[AT] Solar battery charger setup

Mon Jan 18 10:11:57 PST 2016

Current draw ain't what it used to be.  The old laws of physics still apply, but the internal efficiencies are so high that adding some new bells and whistles to an automobile electrical system becomes a moot point.  It is particularly noticeable when you shift to LED configurations.  When I converted one of my tractors to Halogen lights, I had to be concerned about the current draw on the electrical system, but converting it to LED's meant I could light it up like a Christmas tree and not be concerned about overloading anything.

I have been running an LED 3-way bulb in a floor lamp for better than a year.  The color temperature of the light is very pleasant, there is no stobe-effect, and the minimum projected life of the bulb is better than 10 years.  Our landlord had this whole subdivision built with CFL lights in all the hard-wired sockets.  Last month, they told me that they WILL be replacing all those bulbs with LED's.  It isn't by accident that the inventor of the blue LED received the Nobel prize last year.

Larry
---- charlie hill <charliehill at embarqmail.com> wrote: 
> Pretty much all of them Mike.  This one happens to be
> a Cadillac SRX but everything we looked at from Kia
> up, if it had any options above the very basic packages,
> were loaded with electronics (back up cameras, lane change
> warning, blind spot alerts, all of it basically always turned on
> and drawing current to some degree.  The amazing thing, and
> the reason she ended up with the Caddy is that once you
> add up all the options so that you are comparing apples to apples
> and not base price to base price they all cost about the same.
> This one is a 2015 that the dealer was anxious to get rid of and it
> was a cheap or cheaper than the Buicks, GMC's, Jeeps, Dodges,
> Fords, Toyotas, Hondas and Kia's we looked at.  The one she bought
> is the second from the bottom of 4 option packages Cadillac offers
> on that car and has as much standard options as some of the others
> have loaded out.
> 
> Personally I don't like it much and even though she's had it for
> about 4 months we still don't know how to operate half of the
> stuff on it.  Don't get me wrong, it's a nice car but it's not to
> my liking.
> 
> Charlie
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Mike M
> Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2016 9:41 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Solar battery charger setup
> 
> Charlie,
> That doesn't sound like any car I'd want, but I suppose they're all
> heading that way.
> 
> Mike M
> 
> 
> On 1/17/2016 8:34 PM, charlie hill wrote:
> > Bill,
> >
> > Lynn recently broke down and bought a new car to replace
> > the Buick she had bought and driven for the last 18 years.
> > The new car is so loaded up with electronics that the salesman
> > told us that it is possible to call the car on your phone and
> > start the engine.  Then he said "if you travel, you need to call and
> > start it at least once a week" apparently if you don't all of the
> > electronics loose their memory and have to be reset.  (radio
> > presets, mirror and seat settings, and all sorts of other stuff
> > stored in the cars computer).
> >
> > Enough already.  I'm about ready to go find a early to mid 70's car with
> > a good body and breaker point ignition and restore it.
> >
> > Charlie
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Bill Bruer
> > Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2016 5:55 PM
> > To: Antique Tractor
> > Subject: [AT] Solar battery charger setup
> >
> > I recently picked up one of these 1.5 watt solar battery chargers on sale 
> > at
> > Harbor
> > Freight for $14.99 -
> > http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-68692.html
> >
> > The manual says it needs an external voltage regualtor to prevent
> > overcharging.  There's no indicaction of that requirement on the 
> > packaging.
> > What's the best (cheap) way to set this thing up so that it can be left
> > on a battery for indefinite periods?  Harbor Freight has a 100 watt
> > regulator -
> > http://www.harborfreight.com/7-amp-solar-charge-regulator-96728.html
> > that will also allow you to power a tool but costs $25.99.  Kind of 
> > defeats
> > the
> > sale price on the charger.
> >
> > My main use will be to keep the battery hot on my IH 686 tractor with a
> > D312 engine.  However, I would like to mount the panel and regulator on a
> > light
> > frame that can be moved to any piece of equipment where it may be
> > needed.
> >
> > Bill Bruer
> > Murfreesboro, TN
> >
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