Silvercrest solar charger

[steveindenmark]

I am often looking out for a solar charger but the reviews are always varied and I never take the plunge.

While I was in Aldis yesterday I came across the Silvercrest Solar Charger SLS 2200 C2, it cost about £10 and I couldnt resist, so bought one.
Im not a technocal Buff and I am writing this thread just in case anyone else is looking for one and comes across this whist shopping.

The capacity is 2200mAh. The charger can be charged from a computer or the mains using a USB which is supplied with it and acts like a normal power bank. There are 4 bar indicators on the front to show how much charge is in the Unit. When I switched it on from new, 3 bars lit up. I attached my phone which was at about 30% and the solar Unit sent it to 100% in about an hour, using 1 bar of power. I think It would charge my empty phone, possibly 2 or 3 times.

Over the next couple of days I will see if I can get the sun to charge the Unit. If that doesnt work, I will take it into the mountains of Italy next week and try it there. But even as a power bank I think it was worth a tenner.

I will come back with more results.

Has anyone else bought this Unit and tried it?

 

[Arjimlad]

No, but if I see one, I will buy it, as it sounds useful even if the solar bit is not very powerful.

 

[Mark Grant]

I bought one a year or two ago for my daughter to take to festivals etc.
No idea how it has performed, she hasn't complained about it though!

 

[steveindenmark]

I turned it out into the sun this morning at 0740 with 2 bars lit. It has been sunny all day and is now 14.30 and still only 2 bars are lit. Not much use with solar by the look of it. But the power bank side of things work OK.

 

[Ajax Bay]

How heavy?

 

[steveindenmark]

120 grammes

 

[steveindenmark]

I have spent a couple of days with this.

Dont waste your money. It does work as a power pack, but there are cheaper, smaller and more powerful ones on Amazon/Ebay for less money.

It was worth a punt though.

 

[jefmcg]

Dont waste your money.

Thanks for the review. I could have easily bought it myself.

The capacity is 2200mAh. The charger can be charged from a computer or the mains using a USB which is supplied with it and acts like a normal power bank. There are 4 bar indicators on the front to show how much charge is in the Unit. When I switched it on from new, 3 bars lit up. I attached my phone which was at about 30% and the solar Unit sent it to 100% in about an hour, using 1 bar of power. I think It would charge my empty phone, possibly 2 or 3 times.

There's something wrong here, too. Your phone (unless it is not a smart phone) will have a battery capacity > 1Ah, probably closer to 2Ah. So, there is no way you could get 2 charges out this battery, entropy and all that. I'd guess the bars don't reflect the true state of the battery. But you've already established it's no good

 

[Sailorsi]

I got myself a 2nd hand one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powemonkey-..._UL160_SR120,160_&refRID=0FZV0JG0W9RDB89K4YHB
The Solar panel takes a while to charge the cells unless its really sunny but it comes with a usb and mains adaptor. Ideal for an overnighter if you don't have a facility to plug your phone in. Power Monkey have introduced a new model so these are going cheaper.

 

[Tigerbiten]

I've got one of these -> http://www.beamled.com/20w-semi-fle...gclid=CNb5__-qkcwCFUqdGwodVYwLxg&gclsrc=aw.ds
The 20 watt panel fits nicely on top of the aluminium box on my large Carry Freedom trailer. I use an E-werk as a voltage regulator to step it down from 12-18v to 5v. I starts to charge my cache batteries in light overcast. the aluminium base of the panel means that it doesn't heat up to badly when sitting in direct sunlight.

 

[Prometheus]

Yes been a major problem for years how to charge your tecno camping.
This may be the way forward.

Just got new phone with turbo charge 2 technology.
They claim 10% too 80% charge in just fifteen minutes.
So just a wash brush up and I will be back up and running.

Also they have upgraded power banks to turbo 2: try for size
http://www.easyacc.com/media-center/top-5-best-quick-charge-power-bank/
About to put my solar charger on Ebay

 

[steveindenmark]

I bought something else today Mort. Its worth having if you are touring. I will do a seperate review. :0)

 

[contadino]

Thanks for the review. In a similar vein, I've run some tests on the battery bank that I got last summer and discovered that it loses charge after about 10 days. I think it may be common to many lithium ion batteries because I had a couple of friends try theirs too. Different brands, same issue. Sometimes a week sometimes two..

Not necessarily a problem if you know in advance.

 

[*Dusty*]

Solar chargers don't work particularly well in the UK. Florida, grand canyon, deserts and places like the canary islands have more success with them.

Better to buy a large capacity power bank which will give you half a dozen charges on your device before needing recharged itsself.

these are pretty good if slightly bulky for a bike.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EC-Technolo...23_lp_t_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=06R8AWWQKJS5X607G5S5

If you only need one for an overnighter one of these should give you a full charge or near enough, they're also very portable

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EPCTEK-Exte...d=1460978940&sr=1-2&keywords=small+power+bank

 

[jefmcg]

Thanks for the review. In a similar vein, I've run some tests on the battery bank that I got last summer and discovered that it loses charge after about 10 days. I think it may be common to many lithium ion batteries because I had a couple of friends try theirs too. Different brands, same issue. Sometimes a week sometimes two..

That's not right. Li-ion keep their charge for months. NiMH used to bleed power - newer versions have fixed this - but they took way more than 10 days to discharge. I've had no problem with self-discharge with Li-ion batteries of any sort, and have been using external batteries for about 6 years. Mobile phones switch off and left in a drawer usually have most of the power left when you turn them back on, and I have a tiny bt headset that claims it will go into deep sleep and keep power for 5 months.

I think your battery has some fault in it's circuitry. I'd be reluctant to use it, as faulty li-ion batteries can explode

spectacular version of what can happen if you mistreat a battery.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkP-b1ADvbk&feature=youtu.be&t=219