Battery Chargers

[ytre]

Hi all
Spoke to my local auto electrician today and complained that once batteries get down below a certain level they wont hold charge or even take it. He told me the old type charger is becoming extinct and i need to switch to a digital charger. it delivers a pulse rather than a wave and will bring the discharged battery back to life.or maybe its the other way round.
Anyone else aware of this.

 

[KennyC]

A trickle charger is always a handy thing to have, I use one of these on the bike

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-12v-2.4w-battery-trickle-charger-223251

 

[tigler]

Yes, new chargers are micro processor controlled to measure the batteries condition and charge accordingly.
Have a look at these :-

http://www.ctekchargers.co.uk/?gclid=CLS6uNqwtqoCFUkf4Qod5FXG5Q

Although if the battery is too far gone it would be impossible to recover it, even with a clever charger.

 

[shenion]

A deeply discharged battery will have two problems.

First, the acid moves into the plates leaving water that does not conduct (pure water is an insulator.) Second, the plates will become sulfated.

My MUstang batt sat for years. Would draw no current on a charger. I used a 40V supply with a resitor to limit current. It slowly began drawing a current. Then charged. Still would not turn over the big V8. Took several days of hitting the starter to draw current until dead then charge. Finally came back. I had just intended on getting it good enough to jump start and get the engine issues fixed before spending $$ on a batt. Came out better than expected.

Even one of those digital chargers would not have helped.

I would have two chargers, a smart float charger for batts not being used and a heavy charger for when you do dumb things like leave the dome light on overnight

 

[rtbcomp]

.....

I would have two chargers, a smart float charger for batts not being used and a heavy charger for when you do dumb things like k=leave the dome light on overnight

That's what I have, a simple transformer/rectifier unit and Tronic sort of intelligent one (£10.00 from Lidl or £30 under a different name from Towsure).

 

[mrcheese]

Yes, new chargers are micro processor controlled to measure the batteries condition and charge accordingly.
Have a look at these :-

http://www.ctekchargers.co.uk/?gclid=CLS6uNqwtqoCFUkf4Qod5FXG5Q

Although if the battery is too far gone it would be impossible to recover it, even with a clever charger.

That is probably why reverse charging works. Just for a few minutes and don't leave it unattended. Connect it up the right way round and I find it will then start drawing current.