Solar charger I found.

[Jack Peterson]

I found a solar charger laying in my bedroom that I used to use for my trail cameras. It easily hooks up to my Fl-12 also.

I was wondering if I can mount this bad boy on my vexilar, or leave it in my rod bag in case my Vex decides to run out of battery during sunlight hours.

Think it would be able to charge the vexilar? Or would it just cause problems?

[Ed Carlson]

Is it a 1.5 Watt 12 V system, some are 6 V, that is why I ask? Does it have the controller built in to prevent overcharging, or one added on?

FYI: I ran a Vexilar FL-20 steady for a full week indoors under store level lighting. The lighting switched down at night an then up again 7 hours latter. I starting from a fully charged battery, and maintained it with a similar solar system you're thinking of trying. I recharged it up from 60% at the end of that week. As it was in use and drawing power all the time, I think that did well overall.

[Jack Peterson]

That's the problem, it doesn't say anything on the charger.

[Ed Carlson]

What did the Trail Cam use for Voltage, check on it that way maybe?

You can always hook it up to a Volt/amp Meter, see what the output is. If it does not have a module from the photo cells on the line out, then it likely does not have a voltage regulator on it. Might also check the Trail Cam's manufacture web site, see what info you can dig up there too.

[Tom7227]

I would suspect that it doesn't kick out very much. Is it one that is around 4 x 10 inches or so? I have one as well and it doesn't do all that much. On the other hand it likely isn't going to cause any harm so why not put it on?

[Ed Carlson]

What I found is the 1.5 V solar charger on my Vexilar FL-20 did a good job of sustaining it's charge in full sunlight while in use. It kept the charge stable. I didn't loose any ground (voltage %) while in the sun. Starting from a fully charged Vexilar 10 amp 12V battery, it held it's own. Self sustaining is a good start I thought.

[vexi]

This is a good idea, I have a little 4 by 6 inch 12 volt solar panel that I might just mount on my Fl-20

[hcmpls1]

There's a 1.25 watt, 12 volt solar battery maintainer out there in a BF ad. Would this work for a vex battery?

[Ed Carlson]

Should work OK. But keep in mind that if you leave your Vex out in the cold all the time, that works against you between uses. It is best to bring them in where it's warm, allow to warm up a bit and then charge at night. A warm battery is a happy battery always rings true, and extends the battery life.