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Pros and Cons

To be objective..

Pros:
- Well built (although has those sharp edges as mentioned in another review)
- At 9AM, clear sky, mid May in Brazil, around 17 degrees Celsius (it is Autumn and the temp is dropping), it is generating about 8 watts (18.8 volts at 0.44 Amps.. probably around noon is going to be even more powerful)

Cons:
- 18.8 volts! Depending on the device you are connecting to it, it may be burned if not tolerant to higher voltage. It should be around 12v, and I think 50% it too much variation.
- The picture shows a girl with the panel hung to a backback. Indeed, you will need to make holes in the fabric in order to do that.. there is no way to hang it as it comes from factory
- Those sharp edges and the pet finish over the panels can be improved. Something that would be more scratch-resistance would be best, especially if you are taking it outdoors.

I surely recommend the item, but I’ll definitivelly look for a small solar charge control to use with the panel. I’m no electric engineer and I’ve read you dont need one for panels that dont go beyond 12w, but 18v is too high IMHO, so I’m kinda scared of connecting my Garmin GPS to it. I’ll probably look for “Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller”.. never tested or seen it, but the reviews shows that it may worth the try.

Edit:

With direct sunlight, from 9AM to 11AM, it fully charged two CR123 Tenergy batteries in about 2 hours, what is really amazing. On the other hand..

Now I’m measuring the power generated by the panel with the sky covered by clouds. It is noon, pretty clear on the same day, but no direct sunlight. It is quite a surprise it is still generating those 18 volts, but now, at 0.04 amps ONLY. Since the Tenergy batteries are charged already, I cant measure how long it would take to charge them, but I believe it would take quite long… I’ll update this later whenever I can test charging them again w/o direct light.

Update (2/6/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Wagan EL2448 Solar ePanel Charger for 12 V Battery Misc., was written by Antonio P. S. Forster.

The average rating for this item is 4.7 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.