Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello,having just purchased a "Maplins 2w Solar Briefcase",i read that they state it is"fully weather resistant".Looking at it i am wondering if it really is rugged enough to withstand the punishment it will take in a typical English winter.Has anyone experienced the product,and its durability ??. Many thanks.

Dunno about the 'briefcase' , I think it's intended for 'portable' use ? I use the standard solar charger (~£10 and 1.5W I think) and have them mounted on the garage facing south - but crucially sheltered from the rain and from the hugh summer sun under the roof overhang. They do however get the low winter sun 'full on'. They have been fine so far - and keep the batteries up very nicely. Highly recommended.
Edit - checked the TR7 battery today and it's up at 13.34 volts! It has a slightly larger panel charging it - still only cost £10 or so and I think ~ 2 watts rating. Put the Minor on it's charger - battery was at 12.42 volts - so I'll give it a week and see what happens.
Yesterday was looking at solar panels for the roof (of house - not Minor!) - the Electricity Industry will pay me 41.3 p for every unit of electricity I generate (and don't use) with these panels. However - they don't have any way to measure it! So - in fact they will pay for half the installed capacity....... for ever, inflation protected and tax free! Basically - if I install 2 kw of panels - at a cost of ~ £10,000 - they will pay me ~ £1000 per annum........ Hard to see where else I can get 10% tax free on my money. Sounds too good to be true - and most things that seem too good to be true - usually ARE too good to be true. I'm looking into it!

I've also got a few but a different version, but have had some of them out in the elements unprotected from direct rain for a few years and they still work.

I have a very cheap one that sits on the ground outside my garage roller door with the wire running inside. It is in full sun (proper sun mind you, not UK sun ), has been through a couple of monsoon seasons and still works perfectly. My wife has even managed to run the plug connector over a couple of times. I have seen the briefcase ones and they look a lot sturdier than the one I have. My concern would be some little twirp pinching it if looks too expensive.