Plugging your car in every night can be a PITA - Mark has a neat gizmo in
his Cortina - let me hand the keyboard over and let him tell you about
it.......
I've got a neat little device marketed under the name Solargizer. It
consists of a 5X8 photovoltaic cell, a cigarette pack sized control box and
long enough leads to put the whole works in a completely different vehicle.
The long leads are because it's normal application is for tanks and other
largish armoured vehicles. It was army surplus.
It uses sunlight to maintain a light charge on the battery and all times
(or at least at all bright times). It works quite well as my last battery, a
huge DieHard lasted for just shy of 7 years. For at least half of those
seven years it had only a 21 amp Lucas generator to provide power, so I think
the Solargizer thingie was doing it's job. OK the fact that my battery lives
in my trunk may have had something to do with it's longevity-being away from
engine heat, but this is Central Arizona where your coolant temp guage is
often off peg just from ambient heat.
No, it doesn't work for a car parked in the garage (I don't have one of
those any way) although you could probably cut a skylight<G>
A websearch on 'solargizer' turns up a number of retailers and this neat
little report on the EPA's website.
<A HREF="http://es.epa.gov/oeca/fedfac/initiati/armyfed/solar.html";>Solargizer
Evaluation Project Report From Army Research Laboratory</A>
Just a quick little note to follow up - No I don't sell these, I have no
connection with either the company or testing agencies and I got mine for the
price of a six-pack.
Laurie :-)
70 SPL311
AzROC
Chandler, AZ
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