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Posted

I recently bought a solar powered battery charger / phone charger. And it's been sitting in the windowsill for 2 days, in the Sun, charging.

 

But I just noticed it was not charging.

 

I have owned over the years numerous solar powered calculators, and exposure to any light would make them work. So if you were in the classroom or you were in the office, the overhead lights gave them power. They didn't need SUNlight. ANY light seemed to work.

 

But here is my solar powered battery, sitting in the light in the bedroom, but it's not charging.

 

Why would a solar calculator work with an electric light but the solar charger doesn't?

Posted

Is it maybe fully charged?  Or do you maybe have to turn it to charging mode, or turn it on, for it to charge?  Is there a protective film over it?  

  • Like 3
Posted
6 hours ago, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

What kind of light bulbs are you using? I wonder if there's a difference between the incandescent bulbs and LEDs?

I thought about that. They are curly fluorescents.

 

But the solar calculators worked off the standard 4 ft 25 watt fluorescent tubes that were everywhere in the 90s.

7 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Is it maybe fully charged?  Or do you maybe have to turn it to charging mode, or turn it on, for it to charge?  Is there a protective film over it?  

It has five little LEDs. One green and four blue. The green one lets you know it's turned on. And as it charges the four blue ones blink. One is on, then one and two are on, then one two and three are on, then one two three and four are on. Then it starts over with one on. As the battery charges, the various LEDs stay on. So when is a quarter charged, one is on all the time and it adds two and then it blinks to two and three then blinks to two three and four.

 

When I got it, day before yesterday, it had two blue lights that were staying on. That means that it came with a half a charge. I set it out in the sun, and then kept moving it as the Sun moved, and lights number three and four would blink on and off.

 

Yesterday I put it in the windowsill so it was in the sunshine from about 7:00 when the sun came up till about 4:30 when the sun went down. Still only half charged.

 

There is no mention in the massive little four-page instruction manual about having to turn it on for it to charge, or of there being any sort of protective film over the solar cells.

  • Thanks 1
Posted

It’s probably broke. I would return it. 
 

I own a solar charger that attaches to a battery pack to charge. When the battery pack is low it literally takes all day to charge the battery pack when outdoors in partial sun and shade -as the sun moves. The solar panel on my pack is 5x5 inches. How big is the panel on yours?

  • Like 3
Posted

Read the instructions. I bet it came with a charging cable and instructions to fully charge it for x hours first.

 

Batteries store power. Modern lights are very efficient and don't use a lot of power. 

 

Those 25w fluorescent are not outputting 25w of usable power that then needs to be converted via photovoltaic cells that under the very best lab conditions bleeding edge experimental are making just over 20% efficiency. 

 

Not a lot of power indirect sunlight either.

Posted

Try sitting it outside in the sun for a day. A lot of window glass filters out UV light. It’s possible that your window is filtering out the necessary wavelengths of sunlight for it to charge. 
 

 As to the calculator, it draws a minuscule amount of power. There are a lot more solar cells in relation to the required power so that it will work with the light from incandescent or fluorescent lights. 
 

 Your battery bank doesn’t have enough solar cells to work with incandescent or incandescent lights. 

Posted
1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Try sitting it outside in the sun for a day. A lot of window glass filters out UV light. It’s possible that your window is filtering out the necessary wavelengths of sunlight for it to charge. 
 

Well if that's true that will suck.

 

A few years ago Michael came to visit, and we were without power for a month.

 

One of the things I wished I had was a solar cell phone charger. So when I saw this when the other day I bought it. But if setting it on the windowsill will not charge it, that kind of defeats the purpose. You can put it on the windowsill and if you forget that night has come, it's no big deal. If you got it sitting on the picnic table in the backyard and you forget that night has come, then it gets dewed on, or maybe even rained on.

 

I'm old. I'm forgetful. :wacko:

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