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Solar powered 996

D

Dammit

Paul Ricard
Joined
23 Sep 2016
Messages
3,135
My car will be tucked up in the garage for the winter, my unpowered garage.

I have a cTek charger, but I'm not going to run a cable across the tarmac from my flat to the garage. What to do?

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The panel and charger came as a kit (£152 from Kuranda), the cTek fag-lighter adapter and extension cable I got from Amazon for ~£25.

I'll stick the panel on the roof when the sun has been out for a while (not today therefore), and wire things up.

I spoke with the chap behind Kuranda before ordering and he was absolutely certain that this 20W output panel would, even in winter conditions, provide more than enough grunt to trickle charge a couple of batteries.

Only one way to find out.
 
I have a 10w solar panel fitted on my garage roof and it keeps my cars battery perfectly topped up. Even in the winter months.
 
I used a trickle charge solar charger on my old 996 C2 for whenever it was parked up at Heathrow for two week or longer spells.

Worked a treat and always fired up on the first turn of the crank :thumb:
 
hmm, interesting, I've been pondering a small solar panel to keep my battery charged up.

What cable are you planning to use from the solar panel to the charge controller?
 
Would it not be cheaper and more fun just taking it for a blast round your manor once a week?

Cabs are loads of fun in the winter and always put a smile on folks faces when your driving topless in minus celcius conditions :grin:

I'm gonna leave my Ally cap in my garage this year!
 
alex yates said:
Cabs are loads of fun in the winter and always put a smile on folks faces when your driving topless in minus celcius conditions :grin:
Click to expand...

You need to get yourself one of those big Russian hats with the Hammer and Sickle on the front for added effect... :floor:
 
cvega said:
hmm, interesting, I've been pondering a small solar panel to keep my battery charged up.

What cable are you planning to use from the solar panel to the charge controller?
Click to expand...

It's pre-wired with a 4m cable, I'm going to either rivet or bond the panel on the roof, run that cable through into the garage, clip it to the beams and then drop it down to the controller.

I'll clip the end off the cTek extension lead and wire that in, should all (he says) be straightforward.
 
Sounds good.. pics ofc when you get round to do it !
I'm tempted to get one of those to charge my spare battery and a ctek extension to charge the one in the car!
 
alex yates said:
Would it not be cheaper and more fun just taking it for a blast round your manor once a week?

Cabs are loads of fun in the winter and always put a smile on folks faces when your driving topless in minus celcius conditions :grin:

I'm gonna leave my Ally cap in my garage this year!
Click to expand...

Problem with living in London is that it takes an hour to get out to any road worth driving on - slogging along salted roads that will cover the car in a thick layer of grime.

I'm hopefully picking up a full set of winter wheels and tyres for the C55 which should also have rather more grip on snow and ice than 285 section Michelin PS2's.
 
cvega said:
Sounds good.. pics ofc when you get round to do it !
I'm tempted to get one of those to charge my spare battery and a ctek extension to charge the one in the car!
Click to expand...

This setup is designed to charge two batteries at once - I'll have the spare on the shelf, on charge, and the one in the car also on charge via the fag-lighter.

The spare battery can then be dropped into the C55 if that needs it, or be used to run low-voltage lights in the garage (if I decide to fit some, it's got battery lights at the moment which are surprisingly good).
 
DrJimBone said:
alex yates said:
Cabs are loads of fun in the winter and always put a smile on folks faces when your driving topless in minus celcius conditions :grin:
Click to expand...

You need to get yourself one of those big Russian hats with the Hammer and Sickle on the front for added effect... :floor:
Click to expand...

I already have. Bought it in Prague 11 years ago.
 
Dammit said:
alex yates said:
Would it not be cheaper and more fun just taking it for a blast round your manor once a week?

Cabs are loads of fun in the winter and always put a smile on folks faces when your driving topless in minus celcius conditions :grin:

I'm gonna leave my Ally cap in my garage this year!
Click to expand...

Problem with living in London is that it takes an hour to get out to any road worth driving on - slogging along salted roads that will cover the car in a thick layer of grime.

I'm hopefully picking up a full set of winter wheels and tyres for the C55 which should also have rather more grip on snow and ice than 285 section Michelin PS2's.
Click to expand...

The joys of city living.
 
cvega said:
hmm, interesting, I've been pondering a small solar panel to keep my battery charged up.

What cable are you planning to use from the solar panel to the charge controller?
Click to expand...

I have one of the cheap 'AA' branded versions from Amazon, identical to the one Aldi do frequently. Keeps the battery in great shape just leaving it on the back window ledge and charging via the OBD port.

20W should be enough for a tup-up, dont expect it to re-charge a dead one though.

I would reccomend using something that meets BS6500 and BS7919 for the wiring, just in case anything happens.
 
Make sure your ciggy lighter is live constant. Mine is switched with ignition so I trickle charge straight onto the battery
 
I will admit to finding quite different statements on this - some people say that the fag lighter is constant live, others that it is switched. It would seem that there is only one way to find out for certain.

I can always go direct to the battery, it should have a cTek tail on there already.
 
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