Solar Battery Chargers

[ibdave]

Ok, here is my question.

I want to run my grey water sump pump using a solar panel this year. I think it draws 1.5-2.0 amps 12v I have not found any amp listing on the smaller panels.. Also if the unit puts out more amps than being drawn will it burn out the sump pump. Last year I had it hooked to a car battery, but had to use the car charger hook to the honda gennie. The grey water evap set up really only works during the daytime bla bla blaaa. you get the point.. Thanks

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Just put a battery between the pump and solor panels..That is a place i would use a 12v drill batery and conect the panel through the charge port..

Thanks unjon, I was hoping to skip the weight and cost of the battery this year.. The one I used last year was shot then and I'm sure it's a goner this year.. But if thats what it takes....

[Hoolie]

You can bag the speakers in thin plastic with little problem.

I just tested this out and it worked great. Excellent tip.

By the way, while reading user comments about the amp I am using, I got the impression that the performance is not that great running off AAs. So, I've just ordered this battery to power my system. Size-wise, it should work well for my application. Performance-wise I'll have to wait and see, then address any issues if and when they arise.

[Hoolie]

Well, the project was going ok, but today I had my first major setback. To connect my 12v SLA battery to my new amp, I found an old cord with the right size DC plug attached. Unfortunately, I had the polarity reversed when I hooked it up...fried amp. Fortunately, these amps only cost $30...but damn. As I understand it, on such cords, the wire with the white stripe is supposed to be positive. The cord I used didn't have a white stripe, but it made sense to me that the wire with the white lettering on it would be positive. Wrong. That's the negative wire, and the positive is plain black. Is this kind of thing a crapshoot, or is there some standard that is supposed to be followed? Well, I switched the wires around and tested it on some old computer speakers. Works perfectly. Am listening to battery powered music on them right now. Hopefully then, when I get the replacement amp, all should work fine.