Solar Cell Phone Charger

Doomsday Prepper Forums

Help Support Doomsday Prepper Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Gazrok

A True Doomsday Prepper
Joined
Aug 15, 2013
Messages
7,491
Reaction score
9,179
Location
Florida
Hello All,

Do yourself a favor, and get one of these things. I have one now, but wished I had it through Irma. They only cost about $25 or more, and they are just incredible to add to your preps. I never imagined how much we'd use our cell phones during such a crisis. And they just die in battery life too fast.
 
We did just that several months ago. I think we spent a little more than $25, but the one we got came with rechargeable batteries that you can use it with as well. I tried it on a cloudy day and it seemed to work pretty well....
 
bragerts..LOL

Not at all, hehe. Just that having been through this whole bit...it was a prep item I had previously overlooked, so I'm sharing the info. A lesson I learned the hard way when I drained the battery of my truck from too much car charging of the cell phones!!!

Another good item, a solar rechargeable battery charger, for AA, AAA, and D cells. You can get a decent one on Amazon for $25 (cheaper ones got crappy reviews). This is definitely also going in out storm prep closet...along with some new LED lanterns (4 for $25), that take AA or AAA batteries (instead of more expensive D cell ones).
 
Keep in mind, I'm still a big fan of some of the old ways too. For just passive lighting, we used candles during the outage, so we could see throughout the house after dark. We just blew them all out before going to bed. I have oil lamps too, but really, I'm just a bit loathe to use them due to fire risk (the candles we used were pretty safe, and wall mounted), most of the time. At least not when I have electric lights I can use.
 
i already have a solar battery charger, for AA, AAA, C and D cells..i also have a power converter,that plugs into a car lighter.it's not only great for keeping my jump starter charged.but i can use it for my electric battery chargers as well..in which i can go out the next day after letting them all run all night.and still start the car.as if they weren't plugged in,to begin with..i have battery operated lanterns and flashlights/candles and oil lamps..i do need more lamp oil thoe..and a solar charger is definitely a added plus,for during a power outage..

i often thought about the best way to use the candles that fit into candle holders.folks been known to use kleenex or paper towel..that don't always work..so melting some wax in and around the candle and holder might work.
 
Last edited:
i often thought about the best way to use the candles that fit into candle holders.folks been known to use kleenex or paper towel..that don't always work..so melting some wax in and around the candle and holder might work.

I always just melt some of the candle wax, and use that to stick them in. Works fine. However, I really like the kind that are in glass, where you can put a little water at the bottom of the glass, so when it gets to low, will go out.
 
I've posted this before, but since it is relevant to this discussion...

I have used a number of mobile phone battery backups, including several different solar chargers. There is only ONE that I was happy with, and it just so happened to be the CHEAPEST!

It is the only one that will completely charge my Droid Turbo 2 phone, which has a huge battery and requires special high amperage chargers to get the thing fully charged. Normal plug in phone chargers won't charge it all the way even if left charging overnight.

It's the Matone 10,000 mAh solar phone charger on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012CX3Z2C
61z5i7Rt3yL._SL1000_.jpg
 
Yes you will need more than one if you use your phone a lot. Some phones have a battery saver mode which you will probably need to use if you rely solely on solar charging, and then use the phone sparingly. I keep the solar charger on the dashboard of my truck, so it's constantly in the sun, but also plug it in when I need to bump the charge up quickly. The solar charger can charge while charging your phone, which extends the battery significantly on the phone
 
I keep the solar charger on the dashboard of my truck, so it's constantly in the sun, but also plug it in when I need to bump the charge up quickly.

Exactly. I do the very same. So far, I haven't seen it take a long time to charge. Then again, I like to keep mine charged up near full most of the time.

Believe me, in an Irma like situation, this thing would have been a godsend. I can't believe I overlooked this prep before, when $25 or less solves the damn problem. That's why I made this post....just something easy to overlook, that became so critical in a localized disaster.
 
I should mention that I bought the Matone on October 24, 2015, so we're talking about a two year trial period, and it's still going strong. I can't guarantee they still have the same quality, and based on some of the reviews, they may have sourced this from different suppliers, with some suppliers having higher QC than others. But it is the exact same product listing on Amazon now as it was two years ago, and a few bucks cheaper now. A similar solar charger I bought earlier for nearly 100 bucks didn't last but a few months. What is interesting is that some of the recent reviews of the Matone mention problems I had with the more expensive solar charger, but have not had with the Matone. So this is probably like the cheap flashlights where you have multiple companies buying from multiple factories in China, and it's a crap shoot whether you get a good one or not, no matter what "brand" you get.

Interestingly, some reviews of solar chargers say they got warped from being in the sun. But since the Matone stays on the dashboard, which is like a solar oven sometimes, and had never warped or shown any sign of damage from the heat, it is apparently made to take the heat.

Here are some of the reviews for that triple panel X Dragon solar charger:

The item being charged also has to sit in the sun. After being in the sun the solar panels warped as well.

Bought this for a camping trip, the first few times we used it, it charged 2 devices perfectly. After that, even though we left it alone in the sun for a while, it never quite worked again. Kind of wish I had my money back.

This solar panel was good at first, but after using it a few days in the sun the plastic got weak and melted and is now bent and I can not get the first panel back to its original form.

product warps and distorts in the sun! kinda funny when you think about it. i would not recommend this product​
 
Last edited:
I'll have to reach back to you, as I use this one more, but so far, it's been decent enough.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top