Side by Side Comparison of: Everestep vs Sunforce

Working great. I use it to keep my boat battery up. It has been snowed on, dunked as the boat rain cover filled up. Doesn't overcharge. I did get the extended cord which I recommend to get it outside the rain cover all the time. We are buying more for the scout trailer.

This panel does what they say it will and I have a 25 ft extension plug on mine. My shed where I keep my lawn mower has no electric to it and my mower has an electric start by battery. I was leaving out by our pool where there is an outlet and was not eye appealing. So before I had an electrician come out to install electric I gave this a try and works great .

I've been using this the last 2 boat seasons to keep the battery topped up on an 18' bowrider. We only use the boat a few times a month during the summer so it mostly sits idle. This seems to do a good job keeping the battery topped up as long as I remember to connect it before leaving the marina!

I bought this Solar powered battery trickle charger to use on my motorhome. My motorhome is stored outside during the winter. I placed this charger on my dashboard, plugged it into the 12volt outlet, and my chassis battery is constantly receiving a trickle charge all winter. In the spring, it is ready to go. Works great and I would recommend it.

I live in Southern California and ride my bike almost everywhere, all year round, so my car battery doesn't get charged from the engine much. At first I was skeptical about using a solar panel, but it actually works great, my battery is always ready to go, even after sitting idle for 4 months. Installation was a little expensive, like $75 at a car audio shop, because my cigarette lighter isn't compatible. But it's a whole lot better than having battery trouble! I'm pretty sure the battery lasts longer with a steady charge, too.

Bought this for recharging a 12V battery for my teardrop trailer. It's awesome. It is lighter than glass and more flexible, so I used the included screws to mount it to a scrap piece of wood just a little larger than the panel itself. At one point during camping, we got the battery down to 9V and this solar panel got it back up to full charge in a single sunny afternoon. (I honestly didn't time it, but when I checked back several hours later, the battery was fully charged.) When we got back home from camping, it turned out that one of us had left two lights on in the camper and it drained the battery enough that the lights wouldn't come on at all (it was too dark to read the voltmeter). I was prepared to buy a new battery, but hooked this panel up just in case. A few days later I checked and the battery was up to full power. Granted, we've had no rain so it was full sun each day, but wow I'm impressed. The only drawback is that it wasn't much help camping among the California Redwoods...too much shade all hours. Oh, and let me mention that I adore the ability to hook up the panel via 12V socket. It's so nice to just plug and go and not mess with connecting it to the battery! And the long cord allows me to park the trailer in the shade but have the panel in the sun, which we did at Grand Canyon. I'm very pleased. Had no clue going solar would be so easy! (or so small!) Lastly, it has paid for itself already, by allowing us to pay the cheaper "dry camping" rates without hookups. PS We use only 4 lights in our trailer, so 5 W is plenty and didn't have to charge every day.

Looks like it was designed for outdoor OK. Keeps boat battery charged. Even on a cloudy day it dripped 18V. Mount brackets are kinda flimsyand proprietary - be careful not to drop pieces in a water, without them it will be tricky to set it up.

great keeps my gen battery up from weekly testing

It has only been installed on a battery for gate opener a little less than a week, but it seems to be doing it's job. The solar panel appears to be well constructed. The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars are the 4 attachment tabs used to affix the solar panel to a support bracket (not supplied) are made out of plastic. I am concerned they will deteriorate over time. Also, the charging wires connecting the solar panel to the battery is only 4 feet in length. I positioned the panel on top of the gate post. I had to extend the length of the wiring approximately 2 feet to be able to be able to make the connection from the panel to the battery. I would be willing to pay a few dollars more for aluminum attachment taps instead of plastic and for a 2' - 3' longer charging wire. However, I think this product is still well worth the money. MRC

My second one of these: First one broke when the wind blew it over when I left it leaning against a block of wood. The glass is very thin and not tempered and it must cut something when it cracks because I got 0V out of it afterward. Voltage on the battery does get pretty high (over 15 volts), after several days in full sun, but current is so low that it doesn't cause any noticeable gassing or water loss, at least in the several months I had the first one plugged in to keep our trailer batteries topped up. It's way better than those plastic 1.8W models: It won't charge a flat battery in any reasonable period of time, but will keep up with small draws (keyless entry, occasionally turning on interior lights to find something, etc.) even during the dark/cloudy winter which in my experience the little ones don't.

It came in bete up box probly do to ups, put panel was in good shape, works grate for my needs. I give it 4 stares. If it last as longas it should I'll give it 5. It wasn't the same as pitcher but id say this is upgrade do to frame being two peces frunt and back. Looks good an stong. I us it as part of a stand alone power for composting tolet fan, with 12v. 12Ah led acid battery mint for secerty sistom. I did us a charge cuntroler for LED readouts an added protection.

Beware of product descriptions from this seller. Read through all the solar panels sold by this supplier. Every single Sunforce solar battery charger, except this one, specifically notes that you must buy/have a Sunforce charge controller which the suppler sells. However for this product, Sunforce"s descriptive literature never mention whether or not a charge controller is needed. However, in the "frequently bought together" section Sunforce's charge controller is listed as the number one frequently purchased item. Turns out when you receive this solar panel, it states in bold lettering across the front of the package that a charge controller is not required. Since every other one of Sunforce's other solar panel requires a controller and a controller is suggested as additional purchase for this panel, failure toclearly state that a controller is not required in the product description is a deliberately false advertising designed to induce to make an additional and unnecessary purchase

Seems to do the job.

Seems well constructed. Comes with a very short cord, barely reaches from the battery terminals to a place in the sun. The fact sheet says I can splice in more wire... but It will be half the price of the product for good strong weatherproof connections. Just so the manufacturer could save a quarter on wire....

Doesn't work to keep my Camper batteries charged up but does seem to keep the batteries in the diesel car charged enough in freezing temperatures to allow the diesel car to start up, so not a complete waste.

We have an SUV that since the day we purchased it the battery will go dead if left without driving for over 6 days. I travel quite a bit and while leaving the truck at the airport we would come back to a vehicle with a dead battery. The dealer said it was due to the electronics on board most of the newer vehicles. (not sure if I buy that) So I purchased this hoping it would extend the battery life while away. It was not able to keep up with the power being drawn from whatever is running in the background. I will keep it and use it to keep a charge on my next boat.

Not sure what this panel can do as far as charging a car battery. My battery still died when a remote starter unit was draining it too much. I finally returned the remote starter unit instead.It can trickle charge other devices like battery jumper cells, GPS or cell phone batteriess using the proper adapters. Had to purchase a female car adapter as it was not included with panel.

I bought 3 of these over time for different locations. I wish I could give 3.5 stars. It is the only panel I could find at this electrical rating and price category. I'll probably buy another if I need one, but I wish there were an alternative.The solar panel itself works well. It maintains the charge on a 12V security system type battery as long as the solar gain is adequate. If you have a week of rain, you might need another source, depending on your latitude. It needs to be carefully mounted on a sturdy surface or it will bend and crack. The wiring is flimsy and the connection system minimal (provide your own spade connectors...). The packaging for shipment was also poor.

When I buy something new I expect it to be unopened in original packaging. Now my timing for the install is off and I am forced to "see" if it works because I don't have time to return it. Worst part is now my confidence in the item is questioned something I will be on the hook for with my customer!

This newer Aluminum framed model comes with cheap plastic adjustable clips for fastening and a much shorter cord than original model with plastic molded frame with four pre-made holes in corners. Sunforce found a way to make it cheaper and it is.

Does not perform as advertised. It won't charge, will only maintain current charge of the battery and ONLY if there is absolutely NO draw. Bought to maintain my RV battery, the only draw is a very minimal co2 detector, I hooked it up with battery starting at 12.69 Volts, each day it dropped until the 4 day it was down to 12.32 Volts and this is with full bright Florida sun. I called Sunforce and they confirmed it won't charge, only maintain basically a disconnected already charged battery.

I ruined not one but two batteries with this, bought in 2012. The leads from the panel itself are reversed polarity. That so many reviews are positive here suggests a quality control issue. If you buy one, check with a voltmeter first! OTOH Some of the charge controllers offer "polarity protection," and it wouldn't hurt to have one of those in any case.

There is no way to tell if it is actually supplying a charge. Something was draining my car battery on my old car and I thought this would be the trick to charge a battery that is losing a charge slowly. My car battery still went dead over time and I never knew if this item was supplying a charge or not. I used it during the cold Winter and it just didn't help, my battery still lost charge too fast for this item to overcome it.

This worked great for keeping the battery in my hydraulic dump trailer charged. I use the trailer about once every two weeks, and this panel kept the battery topped up perfectly. I would only rate it two stars because it lasted two years almost to the day and is now stone cold dead -- no voltage. I will be purchasing a different, less expensive five watt panel that is now available on Amazon to replace this one.

Did not work for me

Purchased panel for use on marine battery. Always stored in watertight box when not in use and in a dry location, when in use. Within a couple of months, severe damage occurred in the corners of the panel. Not sure the cause, but the material has been etched away and likely does not produce the same voltage.

I bought this to charge a 12 volt marine battery that runs an electric fence charger, which is low demand.It is installed properly.It doesn't keep the battery charged and I still have to bring my corded battery charger out to charge the battery.I really wanted this to work.Waste of money

Greets Reviewer,I purchased this solar 12v/5W vehicle battery charger or maintainer even during cloudy days. Even with this Sunforce product connected through the cigarette lighter receptacle and with the panel aimed toward the Sun 80% of the day the vehicle battery continued to have a power drain which caused the car engine not to start. I still had to use a recharger unit directly on the car battery to bring it up to full voltage to start the engine. I have checked the voltage and current on the Sunforce product with a meter and there is a trickle charge being produced, but it did not meet my expectations to maintain a charge in the car's 12v system. Lesson learned about this solar unit, good luck.~SacMac

This product was supposed to come with a 9 1/2 ft cord. I ordered it based on that and measured the span the cord needed to cover to fit my application. The cord, from panel to the end of the battery clamps is about half that, 4 ft 6 in! It will not work in the application for which I ordered it! I am NOT happy. I will now have to see if I can find and purchase an extension for the cord, position the unit in another place to make it work or just return it to Amazon. In either event, I am NOT a happy Amazon customer with this purchase and will NOT recommend this product based on the specs provided.

I used it twice to keep my car battery charged while I was away for a month. Instead It drained my battery both times. I had to get it jump started. I should have read the reviews. I see I am not the only one. A complete waste of money.