I know what you’re thinking: solar battery maintainers may be a great idea, but what exactly are they? Well, the answer is in the name. They are solar powered devices that maintain your battery at full charge.

They resemble larger versions of the photo voltaic cells used to run calculators-which is basically what they are. They render the sun’s rays directly into electricity at low electrical power (generally from 1.8 to 6 watts) which makes them a handy contrivance for counteracting the inevitable loss of charge that is part and parcel of every battery, particularly ones-car batteries for example-that are rechargeable.

Generally speaking, people use solar battery maintainers to make sure that they will be able to start the engine of a vehicle that is in disuse for an extended period of time. For example, they might have an RV that is kept in storage for most of the year. The battery would undoubtedly go flat if it weren’t kept topped-up by some means.

They also come in handy for maintaining the charge on the battery of a vehicle or device that usually isn’t run long enough for the alternator to recharge the battery-especially if the battery is getting on in years.

Solar battery maintainers work well for any type of lead-acid battery, whether it be an automotive starter battery or deep-cycle battery. Because lead-acid batteries are used in a wide range of vehicles and crafts that may not necessarily always be adjacent to an electrical outlet, a device that can keep them charged up using only the sun’s shining rays also can be put to a wide range of uses.

Boat and RV batteries are obvious candidates for trickle charging as most owners only use them seasonally, and sparingly at that. These recreational crafts and vehicles also pose the added challenge of how to keep their house batteries charged. A solar battery charger, mounted on top of a motor home for example, can be the optimal solution.

But it’s not only the vehicles and crafts you use to explore the great outdoors whose batteries might need maintaining. What about that truck or motorcycle that you don’t use everyday, or your lawnmower?

How about this idea? Do you have a sanctuary away from the house and electrical outlets where you like to go and just kick back with the family dog? If you had a solar battery maintainer and a deep-cycle battery it would be simple to set up a system to power a laptop or some other electrical device. One use for a solar battery maintainer that is more common than you might expect is that of a power source for kids’ science projects.

As you can see from the small number of examples given here, a solar battery maintainer is a very handy device that can be used for much more than just maintaining the charge on your car battery.