Quote: Originally posted by Grampian91 on 18/7/2014
Solar panel charges your leisure battery or other 12volt battery.
Dont try connecting or charging anything else to the panel because the voltages are not stable. Ive seen small panels exceed 20 volts with no battery to smooth the voltage out.
If its a larger panel you also want a voltage regulator to prevent your battery from being overcharged or boiled dry.
Charging your twelve volt battery without a regulator will soon fry that too, however it is possible to charge things direct, well almost, connect solar panel to a cigarette lighter type outlet and then plug in a usb outlet, which will have a 12-24 volt input capacity and a 5v output, varying current ranges, but 2.1 amps will charge an ipad 1 amp plenty for phone. A 40w panel will give you about 2.5 amps in bright sunlight so an ipads or phones should charge at normal speeds.
that's what I use, a decent 40 watt panel will still give you 0.5 amps under cloud so will just take longer to charge.
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