100W pannel trickle power INTO Minivan Battery?

[Lance22]

Right now I've switched from vanlife to apartment life and am using my minivan as more of a camper van. With work and gym and small trips I am having the issue of the battery going dead. I do plan on trying to make sure I take at least one long trip a month to keep the minivan engine running smooth by cleaning out the carbon and such but I really don't need it for long trips. Being most of my destinations is 4-8min drive down the road I know my driving is draining the battery.

I've tested for a batter drain when parked only minor drain and the altornator is throwing up numbers that are well enough to help power everything and charge up the battery as well.. However if I could draw power from my 100 watts pannel I used to have charged into my backup powerstation and use that to trickle power into my minivan battery that would be an awesome solution (more so better if I can easily switch the wire to power my power bank when I go on vacation and take the minivan out as well.

My main system is 300 watts directly into my 100ah deep cycle battery I'd rather not touch that system however I guess I could if need be. I still keep my fridge in there minivan for cold drinks and lunches for work.

I want to to this safely so I don't have to worry about anything catching fire or causing issues during the summer heat and such..

Right now I'm trying to do a weekly drive at least one hour to help charge up the battery but that is starting to waste me gas money and time I just don't have to spend on a joyride. idk... Any advice would be much appreciated.

I do have a Walmart battery that has gone dead several times now... okay maybe 5-6 times now cause of my driving habits so I know it's not a good battery but if I can use this to help keep it topped off and have a healthy ability to keep a battery charge when I do get a new battery it can be put into a healthy system and not be destroyed if that makes sense. I've been a car driver before and living in a city I never had this issue, I'd imagine having a bigger vechiel like a minivan is the issue it requires more power so intown short trips is far harder on it idk.. I mostly have that 100 watt pannel just sitting up there doing nothing so why not put it to work as I think it would actually be a perfect solution. Eventually I will get a replacement battery as its about a year old now.. but I want to fix this issue of draining the battery to fast first before I change the battery.

but yea, thanks again.

 

[bullfrog !]

Right now I've switched from vanlife to apartment life and am using my minivan as more of a camper van. With work and gym and small trips I am having the issue of the battery going dead. I do plan on trying to make sure I take at least one long trip a month to keep the minivan engine running smooth by cleaning out the carbon and such but I really don't need it for long trips. Being most of my destinations is 4-8min drive down the road I know my driving is draining the battery.

I've tested for a batter drain when parked only minor drain and the altornator is throwing up numbers that are well enough to help power everything and charge up the battery as well.. However if I could draw power from my 100 watts pannel I used to have charged into my backup powerstation and use that to trickle power into my minivan battery that would be an awesome solution (more so better if I can easily switch the wire to power my power bank when I go on vacation and take the minivan out as well.

My main system is 300 watts directly into my 100ah deep cycle battery I'd rather not touch that system however I guess I could if need be. I still keep my fridge in there minivan for cold drinks and lunches for work.

I want to to this safely so I don't have to worry about anything catching fire or causing issues during the summer heat and such..

Right now I'm trying to do a weekly drive at least one hour to help charge up the battery but that is starting to waste me gas money and time I just don't have to spend on a joyride. idk... Any advice would be much appreciated.

I do have a Walmart battery that has gone dead several times now... okay maybe 5-6 times now cause of my driving habits so I know it's not a good battery but if I can use this to help keep it topped off and have a healthy ability to keep a battery charge when I do get a new battery it can be put into a healthy system and not be destroyed if that makes sense. I've been a car driver before and living in a city I never had this issue, I'd imagine having a bigger vechiel like a minivan is the issue it requires more power so intown short trips is far harder on it idk.. I mostly have that 100 watt pannel just sitting up there doing nothing so why not put it to work as I think it would actually be a perfect solution. Eventually I will get a replacement battery as its about a year old now.. but I want to fix this issue of draining the battery to fast first before I change the battery.

but yea, thanks again

A battery tender can help solve the problem. I use a 100 watt portable solar panel to keep my battery charged with no problems while stationary. I simply remove the connection when I need to use the vehicle. The issue may be the battery itself as they can develop internal shorts.

 

[maki2]

Use your keywords to do a search.
Car battery solar charger. There are plenty of reasonably priced products sold for that. Auto parts stores often have them in stock.

 

[INTJohn]

I’m assuming this battery is a lead acid starter battery……..

First, even tho the battery is “only a year old”; one only needs to drain a lead acid battery to “dead” but a couple times to greatly diminish its functional capability & life soo Im thinking you probably need a new battery and yes the way your using it you definitely need a way to keep the new 1 topped off or you’ll just quickly end up with another not very old worthless battery.

As stated in previous posts, some sort of solar trickle battery charger is probably your best way to go. I had one for my boat years back that I bought from West Marine but getting one there would be more expensive than getting one from an auto supply place or like a Walmart, etc.

Good Luck
INTJohn

 

[rruff]

I use a 100 watt portable solar panel to keep my battery charged with no problems while stationary.

One nice thing about lead-acid is that a small trickle charge will do the job and you don't even need a controller. You'd need one for 100W, but if you've got it, it's good.

Being most of my destinations is 4-8min drive down the road I know my driving is draining the battery.

That's how I typically drive when at home, just short trips. My original battery is 8 years old now, and I've completely drained it a couple times (oops), and I live in an environment that tends to kill batteries... and it still works. 4-8min should be plenty of time to recharge it if your engine starts quickly.

I try to do at least 1 drive per week that is long enough to fully warm the engine... but that's only a couple extra miles that includes climbing a steep hill.

 

[jonyjoe303]

No reason why you can't keep the 100 watt (or larger) panel 24/7 charging your lead acid start battery. you can set it at 14 volts or 13.8 volts. Once the battery is full charged it won't be accepting any more amps.
On my astrovan, I had to disconnect my dash radio, even when off it was draining my battery, after 2 or 3 days of not starting the engine, the battery would be too weak to crank over. After disconnecting the radio I could go over 2 weeks without any problems.

 

[Lance22]

A battery tender can help solve the problem. I use a 100 watt portable solar panel to keep my battery charged with no problems while stationary. I simply remove the connection when I need to use the vehicle. The issue may be the battery itself as they can develop internal shorts.

The battery Tender does it stop charging the battery when it is full and can you set the voltage to the percentage you want or is it automatic?

What are the safety features that keep it from becoming a bad situation?

I would like to have something that I just leave plugged in all the time. Do you have to unplug it every time you start the rig?

Also did you need to put a fuse into the system as well for safety?

 

[Lance22]

I’m assuming this battery is a lead acid starter battery……..

First, even tho the battery is “only a year old”; one only needs to drain a lead acid battery to “dead” but a couple times to greatly diminish its functional capability & life soo Im thinking you probably need a new battery and yes the way your using it you definitely need a way to keep the new 1 topped off or you’ll just quickly end up with another not very old worthless battery.

As stated in previous posts, some sort of solar trickle battery charger is probably your best way to go. I had one for my boat years back that I bought from West Marine but getting one there would be more expensive than getting one from an auto supply place or like a Walmart, etc.

Good Luck
INTJohn

Do you remember which one you got?

Expensive often means quality.

Did you have to have any additional things to make sure the battery does not get overcharged? I will search for "West Marine" as well thanks for the tip already too.

I have a jump starter in my van all the time now plus my house battery so I'm not worried about limping the battery for now. This May I am planning on a trip that will bring me to a FLEET FARM. I just never found a good battery that wasn't at a reasonable price that wasn't sitting on a FLEET FARM shelf. I'm hoping to limp it in until May and have good practices in place so then when I have the new battery I should be set for a very long time.

 

[Lance22]

No reason why you can't keep the 100 watt (or larger) panel 24/7 charging your lead acid start battery. you can set it at 14 volts or 13.8 volts. Once the battery is full charged it won't be accepting any more amps.
On my astrovan, I had to disconnect my dash radio, even when off it was draining my battery, after 2 or 3 days of not starting the engine, the battery would be too weak to crank over. After disconnecting the radio I could go over 2 weeks without any problems.

YES!!

This is exactly what I want to do!!! I want to set the voltage to 95% or something like 100% if it feels safe to do so idk..

Then just leave it on it all the time so IT can charge the battery when it needs to with the 100 watt pannel I ALREADY have mounted on the roof just sitting there doing absolutely nothing right now. And I can get back to just enjoying my day to day life!

...I just need to know what IT is so I can get it and make sure I can get IT into a complete system that is safe and ready for daily usage. If I HAD to discounted it to drive I guess I could do that ideally without popping the hood every time cause that be a pain.

I'm just not educated on what exactly all I need and what I don't need to make this a reality.

 

[bullfrog !]

A charge controller is usually included in the system to do just that. My portable 100 watt panels came with one mounted on the back of the panel to be used with lead acid batteries or AGM as it is an older one. I would suggest you contact a solar supplier that sells controllers and examine the system you have more closely as it may/should have one and only require a few simple connections.

 

[keebler]

i've had the same problem, i pulled the radio/clock fuse, it was pulling the battery down to much while sitting.

 

[jonyjoe303]

...I just need to know what IT is so I can get it and make sure I can get IT into a complete system that is safe and ready for daily usage. If I HAD to discounted it to drive I guess I could do that ideally without popping the hood every time cause that be a pain.

I'm just not educated on what exactly all I need and what I don't need to make this a reality.

as long as you have a solar charge controller that you can adjust the bulk voltage to 13.8 volts it will work. Even if the controller doesnt have a user setting to be set to 13.8 volts, if its factory set to lead acid 14.4 volts when it reaches that voltage it will automatically switch to float voltage 13.8 volts. When its at float voltage its basically holding that voltage and only adding amps as necessary. Just keep the controller in a cool place in the van like in the back, in the front of the van it can reach temps of 150 degrees in the sun.

With a 100 watt panel, thats about max 6 amps charging power. You can actually use a 12 volt cigarette plug connector and connect directly to the dash receptacle (if its live without the key turned on) and charge from there. On my van I top off my agm start battery from the cigarette plug from a dc to dc 5 amp charger. Many of the small 20 watt solar maintainers they sell are plugged in to the dash.

You won't have to unplug or disconnect solar when the engine is running. The battery/alternator won't be sending any voltage/amps upwards to the controller damaging anything. But if you have the solar connected through the dash plug it will be easy to connect and disconnect.

 

[twomountainlions]

Aside from solar top off options, which were discussed already ...sounds like one really bad battery frankly, this is not supposed to be happening.

 

[rruff]

^Or it may be the charging system failing.

 

[Gr8ful]

What a bunch of hacks! Find the problem and fix it! You can get the battery tested for free or discount the ground cable and see if it discharges. If not pull one fuse at a time and in the dark touch the ground cable to the battery and see if you get a tiny spark. When you get no.spark you've found the draw that's discharging your battery. For a quick & cheap hack put a disconnect on the ground cable . The. Ambo has a master switch in the cab.

 

[twomountainlions]

I stored stuff with no charger....may be drove a bit once in 2 months.

^Or it may be the charging system failing.

I thought he said he tested the alternator and it was good ...

 

[twomountainlions]

Disconnect is a good thing to have, I have it on house battery and use it

 

[twomountainlions]

^Or it may be the charging system failing.

Another thing once car battery went dead 5-6 times, its pretty much a goner