The Sunforce Solar Battery Maintainer doesn’t disappoint when it comes to performance. Sunforce 50012 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer is a cool little item that is very inexpensive and meant to keep batteries charged for long stretches of disuse with solar power only. The theory behind it is great. Simply plug it in to the lighter or wire it directly to the battery, make sure the solar panel faces the sun and bingo, you are done. Let’s have a closer look to see if it does what it is supposed to do.
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What Do You Get With The Sunforce 50012 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer?
This is the list from the manufacturer regarding the features and benefits of the Sunforce 50012 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer:
- Charges 12-volt batteries and creates 1.8 watts of energy
- Works with automobile, motorcycle, tractor, boat batteries and more
- Made of durable ABS plastic and amorphous solar cells
- For indoor use–solar panel is not waterproof
- Built-in blocking diode to prevent reverse discharge
So the battery maintainer/ trickle charger is very easy to set up. You can take the easy route if you have a cigarette
lighter and simply plug it in and make sure that the solar panel is positioned to get as much sun as possible.
If you are charging a battery without a cigarette lighter, it is simple to connect the Sunforce directly to the battery. This is fine but brings us to a point of contention about this particular unit. If I am using it on a boat or a piece of equipment that spends its life outside, can it be exposed to the elements?
Clearly, in the above bullet points it says for indoor use only. However, further down the Amazon.com listing, it says “fully weatherproof design” Now in my mind, weather proof means waterproof. This does not seem to be the case because the manual that comes with the Sunforce 50012 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer states that it is not waterproof. Customer reviews run the gamut between don’t use it outside and leave it outside and it works fine.
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Is The Sunforce 50012 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer A Buy Or No Buy?
This is one of the times I have to go with waffling. If you have a car that you don’t use often and it stays outside, then this solar maintainer will work perfectly well and should give you years of service. If your intention is to use it to maintain a battery that will cause the maintainer to be exposed to the elements then I would give it a pass. You may have to spend a bit more on something like the Battery Tender 021-1163 5W Solar Maintainer, but you will be assured that it will be waterproof and durable.