Can this be used with a car alternator or generator instead of solar? The manual recommends against it and I'd like to know why.
287696
If you want to use the product for a purpose other than as recommended by the manufacturer then you should contact Morningstar directly for the answer and rely on any suppositions or opinions from other users.
287697
A cars Alternator all ready has built into it a regulator which determines when to charge a battery therefore I believe (my opinion) it would affect the electronics of the ProStar. Plus I believe most alternators/generators put out more then 30amps (the most the ProStar can handle).
287698
It has a max of 30 amps and car alternators are more then that and the alternator would have its own regulator so to speak so I would not recommend it either. They would conflict. Mike
287699
It has a max of 30 amps and car alternators are more then that and the alternator would have its own regulator so to speak so I would not recommend it either. They would conflict.Mike
2136883
No. Just keeps putting out up to 2 watts of power. Should not be a big deal unless you have a really tiny battery. Automotive batteries will have no problems.
2274230
Yes it can. I leave mine plugged in all the time. I would also consider looking at the Duracell Powerpacks as they have a range of sizes - but they do not have the solar hookup - depends on what you are looking for.
2087704
As long as you don't have anything plugged in that is turned on and using power then you should be fine. It would draw very low power without anything turned on. I wouldn't think it could come close to draining a car battery unless you didn't crank the vehicle for weeks at a time.
2265098
In my car I'm running a shunt between the alternator and the negative terminal to read the amps, the power was tapped from a cigarette lighter wire. I believe running the tiny power wires to the shunt would fry them when cranking.
434183
This particular model has alligator clamps that attach to car battery terminals. As far as I know, that's the only way you can use it. However, there is/are at least one other model that can be plugged into a regular electrical receptacle. I don't think you can get one that does both. But I bought this one because it puts out more pressure coming from the battery. And will always have power if you need it when with the car. Somewhere else, you might not have electrical access.
4312
It's not very powerful. It's more for emergency battery charging when nothing but solar is available. I wouldn't use it as a primary source.
482783
set up properly, this would work to charge any 12v battery. you may want to work in a solar charge controller if you are worried about overvoltage protection and other features that can add safety. one thing this will probably not do is bring a dead car battery back to life, if that is the nature of your question. BTW... I have successfully done this with this very panel, and a small 12v 7ah battery. A few good hours of sun will give you a good recharge trickle, but its not much power (smaller panel). You may want to consider a deep cycle battery if you intend to use the battery over and over after recharges. Hope this helps. set up properly, this would work to charge any 12v battery. you may want to work in a solar charge controller if you are worried about overvoltage protection and other features that can add safety. one thing this will probably not do is bring a dead car battery back to life, if that is the nature of your question. BTW... I have successfully done this with this very panel, and a small 12v 7ah battery. A few good hours of sun will give you a good recharge trickle, but its not much power (smaller panel). You may want to consider a deep cycle battery if you intend to use the battery over and... » Read More set up properly, this would work to charge any 12v battery. you may want to work in a solar charge controller if you are worried about overvoltage protection and other features that can add safety. one thing this will probably not do is bring a dead car battery back to life, if that is the nature of your question. BTW... I have successfully done this with this very panel, and a small 12v 7ah battery. A few good hours of sun will give you a good recharge trickle, but its not much power (smaller panel). You may want to consider a deep cycle battery if you intend to use the battery over and over after recharges. Hope this helps. « Show Less
211289
I don't know about that. It runs on regular batteries, plus there's no place to attach to car battery. Why would you do that anyway?
729148
Did you try the inverter? I would be interested in how it worked out for you. Some electric motors don't like modified sine wave inverters. The inverter would have to be at least 1500 running watts and the blower would be running it at maximum when it is pulling 12 amps. Note that most car alternators would have trouble keeping up with that much load for a long time. Be sure you turn off EVERYTHING in the car if you are going to do this.
138835
You would not want to use a "car battery", you should use a deep cycle battery often used in RVs. If you are considering the 3000 watt unit, you would need more batteries to sustain the load for an extended period of time. I use 4 deep cycle 6 volt batteries in a series/parallel configuration in my RV for providing power without being plugged or running the generator. As mentioned in other comments you will need to keep the battery charged until you need it.
186089
It shouldn't be a problem. An alternator only supplies 13 volts which shouldn't affect the charger. It would simply interpret this as a fully charged battery and go into a hold mode.
2190330
After a 30 second pause... other brands have instant switching. For my use it isn't critical, my primary power for our truck camper is solar panels. battrey storage/inverter... my secondary power source is built in propane generator. I don't use shore power (grid)I still prefer the instant switch if possible.
262550
Hi Elizabeth. I'm using an Exide MC-31 MEGACYCLE AGM-200 (AGM) Marine Battery. Fully charged, this battery can keep the refer at 38 degrees for several days (depending on outside temp). I would not recommend running this off of a car battery/alternator.
1056980
A transformer can be used if there is enough amperage. We tried ours using jumper cables from pickup battery but would only work when vehicle was running. So we bought a deep cycle battery that runs it all day with no problem. We recharge it at 2 Amps.
1873048
It depends on the size of your wire and the length of the run from the battery to the switch to the light. For Automotive application, I would use a relay. Mine is NOT used in an automotive application. I have a run of about 10 feet from battery, through a fuse, to the switch, and then to the light. I am using 10 gauge wire though. I only did it this way because I can not afford the additional power consumed by the relay itself. In a vehicle, the power consumed by the relay is not a problem since the alternator will generate ample power.
440283
yes you can run 12v accessories with this unit ,,,you can recharge unit from car, home , or if no power available you can recharge by pulling on rope to turn internal generator takes like 3-4 minutes ,,,note if you let this unit just sit you need to recharge every 3 months regardless to always be ready if you lose power or just on picnic,,,,,,,,,,hope this helps Ken