Wagan 2053 Solar ePower (4) Battery Charger

by Wagan

Product Features

• Charges cell phones and USB devices with solar energy
• Charges cell phones and USB devices with AA or AAA batteries
• Recharges four AA or AAA rechargeable batteries with solar energy
• Provides back-up power for your devices with rechargeable batteries
• Adapters included to perform all functions

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BQMKHO
• Item model number: 2053
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,699 in Automotive (See Top 100 in Automotive)

Product Description

Using the latest in photovoltaic technology, the Solar e Power is designed to directly charge electronic devices and rechargeable AA and AAA batteries. This is ideal for recharging Ni-MH, Ni-cad, and Li-Ion batteries used in cellular phones, PDAs, cameras, and other handheld devices using AA or AAA batteries. The Solar e Power is also capable of using alkaline batteries to directly charge electronic devices. The Solar e Power has such features as a built-in “blocking diode”, which prevents the reverse flow of electricity from the batteries to the solar panels when the solar panels are not supplying electricity. By utilizing photovoltaic cells as solar panels, the charger has the latest technology in sunlight energy conversion. Adapters are included to perform the following: charge electronic devices from sun Light, charge electronic devices from the car (12 Volt DC), charge rechargeable batteries from sunlight, charge rechargeable batteries from car (12 Volt DC), charge electronic devices from rechargeable batteries, and charge electronic devices from normal Alkaline batteries.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleased so far, April 5, 2011

By 

Derek Steiner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagan 2053 Solar ePower (4) Battery Charger (Automotive)

I bought this charger a few weeks ago and so far I've been pleased with it. I'm using it to recharge AA and AAA batteries for use in a variety of household devices, as well as my cell phone. It does need direct sun to charge, but I've been successful using it indoors through a window if its pointed directly at the sun.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as advertised, missing 12 V vehicle adapter, December 12, 2011

By 

Detroiter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagan 2053 Solar ePower (4) Battery Charger (Automotive)

I just received the Wagan Tec 2053 charger. Amazon's web page states that adapters are supplied for several uses. One use mentioned is a 12 volt vehicle plug! However, the unit did not contain an adapter for this use!!!!! The manual also references a 12 volt plug!!! I would like to have known this BEFORE I bought the item!!

2.0 out of 5 stars Strange Design, November 11, 2011

By 

Technik (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagan 2053 Solar ePower (4) Battery Charger (Automotive)

I received my Wagan 2053 solar charger about two weeks ago from Amazon. I wanted a solar charger with replaceable batteries as opposed to the lithium ion versions where you are forced to toss the entire unit out in 2-3 years once the battery stops working. It seems to try and be green with solar power, but be throwing the units out after only few years.

Also, modern NiMH batteries last for 2000 cycles so even if I used this charger once a day, I would not need to replace the batteries for 6 years. For comparison, the lithium ion chargers get about 1/4 as many cycles.

How does it look/feel?
The charger is solid, but nobody will mistake it for a premium product. It is also not a very pretty gadget.

How does it work?
it works OK. I tried three different phones and it only worked on one of them. It would not charge my Blackberry Curve or my Nokia N900 as both require some intelligent charging circuitry in the charger. This unit merely has a 5V charging socket without any intelligence. In contrast, the Solio models all charge these two phones fine.

The charger came with a collection of tips for phones 5 that existed 5 years ago. Most phones use micro-USB these days and there is no included micro-USB tip.

Another problem I had is that one cannot charge the device because it requires a specific 12V adapter which is not included.

If you take it somewhere and deplete the batteries, there is no possibility to charge it up from a wall socket because the device requires a specific 12v adapter which is not included. Most similar products will charge from USB which makes it easy to charge them up on the go when it is not possible to charge via the solar panels.

The only controls on the device are a three way switch that allow you to select 12V/Solar, Power From Batteries, and Charge Batteries. The "12V/Solar" option is a strange design choice as it is intended to be used when there are no batteries installed so that device can charge your phone directly from the solar panel instead of through the batteries. I question the utility of this option.

In Conclusion:
It works, but not particularly well. There are better options.