Trickle charge SLA using solar?

[puppypilgrim]

Can I take this folding solar panel which outputs 6.5W:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443281438&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672503&bmUID=1215034936542&deptid=1408474396672395&ctgrid=1408474396672406&subctgrid=1408474396672503

along with AC charger which came with my electric kit, and when stopping for breaks and meals during a long ride, use the combination to trickle charge the Sealed Lead Acid batteries? This would extend my bike's range and prevent over-discharging the SLAs.

Note, when I return home, I always plug the SLAs back into the wall plug after *EVERY* use. No exceptions.

Would this work?

 

[Link]

You'd have to do a little hacking when it comes to hooking it up to the charger, but it could be done.

 

[vanilla ice]

I think those out put 14v so you could ditch the a/c charger and just charge one sla at a time directly from the panel. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Link]

I see more 12V ones than anything. You could just slap it onto the battery if it puts out between 13 and 14V, but then you have balancing issues. :?

 

[TylerDurden]

12V is nominal... they usually output higher.

An array like that is handy for personal electronics or keeping a 12V car battery on float.

You'd make more power than the panel makes in an hour, by pedalling for just 5 minutes.

Panel = 6W
Human=120W

 

[Link]

Yeah, they only really put out enough power to charge small things, but I guess it might help with being able to leave SLA discharged for a while.

Whatever happened to those shoes with piezoelectric rubber in the soles? I saw it in a tech magazine once. Never bothered to see if they were available (no way I could have afforded them), but now it seems like a pretty neat idea.

 

[dogman dan]

Figure out how many watt hours your battery pack holds and divide it by six watt hours to get how many hours it would take to charge your battery pack. If your battery pack held say 200 watthours, it would take about 5 days to charge. Like Tyler says, peadal for five minuites to extend your range a bit. The only practical method I have heard of to solar charge the e vehicle is to use 50 to 100 watts of panel to charge either a second ev battery, or a battery to tap to charge at night. It will cost at least $500, so a better battery that lets you drive the car less is a lot greener than charging solar.