Probably true, but this is a week long camping trip, with
the battery being used as the power source for an inverter
to use the 110 VAC to charge the laptop. It would be best
to get a cigarette lighter adapter for the cellphone and
skip the step of the inverter.

If you fly-in, just go to a nearby store and buy a cheap car
battery and after the event, donate it to the shop for the
airport beater or tractor.



"Vaughn Simon" wrote in
message
...
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote
in message
| news:JTxng.49575$ZW3.40014@dukeread04...
| Most small solar panels have low amperage and will not
over
| charge a wet cell battery. If they were used to
directly
| charge a dry cell battery, such as a C or D cell they
might
| over charge, but a wet cell battery with an AHr rating
of 25
| amps can be charged indefinitely at a rate of 2-3 amps
and
| you will be using the battery to run an inverter to
power
| various other loads.
|
| This may be true for a few days of operation at a
campsite, but overcharging
| is overcharging, and it will eventually trash your
battery. Take it from a guy
| who ruined far too many batteries with cheap one-amp
trickle chargers before he
| learned. In general, solar panels need charge controllers
for long-term
| successful operation.
|
| Vaughn
|
|