They do what they are supposed to...  keep the battery topped up when a vehicle is stored for extended periods.    There are many out there, they are all fairly "cheap".   It won't "charge" your battery if it's discharged and it won't "power" anything you want to leave on...  it's just for when you leave your van parked for 4 weeks or more without turning the key.   

Really cheap:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44768

As evidence of the usefulness of these, note that VW now ships all it's new cars with one of these plug into the cigarette lighter to ensure the battery arrives at it's destination in tip-top condition.  These are often resold on Ebay as well...  They have white frames and are somewhat square with four suction cups to mount them to the inside of the wind shield.

Do rememeber that if you have two batteries which are seperated by relay or otherwise when the ignition is off that you'll probably want one panel for each battery.

-Jon

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Al 
  To: vanagon@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 7:14 PM
  Subject: [vanagon] E-bay Solar Auto Battery Charger - any good?

  Hi All,

  If you do a search on E-bay for Solar Auto Battery Charger you see 
  this E-Bay'er selling some for $25 - Item number: 7571231536 for 
  example.

  Since many of our vans are spending idle time during the winter 
  months, I wonder if these are a good idea/investment. I know I don't 
  start my bus every week so the idea of a little trickle charge, via 
  the cig. lighter, sounds pretty good. 

  Any opinions on these units? Are worth the $$? Or just a rip?

  Al

  To leave this list send an 'empty' message to <mailto:vanagon-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> 

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