Solar Powered Winder Rig?

[watchNoob]

So, here's the situation; I have four automatics, but I only wear them once every few days. I'd like to buy a winder but the thought of having yet another electrical device with an A/C adapter plugged in all the time and wasting energy just rubs me the wrong way. So, I was wondering if anyone has seen or built a winder that uses solar energy. Do you think it would be possible to wire a solar panel to a conventional winder and throw the whole rig on the window sill for a few hours? I've seen cheap solar panels that can (roughly) put out the 500mA of power that comes out of a USB port, which should be enough to turn a few hundred grams of watch, albeit slowly.

Will a typical low-end winder even turn given a lower voltage than it expects from its adapter

[EdwardChen]

I was searching around for something like this. I did some quick calculations to see how feasible it would be. I found a random battery powered winder online: Single Leather Watch Winder by Eilux

It uses 2 C batteries and lasts 1 year. Assuming they're talking about the average Alkaline battery, we're looking at 3V @ 8000mAh. If we break it up per day, the winder uses an average of 22mA per day, or 66mWh.

What I would probably do is use a small rechargeable battery pack like this: RECHARGEABLE BATTERY PACK FOR CORDLESS PHONES, 2AAA CELLS | AllElectronics.com to store the power and let the winder run on its own whenever, as if it was plugged into the wall. A solar cell like this: SOLAR CELL, 60MM X 60MM X2MM | AllElectronics.com would only need to be in bright sunlight for a theoretical 30 minutes per day to keep the battery charged.

With that 800mA battery, the winder could theoretically run the winder for 36 days without sunlight.

Might have to try this project myself... Truthfully though, since the winder uses so little power, chances are, you'll never recoup the money to build the solar power pack, but it's just good fun at that point :)

[gaijin]

Simple answer? Don't use a winder.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.