Schumacher ElectricSolar Battery Maintainer, SP-200, Quick-Connect Clamps, DC Accessory Plug, Water Resistant, 2.4 Watts, 12 Volt, for Car, Motorcycle, Lawn Tractor, ATV, and Marine Batteries

Planning to leave the country for two years, I put my truck in storage in summer 2018, sitting outdoors in Texas, no sun shade. I had just bought a brand new battery for the truck and thought it would be a shame to let the $90 battery die while sitting there. After reading a lot of reviews of inexpensive solar battery tenders, I bought this, feeling no confidence it would work, much less even survive. I disconnected the battery from the vehicle, connected this tender, and left.When I came back, life happened, and I didn't get my truck back until late 2023, when I towed it to the driveway to sit until now, Feb. 2024.I just assumed the battery was dead after five years, tender or not, and was already removing the bracket to trade it in on a new one, but I thought, why not just test it? The multimeter said 12V, but I still didn't quite believe, so I connected the battery back up to the truck. I couldn't believe it actually cranked over, and very strong, too!However, the battery tender's plastic cover melted under the Texas sun. I don't think that's the tender's fault, though: you can see the cracks in the truck's dash that weren't there before.So it's liking like this turned out to be a good bet: $30 to save a $90 battery.

Works great

I bought this to keep the battery in a very infrequently used old truck topped off. It is parked outside so it gets plenty of sun through the windshield. I just put this on the dashboard and plugged it into the cigarette lighter and it works great. (I did check to be sure that the cigarette lighter worked even if the ignition was off, otherwise I would have had to connect the charger to the battery directly.) The directions do not say if it is necessary to disconnect the charger when starting the vehicle, but to minimize the chance of any damage to the charger, I do so.

Using this for this first on our gas hog that is rarely used. Mostly the SUV sits in the shade, so i am hoping the windshield area will get enough sun, if not will have to move the panel. Comes with clamps and an adapter for the cigarette lighter. My cigarette lighter is functional so i just used the adapter. But can use the clamps if need be. This is a trickle charger, just made for topping off. I made sure my battery had a full charge then plugged this in. The package also says its moisture resistant, great feature as our stored cars always get some kind of rain or wetness. easy setup. No suction cups for attaching to windshield only some kind of screws. Rather not screw it into my headliner. Found a way to prop it up on top of my sun shades. My only issue is that the packaging inside the main box where the panel sits, is kept together by large staples. i would recommend fully opening and taking apart the packaging. I cut my hands and punctured my thumb several times trying to remove panel. Other issue is that this lower priced model does not come with a gauge to let you know its actively charging. The next model up, has it. I also use the Schumacher battery jump starter/maintainer that runs off electric/plug. Excellent product, used that so many times, well worth the money. WM had some for about $30.00. Has modes for fast charge, jump, and trickle. Just such a pain with all the cords, and keeping the hood open all night to use for battery maintenance.http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-XC103-CA-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B00ISKYBRM/ref=sr_1_19?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1442950442&sr=1-19&keywords=schumacher+battery+charger

Kept my battery full for periods of non-use. I use this in the cigarette lighter since my car has an always-on plug there. But the package included clamps to use straight to a battery. The only thing I wish the panel had was a longer cord, but its long enough to reach the back shelf of a full size sedan. I have no complaints with this little guy!

I purchased this to maintain my boat's battery for the winter. I removed the battery and placed it in a plastic battery box and set it inside my storage building next to the overhead door. The door faces the south. I mounted the panel about five foot off the ground with about a 25 degree angle upwards also facing south so it had direct sun shine when ever we did have sun. The building has about an 18 inch overhang on the roof which helped keep snow off the panel. I also store my snow blower in the building so I was able to keep it clear if it did get snow covered. As someone else mentioned there is no indicating lamp to show that the thing is working. I did check the unit when I first set it up but somewheres during the 5 months it died and drained my battery completely. I used to like Schumacher but between this and their 8 amp 12 volt battery charger which is also crap I won't buy Schumacher again...

I got this to try to maintain the battery on one of my vehicles which is rarely used and usually stands parked for months at a time. It did work for this specific car - it provided enough power to compensate for parasitic loss from alarm system and other car systems, however it only works if your car is exposed to enough sunlight during the day, with a clear windshield (yes, it is also rated for "outdoor" use in "light rain" but the enclosure feels pretty flimsy so I wouldn't recommend to leave it constantly exposed outside of the car) . I eventually moved the car to different location, under the shade of the roof, so I had to get rid of this and instead got the regular "Battery Tender" which you just plug it into nearest AC outlet and connect straight to your car's battery terminals.So if you leave your car parked in a well-lit parking spot, without cover or any nearby AC outlets available - this item might be useful (just remember to occasionally check it with multimeter to see if it is still working and not defective). Otherwise you should get a regular "battery maintainer/tender" device instead - it will provide you with constant source of electrical current regardless of weather condition, these devices are more reliable, more durable and overall much more convenient.