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We have a kid's electric 4-wheeler using a 12-volt. I'd...
By luckytobea2264055
Ranked #469 - Lighting
June 16, 2008
We have a kid's electric 4-wheeler using a 12-volt. I'd like to maximize the length it can be ridden, provide real-time charging with solar, and also be able to use the DC charging mechanism...what products should I be interested in?
View Details: Brunton SolarFlat 15
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
By JT Justman
Ranked #264 - Lighting
January 26, 2009
I doubt this one would provide significant extension of riding time. Let's look at some math. A rough search tells me the stock battery might have 4-12 amp-hours. Let's assume a 12 amp-hour (probably aftermarket to get that good) battery and a current riding time of 1 hour (generous in my experience!). So the battery is drawing about 12 amps (averaged). This panel provides 1 amp of current in ideal circumstances. So the best this panel would do is extend the ride time by 1/12, i.e. extend the ride time to 1 hour 5 minutes. And it would take 12 hours to charge the battery using this alone.If you hooked up both the DC charger and the solar panel, that would be a parallel circuit, which if I understand correctly would simply divide the draw between the two (there is a formula for this); I think it would be okay but I don't know how that would affect the electronics in the charger or panel especially if you have some kind of current-regulated charger...Note: I just realized I somewhat bungled these calculations because the panel actually puts out up to 24 volts! Now I'm confused and doubting myself. Once I understand better I'll come back and update the answer.
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
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