 voltage regulators. The former will produce electricity from heat (like a fire), the latter will regulate it to 5VDC. Splice in a USB cord and you're charging devices off your woodburner.

Probably the same technology built into these.

You can buy 10 peltier modules and 20 regulators online for less than $25, so you can make several chargers.

Well now, thats one interesting link; thanks! Ya know, I've been watching this thing spin all winter and your idea would work great on the sunless days of winter (of which today will be day 15 for that...) Hmmmm...



I have an idea. Need to think on this.