Sunforce 12V Solar Power Sports Charger Review

Green RVing with Low Cost Trickle Battery Maintainer

Mar 28, 2009 Thomas Alan Gray

The Sunforce Power Sports Charger is a 1W solar trickle charger suitable for small sealed lead-acid/gel sports batteries for motorcycles, snowmobiles and quads.

According to the packaging, the Sunforce Power Sports Charger is an 80 mA trickle charger (battery maintainer) that works with small 12 V lead-acid batteries of the type used in

Motorcycles
Personal Water Craft
All-Terrain Vehicles (Quads)
Snowmobiles
Tractors (lawn tractors)

The Sunforce Power Sports Charger Solar Panel

The unit itself has a glass-covered solar panel in a sturdy black plastic case.

Effective solar surface of 12" x 3"
Weatherproof plastic case 14" x 4" x 0.5"
Built-in overcharge protection
Built-in discharge protection

Overcharge & Discharge Protection

Overcharge protection means that the panel contains a charge controller and will not continue to charge the battery past 100%. According to the Solar Navigator™ site, the float voltage (trickle voltage) for a 12 V lead-acid battery is recommended at 12.9–13.4 volts. The Sunforce Power Sports Charger tested in the low end of this range (see below).

Discharge protection means that the battery will not discharge through the solar panel under cloudy or dark conditions. Usually this is achieved by a simple series diode to block reverse current. Discharge current tested at virtually nil for the Solar Power Sports Charger, indicating effective discharge protection.

Sunforce Solar Power Sports Charger Models and Accessories

There seems to be some confusion in online ads about model numbers, specifications, and accessories, so check the product carefully before purchase. Do not confuse this with the Model 50012 1.8W auto battery maintainer, which comes with a cigarette plug.

Model 50013 sells for between $29.95 USD (Amazon, others) to $38.24 USD (Sams Club)
Model 50014, sold at Canadian Tire for $29.99 CAD (and discounted as low as $7.99 CAD) appears to be an identical unit but may contain fewer or different accessories.
Model 52015 is $42.78 CAD (Home Depot) for a set of two of the Model 50013 and related accessories

The accessories for model 50014 (and for most descriptions of 50013) include

An attached 8' (2.4 m) cable
A set of battery clamps on 1' (0.3 m) of cable
A set of O-ring connectors with an in-line fuse on 1' (0.3 m) of cable
An extension cable 8' (2.4 m) long
A set of four rather useless little suction cups

Testing & Evaluation

Are these units any good? According to the specifications on the packaging and on the Sunforce web site, the Sunforce Solar Power Sports Charger will deliver "up to 1 Watt / 80 mAmp under ideal conditions". Ideal conditions include

Outdoor operation (windows will reduce panel output)
Clear, sunny skies with no overcast
Solar panel wiped clean of fingerprints or film
Panel oriented perpendicular to the sun

Under these conditions, at an ambient temperature of +3 °C, the panel was capable of delivering 1W of power.

22.5 V @ 80.5 mA (no load)
20.4 V @ 55 mA running a small electric motor (1.12 W)
12.7 V @ 44.8 mA charging a small lead-acid battery (almost fully charged) (0.57 W)

The suction cups, supposedly intended to stick the panel to a fender or fairing, did not stay attached to either the solar panel or to anything else. They just can't support the weight of the panel. Give them away or use them for crafts.

Conclusion

The Sunforce Solar Charger (also sold as Canadian Tire product11-1894-0) will provide a trickle current at a sufficient voltage to maintain the charge on a small sealed lead-acid or gel battery. However, this unit may not not be able to charge a fully discharged battery (at least, not very quickly!) or maintain a charge on an automotive battery with high CCA capacity.