Solar mintyboost question

Ideas and questions about MintyBoost kits

Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
Locked
User avatar
acray
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:04 pm

Solar mintyboost question

Post by acray »

Hi!
I was interested in the solar charger + mintyboost setup proposed in your tutorials:

https://learn.adafruit.com/solar-chargi ... g/overview

however I am a bit concerned about the following detail:
the solar charger has this nice load sharing feature so that it can disconnect the battery and drain directly from the panel. However this means that the maximum output voltage could be 6V in some cases, as you warn the users in the following tutorial:

https://learn.adafruit.com/usb-dc-and-s ... he-charger

here is my question: what happens to the mintyboost when it receive 6V from the solar panel?

Thanks a lot for your answers!

User avatar
adafruit_support_rick
 
Posts: 35092
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:42 am

Re: Solar mintyboost question

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Don't connect the LOAD output to the MintyBoost.
Instead, connect the BAT and GND output pins to the mintyboost. That way, you'll only get battery voltage to the mintyboost.

User avatar
acray
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:04 pm

Re: Solar mintyboost question

Post by acray »

Hi,
thanks a lot for you answer.
However, I think something is wrong in the tutorial or I miss something, since it's saying:

"Plug the MintyBoost into the LOAD port on the solar charger, and plug a lithium polymer battery into the BATT port. Test that your MintyBoost is putting out 5 volts, then unplug the MintyBoost and solder on the USB jack as instructed."

and later:

"Use more foam tape or regular double-stick tape to secure the solar charging circuit, and plug the MintyBoost's JST cable into the LOAD port on the charging board."

so what the tutorial is proposing is to connect the mintyboost to the LOAD port. Am I wrong?

The picture is quite clear:

Image

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88093
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: Solar mintyboost question

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Strictly speaking, you should not power the Minty with >5v. In the case of the Solar Mintyboost, what typically happens is that the solar panel output voltage drops to a safe level under the load of the Minty.

Since that tutorial we have introduced the "Verter" buck/boost converter that may be a more ideal match for this application. https://www.adafruit.com/products/2190

User avatar
acray
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:04 pm

Re: Solar mintyboost question

Post by acray »

Hi thanks a lot for your answer!
Ok I see, the load makes the voltage drop so in practice the minty is ok.
I see that also in the updated tutorial with the powerboost is the same, the LOAD instad of the BAT is used for conecting the powerboost.

However, if some newbie like me :) connects a 6V wall adapter to the solar charger the risk to burn the minty is real, right? In that case I suggest to change the tutorials or to put a big warning!!

User avatar
adafruit2
 
Posts: 22148
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:36 pm

Re: Solar mintyboost question

Post by adafruit2 »

the mintyboost can handle up to 10V in, so don't need to worry about the mintyboost :) added a note to the tutorial

User avatar
acray
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:04 pm

Re: Solar mintyboost question

Post by acray »

Ah great thanks!

Locked
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.

Return to “MintyBoost”