Solar battery tenders...anyone use one?

Hey all, As I posted a loooong time ago my cj's distributor went out causing the engine to fall out of time, reverse rotate, and consequently stripped most the teeth off of the timing gear. Well the engine was rebuilt and I installed a new clutch and revamped/replaced lots of other worn gear as a preventative measure. Unfortunately due to tight parking at my condo my CJ has been parked in my folks large driveway several miles away and doesn't get driven much.

About 2 weeks ago I swung by their place to visit and went to crank the CJ over and it was a no go. There's a Optima battery under the hood and it's in great shape, the charging system is all working well etc. so I figure it just sat too long between being run (5 weeks while I was out of state on a trip).

Do any of you have any experience with solar battery tenders and if so what brands have you found to work well for you. I'd like to get it all set up so when I get a chance to drive my Jeep it'll fire right up. Thanks in advance for the info. this has always been my first stop.

 

Sounds like you may have a little draw somewhere. How old is the battery.

 

Powerupco.com - small wattage solar battery tenders - I have one for my boat (model# BSP-212)in case the bilge pump gets overtime duty. Dock is a thousand feet from any standared charger. In the winter, it hangs in my office window pulling duty as the batt tender on the Harley, which also sits in my office from Nov - March

Works Great

 

My optima is over 8 years old, My jeep sit for months on end sometimes, never had it not work. always kicks right over.

 

I have a disconnect on my battery for when it sits a long time...like thru the winter under 2' of snow, but I do use a little solar panel that I got from J.C. Whitney five years ago, It keeps the battery ready for the spring thaw.

 

I have three solar chargers and they are great. I have had them for about the last 4 years, and they are from VW. On a cloudy day they put out 14.4V @ 10mA. I have left them on for months at a time and never any issues with over charging.

 

Thanks for the feedback. The Optima is actually a blue starting/deep cycle batt and is only maybe a year to a year and a half old. The Jeep has likely sat in the driveway for about 8 weeks I imagine since my vacation was 5 weeks and I hadn't moved/run it since I got back. There shouldn't be a voltage leak anywhere (I assume) since it has never had the problem before but who knows...maybe it has developed one. I thought about disconnecting the batt. while it just sits and suppose that may be the cheapest and simplest way to deal with it. Ggg, do you happen to know what brand of solar charger you have? As always thanks guys.

 

I do not know who makes them for Volkswagen. I do know they have a VW part # but when they try to look it up in the system it comes back as not available or non existent. If you go to a VW dealer and check out any TDI VW it will be in the trunk in a mesh pouch. Earlier solar chargers had a cigarette lighter plug, the newer ones have a OBD port connector. I just cut the OBD connector off and solder in a cigarette plug or battery clips. I also saw some large solar chargers at Harbor freight and Cabela's.

 

I brought one of them home, here is what's on the back side of it.
VW part# 1 CO 915 687 D
Country code CN
Mfr. code YHM
Here is what is on the little "box" on the cord.
ICP solar
"Automotive Solar Battery Charger OBD2"
On the front of the solar panel is a sticker that says ICP solarwith their logo.