Solar Chargers for Camera/Battery Recharging ?

[AlanB313]

I think messing with the approved OEM battery charging system is playing with fire. There is a lot that goes into determining how you charge one of these batteries. This includes the input voltage level, the amperage. whether there is a regulatory mechanism that reduces the charge level to a trickle, etc. If you mess with the system and charge the battery wrong you could end up damaging the battery and maybe also the camera. Also what if you put a voltage spike into the camera? What will that do?

The only safe way to do this with solar charging is to charge a storage battery system with solar power and then run an inverter off of the battery system to deliver household standard AC power to the OEM charger.

these are expensive cameras and they have highly sophisticated and sensitive electronic equipment inside. You do something wrong and fry your equipment you would probably void any warranty.

I like to experiment but not with my Z9's.

I agree with @wotan1 about being careful.

I charge my laptop and camera batteries on a road trip with a small pure sine wave inverter plugged into the 12v socket of my ancient trucks dashboard. I then plug the nikon or laptop chargers into the clean 120v ac power outlet on the inverter. This seems safe to me and gives good results.

I have Bluetti home storage for power outages (ac200max, b300) which will give us several days of power for our refrigerator and internet, and I'm considering getting a small Bluetti for travel. I'm very happy with the home setup. We had 4 or 5 power outages in one year and decided we needed backup. We'll add portable solar panels at some point.

One feature I wanted in a battery setup was lithium iron phosphate vs just lithium due to it being safer from a fire standpoint. At least that's my understanding.

I'd charge the small Bluetti with the pure sine wave inverter while driving between destinations. Of course folks that have newer vehicles may have safe inverters built-in.

I'll add that the small batteries like the Bluetti are designed to be charged with solar as well, and will deliver clean power. It's a safe intermediate step.

 

[fcotterill]

Yes I also agree 100% with @wotan1. The latest generation of Nikon battery chargers are USB C PD, regulated to 15W. Although USB C PD 3.0 can charge up to 100W (240W is the maximum for the PD v3.1 spec), it's best to assume the power cap is there for wise reasons, including avoiding overheated batteries.

See links here:

Z9 Battery and Charger

I was lucky enough to get a Z9 on January 6th (not NPS) and have had fun using it so far. Was photographing bald eagles yesterday along the Mississippi River in a place where large numbers of eagles often gather during the winter to fish. I have a question about the EN-EL18D battery and...

bcgforums.com

Nikon EN-EL15 C Dual Charger?

Can anyone recommend a dual charger for the Nikon EN-EL 15 C batteries?

bcgforums.com

The ENEL15c and ENEL18d are latest versions of the most commonly used batteries in current Nikon ILCs. However, their respective USB C chargers also charge most of the older batteries using PD [Power Delivery], which simplifies things a lot. Prices of these latest USB PD chargers are relatively high; but wise insurance considering risking camera(s) and expensive trips to gear damage.

The latest cameras also have power regulated PD charging - to minimize risks to internals apparently. Nonetheless I've yet to test this hypothesis and don't plan to. Call me old fashioned but I never charge in-camera - only use OEM chargers for OEM batteries only.

My take is let the PD circuitry in these new Nikon chargers manage the power out of the solar panel, power bank, carplug, PSU etc. Protect your charger(s) with a reliable surge arrestor if using erratic mains AC (also guards against lightning strikes on the main lines/building).

 

[Steve W]

I have a Bluetti AC70P, 864 Wh. It can be charged via solar panels if required. USB C and AC power to run your normal charger, computer, fridge etc. it can also recharge from your vehicle, albeit slowly or in about an hour and a half when connected to mains.

 

[Terry]

Has anyone found a portable solar panel that is capable of recharging a camera battery? I'm most interested in charging a Z9 battery using the USB in-camera charging capability, but there is probably an interest in other systems and the possibility of using any camrea battery charging cradle using a solar panel.

I'm curious, are you going so far off grid solar is you're only choice? If not I believe you're adding a lot of complexity here.

Something like the Jackery mentioned should keep a lot of camera batteries topped off for a while. You can charge the Jackery off the car. Or the easy route is just plug a PD charger into the car.

If the car is running there's no worry if not you're likely to be fine for several battery charging cycles.

As others have pointed out trying to charge straight from solar seems risky. Personally I wouldn't charge in camera unless I had no other choice.

I'd be looking at a free standing Nikon battery charger plugged onto either the 110v jack or a good PD supply if the charger allows for it.

Just my thoughts for what it's worth...

 

[wotan1]

I have always run my desktop computers and other sensitive electronics through APC's with surge protectors. I live in a city and some of the electrical grid equipment is older and breaks down. I use Nikon OEM battery chargers at home for my EN-EL 18's and they all are plugged into my APC's. I also NEVER charge my camera batteries or power my cameras by plugging directly into them.

I don't take the same protection with my laptops but I wonder if I should. When I was working full time I was a road warrior with laptops, tablets, phones and watches. I worked everywhere and I plugged in when I could to keep things charged.

I did not bother with a surge protector on the road but I did use approved chargers for my equipment. I did not have any problems that I am aware of that may have been caused by erratic AC supply but who knows.

Recently I went on a road trip where we camped for about a week and took a lot of photographs with my Z'9's. I also had my laptop and tablet, card reader, cell phone and electronic watch. I have a Honda 2200 generator that I brought with me and I would run it for a few hours here and there to keep things charged. I could also charge my phone and watch from the car,. the Honda generators are great, you move them away from you on a 15 ft extension cord and they are so quiet you hardly know they are on, I also have battery boxes with 40 AH of Lifepo4 batteries inside which can also be used with an alternator to charge equipment.

I have all that extra power and generator equipment because I am also a HiAM radio operator and I frequently work on multiple day field assignments where we need to safely and reliably operate radios for long periods of time.

All this leads me to one question:

IS THERE SOME KIND OF HIGHLY PORTABLE PROTECTIVE DEVICE I SHOULD BRING WITH ME THAT WILL HELP PROTECT MY EQUIPMENT WHEN PLUGGED INTO POTENTIALLY UNRELIABLE AC SUPPLIES?