Solar system to trickle charge battery in garage.

[Mr Spigot]

I am lucky enough to have two Minors, one kept in the garage at home where there is mains power and all my tools, workbench and driveway to work on outside, and one kept in a lock-up garage with a flat roof and no power, about a 10 minute walk away.
I am trying to find a simple solar kit that will enable me to trickle charge the battery on the car that is kept in the lock-up. It has a south facing flat roof and as I live in the sunniest part of the UK, solar seems the obvious answer. I can put a panel on the roof (fixed to a ballasted bucket) and then run a cable to the inside of the garage and mount the inverter on the wall. I had looked to get a system with a 3-pin plug socket so I could plug in my Ctek charger, but see that there are systems with a charging system and crocodile clips included. There seems to be a bewildering range, priced from under £50 to over £5,000! Electrics are not my strong point but a bit of research has shown up this which might be a contender:
https://photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog ... clips.html
I don’t want a portable system nor one which feeds into the mains. If anyone has any suggestions of how to get a suitable system, what they use and points to consider, I would love to hear!!

[moggiethouable]

I used to use one to power the 12v fan in a cooling box via an old car battery.
The box was insulated with a 12v fan on top pulling air across the beer bottles inside.
The sort of thing that our American cousins use in their pickups when out barbecuing somewhere.
I used it by the shed when we had a barbecue or some such in the garden.
It was fairly successful, of course it does not need an inverter if it is already at 12v DC, the inverter is used for home use when attaching panels to the mains, inverting 12v to 240v.
It should be ok I would have thought, not least because unlike my application you are not drawing on the battery at all.

[Bill_qaz]

You can get solar charge panel to connect direct to your car battery to trickle charge it, my neighbour uses one on the car dash whilst away. If its just to keep your car battery topped up.
For example : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive https://www.amazon.co.uk/ECO-WORTHY-Bat ... d_source=1

[geoberni]

There seems to be a bewildering range, priced from under £50 to over £5,000! Electrics are not my strong point but a bit of research has shown up this which might be a contender:
https://photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog ... clips.html
I don’t want a portable system nor one which feeds into the mains. If anyone has any suggestions of how to get a suitable system, what they use and points to consider, I would love to hear!!

That one you've found is ideal for your purpose.
That is the type of system that you find fitted to Solar Powered Speed Signs.
The sign operates from one or two 12v batteries inside, which are kept trickle charged by the solar panel.

[Mr Spigot]

Many thanks for all the informative advice. Very much appreciated.

[panky]

I fitted one a couple of years ago, not a huge one. Unfortunately the LED on the panel to show it was working along wit the the LED on the plug used more than the panel was supplying in the winter months
I just disconnect the battery now and give it a charge every now and then.