Will a solar panel charge a 6V. battery?

TomA in CA · Dec 30, 2011

I have a 15 watt solar panel I use to charge a 12 volt battery for my electric fence.

A friend found a nice looking old 8N in a shed on the ranch where he works. The boss lady says it runs and he can use it if he gets it running. The only problem is no one has a 6 volt charger any more. I am wondering if I snapped that panel on the battery if it would charge up in a few days.

buickanddeere · Dec 30, 2011

A couple of weeks in the summer.

Jim in Ma. · Dec 30, 2011

You would need a regulator to limit the charge with solor.
If there is power there, a lot of 6 volt chargers out there. I have a trickel charger (6 volt) that works just fine.

tomNE · Dec 30, 2011

put some gas in; pull it to start. let the generator charge the battery!

LJD · Dec 30, 2011

Yes, eventually. A 15 watt panel is so small, no regulator/controller is needed. If the panel was sold as "12 volt" it's probably puts out a max of 1a no-load 18 volts. When hooked to the 6 volt battery, voltage will come right down. But- you're talking about a very low and slow charge.

Mike (WA) · Dec 30, 2011

tomNE has the answer.

"We don't need no stinkin' charger".

rustred · Dec 30, 2011

yep some people just way over think things. before they would just pull start it with horses!

mmidlam · Dec 30, 2011

solar cells have high internal impedance,so no regulator is needed for only 15 watt. As some have said,its ok to connect it to a 6 volt battery, just don"t expect the battery to be charged very fast.,

Anonymous-0 · Dec 30, 2011

Nah, you'd stall out the sun, tryin to solar charge a dorf 8n. Best way is to run it down a steep hill. If you can't find a steep hill, use a cliff, it'll start faster!

teddy52food · Dec 30, 2011

Don't you find it interesting or amazing that those solar panels have hardly any amperage to charge a battery yet when they are hooked in series the voltage they produce will power up a hand built 7500 pound motor coupled to a water pump?

TomA in CA · Dec 30, 2011

There needs to be a little juice in the battery to run the ignition before we can pull start it or jump it. How often does the generator actually work on an old tractor?

Jon Hagen · Dec 30, 2011

If the generator still has enough resudual magnetism in the field shoes to excite, it should generate enough Volts / amps to run the ignition when you get the engine up to about 1500 rpm.

James Babcock · Dec 30, 2011

A lot of the deer feeders run off 6V solar chargers, but I don't know if they put out enough amps to charge a tractor battery.

ShadetreeRet · Dec 30, 2011

I bought a charger from TSC in April, that charges 6 and 12 volt. It's a small carry around unit, only paid $25.00 for it.

souNdguy · Dec 30, 2011

everybody sells 6v chargers.

radio shack

napa

car quest

o'rilies

harbor freight

autozone

discount auto

pep boys

I could list more.

all have a 6v dc charger available.

past that you can find a suitable 'wall wart' and home grow your own in 10 minutes...

soundguy

buickanddeere · Dec 31, 2011

A few thoughts.

There are many people out there with little to no understanding of the most basic laws of physics.
There are well meaning people who hope and dream of utopia. So much so they ignore obvious errors in pursuit of a "greater goal".
There are shysters, crooks and thieves who will prey upon those with available cash.

teddy26food. You poor trusting soul with such high and worthy goals. You are letting emotions over ride facts.
Too many science fiction movies where the laws of physics are bent or broken. With the poorly educated general public not knowing the difference from fact and fiction. Believing that "someday" somebody will be able to ignore the pesky laws of physics.

ASEguy · Dec 31, 2011

I just bought an old Schumacher 6/12 off of ebay for $20.00. Always thought they made a decent charger.

teddy52food · Dec 31, 2011

It is too bad you can't see the forest for the trees. We have been falsely tought that the magnetic field comes from the current. Pay attention to what happens in real life. Take a simple 6 volt starter system that turns over slow. Change nothing but the battery to 12 volts & it will spin much faster with LESS current. As soon as the voltage drops in an electric motor, the motor looses power & the current heats up the windings & burns them out. The magnetic field comes from the atoms of the windings triggered by the VOLTAGE. Have a good New Year.

buickanddeere · Dec 31, 2011

Apply 12V to a 6V starter and the current doubles. As power = Volts X Amps minus losses. The 6V starter if the magnetic path hasn't been driven into saturation. It will have four times the output power as there is four times the input power on 12V.
Magnetic field in windings is proportional to current flow. Current flow is amp. Amps/current are electrons which orbit an atom's nucleus.

Stuart · Dec 31, 2011

So not having a complete knowledge of the laws of physics makes you uneducated? With that statement you sound as you are the smartest person on the planet. Please define smart. So do you understand the complete digestive tract of a dairy cow? I do. So does that make everyone else an idiot?

teddy52food · Dec 31, 2011

You say that the current doubles. Have you ever put your meters on a system to prove that? Using the same sized 12v battery that fits in the 6v box, the cells are only half as big. How can they put out double the current???????????????????????? Sounds like you are getting something from nothing. Please don't believe all those lies you have been falsely tought & pay attention to what goes on in the real world.

Will a solar panel charge a 6V. battery?

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