August 10, 2025Aug 10 Hi GuysI got one of these, but would like to charge it from Eskom. Is it as easy as connecting a 12-18v power supply?Sorry for the ignorance.
August 10, 2025Aug 10 35 minutes ago, cyber7 said:Hi GuysI got one of these, but would like to charge it from Eskom. Is it as easy as connecting a 12-18v power supply?Sorry for the ignorance.That should work... Probably you want above 14.3V and below 18V. I guess you want around 500mA.
August 10, 2025Aug 10 Author One more quick question: Will I be able to use my "smart car charger" (OptiMate) to charge the battery?
August 10, 2025Aug 10 I wouldn't be surprised if there is a lead acid battery in that unit. The issue would be to get direct access to the terminals, in which case your charger would work...possibly through the output ports. Like I say, lots of ifs.The battery charger would require a power supply mode feature to use it on the PV input.
August 12, 2025Aug 12 they use a lifepo4 battery, I would connect a normal car 12v charger(non intelligent) to the solar input of the unit (18v max) just make sure of polarity, and use the internal PWM solar charger as it's setting is correct for the lifepo4 battery inside.
August 15, 2025Aug 15 Author OK, it has been 24hrs. Plugged in a 12v .03a power supply into it... (to check orientation and actual function) Will be going the OptiMate route later today... Edited August 15, 2025Aug 15 by cyber7
August 15, 2025Aug 15 I highly doubt if a 12v power supply will charge the battery, you need a power supply more than the battery voltage of 14.3v, as these units almost always employ a PWM architecture or a simple buck converter topology, in either case you will need a voltage higher or equal to battery voltage.
August 19, 2025Aug 19 Author I did try various power-supplies, none worked, BUT I then found a very old switchable power supply, those with the slider from 3-12V and a +/- polarity switch. This thing puts out a wopping 16v. It works and charges the battery quite nicely... Almost something like this:
August 19, 2025Aug 19 1 hour ago, cyber7 said:I did try various power-supplies, none worked, BUT I then found a very old switchable power supply, those with the slider from 3-12V and a +/- polarity switch. This thing puts out a wopping 16v. It works and charges the battery quite nicely... Almost something like this:I am glad you found a solution.keep well
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