Hello
I would like to add a trickle charger to attempt to top up my leisure battery. I'm told that the ring solar chargers such as the RSP240 are ideal and I would like some advise about this or a similar product. I have a campervan so the idea is to leave it on the dashboard to charge via the panel . I understand that you may loose a small amount (1A) by collecting solar energy this way but I'm not keen on mounting a panel on the outside of the van.
have a look at Optimate,I use one for my bike battery but have used it to trickle charge my car and leisure batteries,it's a small smart charger that wont overcharge
The Ring RSR240 is quoted as being a 2.4w panel only, unfortunately I really can't see this being sufficient; as a comparison, a colleague tried a 6w panel from Aldi and found it barely adequate. Factor in daylight hours, the panel being in a fixed location and behind glass etc., the realtime performance of this would be absolutely minimal.
Can you provide further detail, eg how often you use the camper, do you intend the panel to maintain the battery for off grid use too etc?
2.4w would be OK for a battery thats sitting on a bench with no other drain. If your using power ie. an alarm or an ECU that monitors things even when the engine is off then you need something bigger.
2.4 watts is very little power. to put just 1amp into the battery you will need over 5 hours of full sun.
If the windows are tinted at all then it will take much longer.
Unless its a stored battery with no load i think your looking at 20w panel or more. If your using it off grid then a larger panel maybe needed.
I use the Ring 6W solar panel as a maintenance charger temporarily fitted inside the big roof light. It just about keeps up with the alarm drain (circa 65mA in standby mode) on the battery in the summer months, but does no more than extend the period between taking the battery off and giving a proper charge by a couple of weeks in the winter.
The 2.4W would do very little good IMHO.
My van is in storage without any power available, so need to check/swap/charge battery every 2-3 months if not being used. If you don't have the constant drain of an alarm, you should be able to get away with checking/charging your battery every 3-4 months if in good condition.
If you want to leave it unattended for extended periods, you will need a MUCH bigger solar panel as they barely work at all in the dull winter months, and only realistically 6-8 hours a day in summer.