The new KC Hilites Solar Charge Hub connects your solar panels to your car battery with a safe, weatherproof MPPT converter, and then some.
And, it has rubber-coated magnetic feet, so you can pull it out, stick it to your rig and plug it in just about anywhere as a portable trickle charger. Here’s how it works…
The Solar Charge Hub has three sealed SAE ports so you can connect it to your car battery and solar panel(s), but also expand the system. It comes with four cables:
- Ring Terminal cables for permanent wiring to the battery
- Alligator clips for temporary wiring to any battery
- SAE-to-MC4 cables to connect to solar panels
- Two SAE-to-SAE extension cables
You’ll only need two of those ports to make it work with your main car battery…one connected to the battery, one to the solar panel.
The other one is a 12-volt out port, so you can run power to other 12V accessories, including a cigarette lighter port, USB port, or other outlet so you can directly charge any accessories and devices.
The 12V output draws from your battery directly, so you can use it without solar attached, but you’ll need solar panels to send power back to your main battery…this is NOT a DC-DC charger. But it will automatically disconnect any devices to prevent over-discharging your battery.
Bluetooth lets you monitor charging progress and solar input on your phone.
An optional mounting base lets you hard mount it just about anywhere. Crossbars, MOLLE panels, or anything that you don’t mind drilling holes into. The magnetic feet stick to this mount, or you can remove the feet and bolt it directly into the mount for a more secure attachment.
It’s weatherproof, so you can leave it on while you’re driving. Or just leave it there permanently. The magnetic feet are removable, so you can bolt it into the mount and leave it on the roof.
If you’re not ready for a completely built-in custom power bank setup, this is a nice intermediate solution. KC Hilites sells a folding weatherproof solar panel, but it’ll plug into any existing solar panels you have (portable or fixed) as long as they can be connected with the common SAE plug.
It’s compatible with any 12-volt/24-volt battery system including Lead Acid, AGM, Gel, Deep Cycle, Lithium, and more. MSRP is $350, bracket is $66, and their 150W folding solar panel is $250, each sold separately.
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