Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array Review

5 Comments

1. D. Driscoll says:

   July 1, 2010 at 8:36 pm

   Review by D. Driscoll for Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array
   Rating:
   I like this panel, I like it a lot. Right now I use it to charge a all of my electronics. It folds up nicely, and doesn’t weigh much. I agree with the other posters on the positive things about these panels.

   These panels as individuals (not linked) are serving me and my teams very well in Iraq. We use them to power everything from MP3 Players and cell phones to advanced GPS tracking systems.

   There’s only one problem I have, and that is linking more than two panels together. The instructions and box say it can be done, and the box says it includes a linking cable, but there is nothing that says how. You are supposedly able to link up to three panels together, but I am unable to accomplish this no matter how I configure the cables. I’ve written directly to Brunton’s service department for guidance, but after a month I’ve only gotten the read receipts from them. No answer so far. No one on any blog or forum can tell me how this is done. They are expensive, so finding someone that has bought more than one is rare.

   All three panels came with the exact same cables, so I don’t think I’m missing anything. There are two connection ports on each panel (it will charge two small items at the same time). As far as cables go you get one with clamps (like the kind that connects to a car battery), one female car cigarette lighter-style outlet, and another cable that has four adapters on one end and a single adapter (for plugging into the panel) on the other.

   You have to use the four-ended cable to link panels. The problem is that when you plug the end with four ends into a panel there is no more room to plug in another cable. The two prongs sticking out of the sides prevent this.

   Anyone with one panel could see what I mean. Try plugging both ends of your linking cable into your one panel, as would be the case on the middle panel in a series of three. Then consider how you would link three of them together.

   I would love to hear from anyone that has accomplished linking more than two of these together.

   Linking them together would allow us to power (real time) our field laptops and mini-satellites, we could even recharge our military satcom radio batteries. Unfortunately this isn’t the case yet.

   The panel is excellent and I like it a lot. I gave it a three star rating because it claims to be able to do something that it cannot (link three panels). The instructions are also lacking in this area. Brunton’s customer service also leaves something to be desired, which should be your only negative consideration if you’re buying only one.

   Update:

   I finally got a reply from Brunton concerning linking the panels. Here it is:

   “To your question… The four-pronged linking cable can make the
   
   connection between panels a bit tight. Admittedly, the design isn’t the
   
   best, but I’ve got three of our 26s here, hooked them up, and read
   
   increased amperage. On the panels where you’re forced to use both the
   
   single and multi-tipped wire, I’ve found it’s best to turn the four-tip
   
   plug perpendicular to the flat ground, making it easier to fit the
   
   single wire. I’ll be the first to say it isn’t pretty. It creates a
   
   slight fold in the panel, and doesn’t allow it to sit completely flat,
   
   but it does make the connection, and since there’s no solar receiver
   
   over the output, it doesn’t affect the efficiency.

   As I said, the multi-prong cord isn’t the best design. It’s something
   
   I’m trying to get them to change in the development department. Keep in
   
   mind that hooking multiple panels together doesn’t increase the total
   
   voltage coming out of your last panel, but rather simply increases the
   
   amperage. ”

   Update * Click on “See customer Image” underneath the main product pic to see what this looks like *

   So I broke out my panels and gave it a try. Yes, by bending the panel you can make the two fit. This causes me some real problems. My initial intent was to take some cord and tie the panels down (using the nicely grommeted holes in each corner). I can’t do this because the corner that’s bent can’t be tied down tightly. When I pull on the corner that’s bent down (see pic), you can hear the plastic under strain. The four prong outlet tries to straighten out with no where to go, when you do this. I wouldn’t want to tie the panel down tightly for fear of breaking something.

   The answer to this of course is to make your own single male-male cable. In the rest of the email the service rep offered to send me some cables and cords that I could splice together.

   One other thing I noticed is that the female cigarette outlet is completely smooth on the inside, there are no ridges or insets. Any male connector you insert into it will not “lock” into place. There is some resistance that will keep it from just falling out, but it doesn’t take much to come loose. I don’t think this would be a problem if the panel were laying flat. I imagine that if it were hung up the weight of some cables could cause it to come out. I’ve had no problems at all with powering any device using this outlet.

   Update: * Added another image showing the hook up to an EEE ASUS*

   I also own an Asus Eee PC 900 16G. One of the prongs on the four ended cable will fit directly into the laptop. It being such a small laptop the panel WILL run it real time while charging the battery (just like it was plugged into the wall).

   According to Brunton the panel kicks out 26 Watts, and says it’s at 12 Volts. This means that

   12 Volts X 2.2 Amps = 26 Watts

   (i’m rounding slightly up on the Amps)

   The EEE ASUS Power pack says it has an output of :

   12 Volts X 3 Amps = 36Watts

   There’s obviously a little play in here, but the Brunton panel is using the same Volts at less amps, so it’s safe to plug it into your EEE PC. In testing this personally it did in fact run the laptop real time and charge the battery at the same time.

   I would raise my review to four stars (I can’t modify it), because the panel does do what it says it will do, but it has a design flaw that makes it hard to deal with.

   4th Update:

   For some reason all the pictures I uploaded months ago are now gone. I don’t know if that’s an Amazon thing, or what. I’ll try to replace them.

   Might as well say something about the panel….

   It’s been over a year and a half and it’s still holding up, no problems with wear and tear. I’m very pleased.
2. James D. DeWitt says:

   July 1, 2010 at 9:24 pm

   Review by James D. DeWitt for Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array
   Rating:
   I am a nature photographer, and spend significant intervals a long ways from a power outlet. I recently used this solar charger to keep lithium ion batteries charged for my digital camera. I am pleased to report that it works even better than specified. I was able to charge two Olympus BLM-1 batteries simultaneously, in a couple hours in sunny conditions and in six hours in cloudy conditions. Even when the temperature fell as low as 25 F, the charger worked just fine.

   The units folds up into a small comparatively small bag. You wouldn’t use it for ultralight backpacking, but it worked fine for me, and is comparatively light in relation to my camera gear. The charger got rained on, got mud splashed on it, and was stepped on my a small child, and survived it all just fine.

   Sturdy, durable, portable, powerful and effective. Highly recommended.

   (I saw one review complaining the unit wouldn’t power a laptop computer. That’s true. You’d need two. It won’t power a refrigerator or a dishwasher, either. But if you need to charge batteries, this works great.)
3. Volthead says:

   July 1, 2010 at 10:20 pm

   Review by Volthead for Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array
   Rating:
   This is a very useful product. I’ve used it to power essentially any low-draw 12V equipment that I normally charge via my car’s cigarette lighter. I live in Georgia (not a tremendously strong solar area) yet I was able to run anything I wanted to with moderate cloud cover. I used it today to charge my cell phone with a dead battery to full charge in less than an hour (as advertised). I haven’t used it to charge my boat/auto battery yet but I have purchased the Brunton Solar Controller to utilize it. The panel is very easy to use and comes with multiple adapters. I’m not an electrician but I was able to open the box and use the product in less than five minutes. I’m excited to take it camping and on my boat. It’s just a really, really useful product all the way around and comes with the Brunton name.
4. Shahara LeFay says:

   July 1, 2010 at 10:25 pm

   Review by Shahara LeFay for Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array
   Rating:
   I live off-grid, and have been researching solar chargers for two years…it works perfectly for iPods, handheld games (we only have the Nintendo DS), cell phones, and battery chargers (AAA and AA)…i hope to use it with my mac laptop, but cannot find a car/lighter type charger (am still looking!)…it also works well even with long term haze or some clouding…if interested, I recommend to put this item in your shopping cart and watch the prices, i’ve seen it from $299 to well over $400, so unless you need it asap, you can buy it when the price falls.
5. Sean Richardson says:

   July 1, 2010 at 11:21 pm

   Review by Sean Richardson for Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array
   Rating:
   I bought this mainly to power my satellite radio boom box by the pool and when camping… and it works great.

   Even with moderate cloud cover it can power the boom box (which needs 12V 1900mA)… and in full sun I can run the boom box and charge a cell phone.

   Its also great to just have around as an emergency power supply for cell phones, radios, etc. should the power go out for an extended period.