Smart battery chargers with reconditioning modes

[the old grind]

... LEDs, displays and electronics, really are dirt cheap at the manufacturing level. I doubt you can even buy a charger with a good size transformer anymore...

Apples and oranges, and I call that you KNOW so. "Dumb', bulk, transformer-type chargers aren't going anywhere, but they don't have cycles and/or reactive controls. Schumacher and HFT will put 'em out there longer than we'll be around.

And you know that switching PSUs had taken over the iron-cores' role(s) some time ago. Since the 'maintainers' and chargers perform two entirely different roles we can use each for it purpose if we don't forget their real limitations. One never sits idle. If were lucky, we don't have to plug in the other one.

Yes, IT, it's too much marketing hype, and typical high-hoping human expectations, that can generate hilarious negative product reviews. "I killed weeds. They grew back. One star." ... "('Indoor' .22 RF ammo) doesn't cycle in my semi-auto..." .. "Didn't include the batteries." ...

 

[ultrarunner]

Battery Charger manufacturer told me the new Energy Use Standards in places like California meant the old 30lbs chargers days are dwindling...

They simply do not meet the requirements needed to be sold.

I have some very old chargers that still get used a lot... they don't care if there is voltage or not... they will keep charging until the electrolyte boils out...

 

[Industrial Toys]

The output of an old fashioned transformer/rectifier based charger will vary with line voltage as well. I have put a few clockwork timers on these with good results. If it's stupid simple and achieves what I want, I like that.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep... timers can be a simple low cost fix... years ago I set up a timer for an elderly gent with an electric cart also used one for a low output well pump too big for well output.

 

[Gregster613]

Okay, I ranted/vented some yesterday because I was disappointed in not getting longer than 5 years out of my battery. I honestly cannot remember if I had previously used my old HF tender before getting the new BatteryMinder smart charger. I do know that whenever my tractor is not being run - it is plugged into a battery tender of some sort. Thus I expected it to last 7 -10 years - or so I hoped!

And, I must add that my thoughts of a smart charger are one that senses when the voltage reaches fully charged and then automatically goes into maintain mode and stops charging the water/juice out of the battery. I'm not really sure that my old HF chargers stopped charging or if they continued to blast juice into the battery, thus boiling out the water and granting it an early death. As far as desulfation goes, as long as my blue light is flashing I expect it to be working and helping to prolong the battery life. Again, that is why I was disappointed in an early (in my mind) battery death.

At any rate I replaced the battery today and all is well once again. I am plugged into my Batteryminder 1500 and all is as it was prior to the unexpected death of the old battery. This trip around I "know" that I'm using the "supposedly" better style of maintainer and we will see if this battery lasts any longer or not. It has labels placed over where the caps should be so I'm assuming it is an maintenance free battery. I'm going back to napa for some other items in the morning and I will confirm whether is is or not. If it's not I believe I'll just have to pull the hood 1 or 2 a year and check the water levels. Just another item to add to the maintenance program.

I wanted to add that since I had everything all apart I decided to follow some other great advice given on TBN and I thoroughly coated everything with No-Ox-Id. I am eager to see if that stuff actually works or is horse pucky too. Kuoa swears it's the cats trick to avoid corrosion and I'm hoping he is correct!! It seems like a like coat of grease, but I've used actual grease before with no noticeable results....so again, we'll just wait and see.

I was just voicing a concern about the validity of smart chargers and was disappointed in not immediately seeing any long term gains; but I'm going to give it another go around and maybe this trip will be better. Thanks all, Greg

 

[daugen]

Last time I was in Napa I picked up their big tool flyer.
Was amazed there were pages and pages of battery chargers, most the big wheeled
old style transformer models used to jump big rigs. There were a few "smart" chargers included but
relatively few.

Is it correct to say an "automatic" charger will not overcharge a lead acid battery?
That seems to be the beginning of charger intelligence, other than beeping if hooked up wrong.
What I haven't seen anyone be able to quantify is how much "smarter" one charger is than another.
Is the rejuvenation cycle of one unit truly more effective than the pulse circuit of another?

 

[Industrial Toys]

Just curious. I saw a rather detailed test of various AA Alkaline batteries. HF and Dollar General were the cheapest and the worst as well as the worst value for money/energy. Amazon batteries were the best deal, but not the best batteries for longest life.

It makes me wonder if a HF tender or anything else for that matter is of any higher quality or value than their batteries?

 

[3930dave]

Gregster..... definitely keep an eye on the electrolyte level if possible...... people complain about cold-start issues up here with batteries, but I know, on average, high ambient temps often kills charged batteries faster than cold.

Alternator output is temperature compensated, but not necessarily on a charger.

Rgds, D.

 

[John_Mc]

And, I must add that my thoughts of a smart charger are one that senses when the voltage reaches fully charged and then automatically goes into maintain mode and stops charging the water/juice out of the battery. I'm not really sure that my old HF chargers stopped charging or if they continued to blast juice into the battery, thus boiling out the water and granting it an early death. As far as desulfation goes, as long as my blue light is flashing I expect it to be working and helping to prolong the battery life. Again, that is why I was disappointed in an early (in my mind) battery death.

That is how a smart charger works (at least the good ones - and your BatteryMinder is a good one). Keep in mind that hooking up a charger is not the only thing that can cause electrolyte to boil off. As mentioned earlier: if it's sitting right near your radiator/engine the heat can adversely affect it's life. A malfunctioning charging system in your tractor can also cause problems.

If you are starting with a decent quality battery, and are keeping it on a maintainer like your BatteryMinder when not in use, and you are still getting only 5 years out of a battery, it's worth looking for other causes. (Even "Maintenance Free" batteries can fail when subjected to adverse conditions.)

 

[John_Mc]

Alternator output is temperature compensated, but not necessarily on a charger.

I had no idea Alternator output was temperature compensated. Nice to know that technology has been keeping up.

All of the current BatteryMinder chargers are temperature compensated. Some manufacturers of smart chargers use other meathods of compensating for temperature. Here is what I was told by PulseTech when I asked if any of their chargers were temperature compensated:

Our chargers work on all lead acid batteries in various temperatures because they monitor the volts and amperage output instead of being voltage regulated only. The temperature and battery type affect the battery's charge acceptance that we measure with amps. If a battery's voltage is high but it is still accepting charging current, our chargers keep going until the amp output falls before going into float maintenance mode. Also if the volts are low and the battery will not accept current, it monitors that too and stops. Because our chargers are voltage and amperage regulated, it works as temperature compensation and allows them to work on all lead acid battery types.​

I have no idea if this method works as well or better or worse than sensing temperature directly. At least they have recognized the need to adjust for different conditions.