Power Monkey Solar charger

[Tyrant68]

Thanks for all the replies.
Maybe not the way to go for the UK then :laugh:
The wind charger looks good.

[f2uk]

Not gone solar but i have got one of these chargers

Has worked for my iPhone and iPad and charges up from usb. Has plenty of connections for other gadgets.

[Tyrant68]

Not gone solar but i have got one of these chargers

Has worked for my iPhone and iPad and charges up from usb. Has plenty of connections for other gadgets.

But the charger still needs to be connected to a power source , the laptop.

[f2uk]

Once it is charged it's good for about 4 refills of the iPhone.

It's charged via usb, but that can be via a cigarette lighter adapter (that I have wired in in my back box)

I can see it easily lasting a weekend, if it runs out throw it in the backbox (or under seat depending on where/if you have a aux socket wired in) when you are on a ride out to charge up again.

[LargeWayRound]

My one charges from laptop,computer or 12 usb cigerette lighter attachment , have charged it on the move on the bike.

But the one I have lasts long time as large battery inside . good for at least a long weekend of charging phone, ipod etc before needing charged.

I like the look of the wind charger , but when I have a power source i.e ass socket on the bike , then charging the power pack is easy . but does take 6 hours to full charge from empty.

But has 2 outputs so I can charge my phone and ipod at the same time, excellent

Does the job for what I need it for , i.e I am not going on any huge trips at the moment.

LWR

[sparks]

I bought one of these porta pow premium things , not solar but nice piece of kit .

[ebay]260849287826[/ebay]

another vote for this
i charged 3 peoples phones up at the midlands simmer with mine

adam

[Kenbo]

No

But what I do have is one of these



Use a 1.5Kw inverter in my council lock-up to give me lighting and power tools.
I then made a trolly that the car battery sits on and wheel it back to the shed for recharging...vola free power in my lock-up

[Selous]

No but I have one of these..........



and its about as much use as an asthmatic with a collapsed lung playing a plastic harmonica.

On your Amazon link there's a great review from someone who's checked out the spec of the Freeloader with a multimeter and found that, by and large, it does what it claims to do. Unfortunately that's not much and to get any sort of usable power generation it needs to be in continuous direct sunlight - something in short supply in the UK. That's been my experience with a number of solar chargers over the last 20yrs or so, exposed to normal UK daylight they are not much use and even in southern europe they are marginal.

I suspect it's probably more me than the technology though as there seems to be loads of solar panels appearing on bus shelters and traffic signs over recent years, so someone must be getting them to work. I probably just need to buy a bigger one but they can be a bit pricey and I'm a bit wary about throwing good money after bad after my previous experience of them.

My understanding from a mate who fits Solar panels is, the panels & other bits used are more absorbent to sunlight in uk than in some other country's, that is about as much as I understood.