Battery charger / maintainer question
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2010
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Battery charger / maintainer question
I picked this up today at Walmart to charge my golf cart battery. According to the specs, it will also maintain/charge truck batteries. Anyone ever use one of these?
Also, any words of advice on hooking this up as a maintainer ?
Thanks Jed
Also, any words of advice on hooking this up as a maintainer ?
Thanks Jed
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
It is a "maintainer". You have dual battery in parallel? Recall a charger needs to be "sized" to the battery properly to efficiently and safely charge. Too big or fast of a charge risks warping plates, too small or slow will take way too long and outgas electrolyte excessively.
"Just right" will reasonably quickly bring a battery up to full charge but minimize excessive outgassing during charging. Because of these issues the small microprocessor controlled chargers will simply say "the hell with this" and automatically switch over to float charge, but before the battery is completely charged.
Paralleled batts large enough to crank a diesel and run glow plugs are very large in terms of ampere hour capacity, if they are run down and/or mismatched even a 15 amp charger may choke. It will work fine to maintain, but the emphasis is on the "maintain" part. For this purpose it should be about perfect.
"Just right" will reasonably quickly bring a battery up to full charge but minimize excessive outgassing during charging. Because of these issues the small microprocessor controlled chargers will simply say "the hell with this" and automatically switch over to float charge, but before the battery is completely charged.
Paralleled batts large enough to crank a diesel and run glow plugs are very large in terms of ampere hour capacity, if they are run down and/or mismatched even a 15 amp charger may choke. It will work fine to maintain, but the emphasis is on the "maintain" part. For this purpose it should be about perfect.
FTE-Spread The Knowledge
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,285
Likes: 240
If it is not a daily driver, pull the batteries and keep them inside and out of direct weather. Get a cheap conditioner to top them off now and then, and keep them clean and dry. With the correct wrench you can install them in less than 5 minutes, which includes terminal conditioning, and performance diagnostic testing.
More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 636
Likes: 7
From: La Mesa, Ca.
Basic battery 101 says that the battery does not "store" anything. The battery is a chemical reaction that produces a voltage and current when a load is placed on the battery terminals. The sulfuric acid is absorbed into the Plates during a discharge. The battery needs to be recharged to restore the acid to full strength back into the solution to prevent sulfation. The normal operating for our trucks is between 14.2VDC and 14.80VDC at the terminals to replenish the charge at a fast rate. If you want to extend the life on the battery the battery needs to be maintained at a minimum of 13.50vdc to compensate for residual drain and internal resistance (local action) inside of the battery due to impurities during manufacturer. Battery optimum operating temp is 77 degrees for lead acid start batteries. Short story suggestion is to use a small charger to maintain the minimum float voltage to 13.50vdc.
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