Solar powered cell phone charger

[jbirds1210]

Anyone have experience with these? They are cheap and seem like a good idea for the price...especially for Gulf Coast residents in the summer!

Thanks.

Jason

[Keith B]

Anyone have experience with these? They are cheap and seem like a good idea for the price...especially for Gulf Coast residents in the summer!

Thanks.

Jason

Been to the Gulf Coast in Summer. I would think the extreme sun during those times via a solar charger would cause your cell phone battery to explode!!!!

Seriously, they do work. As with anything, the cheap ones are not as reliable as the more expensive ones, but they will trickle charge your phone.
I would suggest getting one that has a cigarette lighter female connection and using your car charger for your phone though. That way the car charger will perform the function of limiting the amount of current from the charge source to your phone.

[jbirds1210]

I agree that the car charger is a better plan, but this is for times (hurricane causing lack of electricity) when I do not want to use fuel in the car or drain the battery. It is nice to still be able to text and talk on the phone without having to worry about a power supply. For the price, I think I will add one to my travel bag. Thanks!

Jason

[Keith B]

I agree that the car charger is a better plan, but this is for times (hurricane causing lack of electricity) when I do not want to use fuel in the car or drain the battery. It is nice to still be able to text and talk on the phone without having to worry about a power supply. For the price, I think I will add one to my travel bag. Thanks!

Jason

What I meant was buy a solar charger that has a female cigarette lighter connection on it and then plug your car charger into that. The car charger will guarantee the limit of current produced by the solar charger is not too much for your phone.

[gregthehand]

I may look for one that has a USB hub so I can charge my Ipod or other small stuff like electronics, etc.

[jbirds1210]

I agree that the car charger is a better plan, but this is for times (hurricane causing lack of electricity) when I do not want to use fuel in the car or drain the battery. It is nice to still be able to text and talk on the phone without having to worry about a power supply. For the price, I think I will add one to my travel bag. Thanks!

Jason

What I meant was buy a solar charger that has a female cigarette lighter connection on it and then plug your car charger into that. The car charger will guarantee the limit of current produced by the solar charger is not too much for your phone.

ah, I see what you are saying. Kimberly accuses me of not listening, apparently I don't read well either! Good plan.

Jason

[particle]

I agree that the car charger is a better plan, but this is for times (hurricane causing lack of electricity) when I do not want to use fuel in the car or drain the battery. It is nice to still be able to text and talk on the phone without having to worry about a power supply. For the price, I think I will add one to my travel bag. Thanks!

Jason

What I meant was buy a solar charger that has a female cigarette lighter connection on it and then plug your car charger into that. The car charger will guarantee the limit of current produced by the solar charger is not too much for your phone.

That would be my concern as well - I saw a review of the solar charges somewhere a while back, and they said the power level isn't regulated on some of the (inexpensive?) models, and if you weren't careful, you could overcharge your battery or something like that.

[WildBill]

Anyone have experience with these? They are cheap and seem like a good idea for the price...especially for Gulf Coast residents in the summer!
Thanks. Jason

I don't have a direct experience, but I talked to a couple people about this same topic a couple months ago. One person uses a solar battery charger for his boat to keep the lead-acid battery charged. The model is similar to the Sunsei SE-500. This type of charger could be used to keep your car battery charged and then you could charge your phone with your car battery without using gas.

Been to the Gulf Coast in Summer. I would think the extreme sun during those times via a solar charger would cause your cell phone battery to explode!!!!

It seems like with a big-enough solar panel we ought to be able to produce enough electricity to run enough A/C units to keep us cool during the summer in the Gulf Coast.

[dicion]

It seems like with a big-enough solar panel we ought to be able to produce enough electricity to run enough A/C units to keep us cool during the summer in the Gulf Coast.

You can!

The big issue is initial cost. You're looking at about 20-30k to install a system that will maintain your AC and some of your home...

Average Lifespan of such a system is 20-40 years. And it works best if you have 100sq feet of roof facing southward, unobstructed by trees :)