Anyone ever use one of these?

I always wanted a Mini battery kit but never went ahead with it due to the fact that my car is parked outside all winter, and sometimes not driven for a few days at a time. A buddy of mine suggested a solar battery tender.

He does not own an Evo but has used it on a different car that ran a mini battery kit. He said it doesn't charge your battery much but will keep it from dying when not driven for an extended period.

Do you guys think this would work? Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks.

 

They definitely work, but I usually see them used on boats in warm weather. The cold is the enemy of the mini battery. Only other catch may be that if it's blocked by shade, or covered in snow, it won't do any good anyhow.

 

Anyone have any experience with a specific brand?

 

I had them on fuel trucks to keep battries up during winter. Don't remember specific brand, but they work well.

 

I have had one in my car for over a year now. It works great. I hardwired the power cord directly into the fuse box and the plug has a cap that seals the end when not in use. The small solar panel can be suction cupped to the windshield or just lay it on the dash or back deck. I have the small battery and it maintained it in perfect starting condition all thru last winter with at least 4 snow storms. When it snows, I usually just remove a little snow on the windshield so the solar panel is still in direct sunlight. During the times when you're too lazy to go out and start the car during the winter months, you can press the arm and disarm of the alarm and you can tell by the chirp of the alarm that the battery is still doing fine. Any way here is the link to the one i have, it works mint.

http://www.sunsei.com/SE-170;jsessio...2&category=307

 

You can get solar panels at Harbor Freight that will do the job just fine as well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...q=solar+panels

 

Thanks a lot for the links guys.

That Sunsei one looks like a great deal. Gonna buy it now.

 

Cool, let me know how it worked out for you.

 

say, how would these solar maintainers work on a mini-battery setup?

 

Read post #5. It works great all winter long on my mini battery.

 

pm roadspike

I believe he runs one