FreeLoader Freeloader Solar Charger

 

 

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I Have updated this review and kept in the original comments as it might be useful. I have since gone from 1 star to 4 stars.
I purchased this to power up my ipod video on holiday. As the instructed by the manual I charged the freeloader frst by USB until the led indicated it was fully charged. Then on holiday when my ipod was low on juice I plugged it into the freeloader. The freeloader didn't charge my ipod at all. When the freeloader was connected my ipod battery symbol said that my ipod was fully charged and not re-charging in the normal way. After being connected to my ipod for hours it hadnt given any charge to my ipod at all. I tried using the ipod with the freeloader connected and it kept malfunctioning. Every time I disconnected the freeloader the ipod would work as normal. Eventually my ipod completely ran out of juice. The freeloader did not charge it and my ipod wouldnt work if it was connected to the freeloader. A no-win situation. Beware of this product, you will not get any real reviews on websites, only manufacturer blurb.
Since first writing this review I have contacted the Manufacturers. They were very helpful and said that this problem is bacause of a change in how ipods are now charged. The advised that I use the specific adaptor for my model of ipod, available on their website, and that this would fix the problem. When I receive the adaptor I will update this review accordingly.

I have now received the adaptor. on a very sunny day I charged up the freeloader in the garden which took about 5 hours. Using the new adaptor I successfully full charged my ipod using the freeloader.

I just tested my freeloader solar panels with a multi-meter. It's not a particularly sunny day but in full sunlight, and pointing at an optimum angle to the sun, one panel was generating 59.5mA at 6.38V so with two panels that would be 0.759VA (6.38*0.0595*2, and that's 0.759W using a power factor of 1.

59.5 + 59.5 = 119mA (The panels are rated to total at 120mA, so this is very close, and this is May, not even proper summer yet), so with an internal battery of 1000mA it would take 8.37 hours of full sunlight to fully charge the battery, though that is ideal conditions with full sunlight all day, and the panels tracking the sun! The manual says 5 to 10 hours in sunny conditions.

The sun just went in and I now get 14.1mA at 6.05V, which shows how much difference direct sunlight makes. 1000mA / (14.1mA*2) = 35.46 hours to full charge under cloud. So, don't expect a full charge off the freeloader every couple of days if its cloudy! What are your expectations? All the reviews saying it won't charge are useless unless you provide the relevant information. e.g. have you removed the thin plastic film from the panels? Did you do the first couple of charges via USB to condition the battery? Were the panels behind glass? How many days were you charging them for? Was it sunny? Were the panels south facing? How many hours per day were they in sunlight for?

The separate battery pack/torch is not well designed in my opinion. The AAA converter is rubbish as has been said. It's fiddly and the metal clip in the AAA piece keeps popping out. the battery cover is flimsy and doesn't fit easily. However for charging AAs it ok. The plastic cover for the usb connector is a waste of time, and you don't need it anyway.

Note that I am not comparing Freeloader to other chargers. I don't have any others to compare it to.

If you order from some places you do get the new IPOD connector included for free.

As I write this the Freeloader is happily charging a pair of AA batteries after having spent several days sitting on a west facing internal window sill behind double glazing. No the red charging light doesn't go out after 5 minutes, if yours does the internal battery wasn't charged up enough or is faulty and needs replacing.

To test the effect of charging behind a double-glazed window (Freeloader tell you windows affect charging time significantly due to most windows doing UV filtering), I'll just go and measure the readings either side of the double-glazed window.
The window is currently fully shaded and is west facing, it's now cloudy, and the panel was flat so I could touch the contacts without moving the panel. The actual values aren't relevant here, just the difference. With the window closed I got 1.8mA and with it open I get 2.9mA, so about about a 40% drop in current with the window closed. So a rough estimate would be that my windows cause a doubling in charge time.

As for charging up external devices, before saying it only adds 2% to your phone or whatever, firstly are you 100% sure the charger is fully solar charged? Test this by connecting the Freeloader to the USB and see if the charge led goes green quickly. If it doesn't you didn't get enough charge from the panels first. Then check what the battery mA rating is in your device. If it's 2000mA for example, you will only get a 50% charge from the a full internal Freeloader battery, so if you need a 100% charge you'll first need to charge some AA's off one Freeloader charge-up, then charge the Freeloader again, then charge the device off the Freeloader internal battery, and then via the battery pack.

Why such a long post? I'd hate that people were put off solar charging because of a few comments that provide no context to the use of the charger, and in some cases demonstrate that people haven't spent the time to understand the facts about solar charging. For example the Freeloader charging light won't ever go green when charging via solar. The manual actually tells you that, as it keep trickle charging the battery via the panels even when it's full. If you charge off USB it does go green, but that's because USB delivers more power, so it's a warning as you are not supposed to leave the Freeloader charging on USB overnight as you can damage the battery if you leave it connected for ages.

I suspect 95% of the dissatisfaction is because people haven't charged their Freeloader enough before trying to charge devices, and they aren't charging their Freeloader enough because they aren't charging it under the right conditions and so mistakenly expect a full charge when they aren't using it correctly. And as for complaining about it never fully charging because you don't get a green light - please try reading the manual more carefully!

So, the Freeloader does deliver to it's rated specification. I work in IT and there's a common saying for many IT 'problems': It's not a hardware problem, it's a wetware one, i.e. the user.

If you are going to spend the time to write a comment trashing a product at least first spend the time to understand the parameters within which it's designed to work and if you aren't going to follow those parameters, don't moan about it 'not working'.

EDIT: Because one obsessive Freeloader reviewer has questioned my review, here's a link to video showing a Freeloader panel generating around 48mA even though it wasn't a very sunny day. About 80% of the stated 60mA per panel. He claims Freeloaders can't generate more than 9mA per panel even in bright sunlight, so took offence at my review, so I decided to back up my review with some proof.
http://s292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/solarspider/?action=view¤t=freeloader.flv

I've had one of these for some time, and found it very effective at charging mobile phone, PDA, ipod, and... shaver!

But the manual stinks. Only by doing a bit of research on the net did I find out 2 crucial bits of info

1- when charging from solar, the light(s) never goes green. It's designed that way - something to do using less power. If you have a manual that tells you that the light goes green when solar charging - it's an old, incorrect version.

2 - as new, there is a transparent film on the solar panels to protect them. You need to peel them off- they seriously reduce the charging.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Freeloader Adaptors
We bought four of these (and one Kindle) from Amazon for Christmas for the family . Everything works perfectly - except that none of the adaptors fits either my Blackberry phone... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Islander

1.0 out of 5 stars not compatible with iphone4 despite claims
Tried to charge my iphone 4 - got error message saying it wasnt compatible. The Freeloader actually drained battery life whilst plugged in. Obviously not tested. Waste of money.

Published 5 months ago by Sue

3.0 out of 5 stars 2 different Products bought...
I bought the Freeloader Product from one Maplin stores few Weeks ago. Having purchased this product I am in 2 Minds about this product whether it is
good or bad! Read more

Published 7 months ago by Darren Brennan

3.0 out of 5 stars Good idea but is it robust enough?
Basically it does work, it will charge it's internal battery via solar power or USB and it will charge all sorts of devices. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Cal

5.0 out of 5 stars Solar Charger
Bought this for my partner whom is a energy saver fan. He loved it as he is a builder and keeps this in his van with him when he goes off to work. Great compact product.

Published 13 months ago by summer

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
Oh dear. It works, don't get me wrong. Pop in the solar panels and put it in the window and two little red lights come on indicating that there is life in there somewhere. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Peter Counter

1.0 out of 5 stars Mine melted, but was rubbish anyway.
I bought mine specifically to take to Australia, but after less than a week of very poor service (I only ever managed to get a useful charge into it through USB, never through the... Read more

Published 17 months ago by TimeWeasel

3.0 out of 5 stars Solar Recharging
Nicely designed product, but fails to fully deliver on most of its claims, however it definitely does work and is a useful accessory to take away either on a day trip or holiday... Read more

Published 18 months ago by RG

1.0 out of 5 stars Quick transformation to paper weight.
I charged it up using USB 3 or 4 times and everything was fine. I then left it to charge overnight. Come morning it doesn't work. Hasn't worked since.

Published 18 months ago by W. Humphreys

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as it should be
I'm disappointed with the freeloader. It works well when charged with a USB power source, and in my own recent personal test it charged my iPhone from 20% to 90%. Read more

Published 19 months ago by nji1000

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