purple_stars wrote:

krj wrote:
[snip]

Maybe you need to read regulators 101.
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/a...eid=caseyd0081
krj


that article is dumb. it sounds alarmist, like suddenly the world of
batteries and voltage regulation has ran into a new problem that needs
to be solved by 3 way chargers and PWM. they are making up a problem
so that they can solve it. it reminds me of acid reflux disease ...
something we used to call being a pig and eating too damn much then
getting indigestion all the time. but this new acid reflux disease
sure sells a lot of purple pills.

simple fact is, batteries have been charging a long time without these
battery chargers. period. and the batteries don't go bad unless you
don't maintain them, that is, you let the electrolyte level get down on
the plates and/or leave it there for a long time, discharged. then you
get sulfate on the plates and it won't take a charge. but even that's
not the end of the world since you can hook it up to a high current
source and gas a lot of the sulfate off of the plates and "recondition"
the batteries just by making it froth up vigorously.

the article is insincere, it even has terms like "over-charging". what
is that ? i mean really! your battery is made of plates of metal
inside of an acid solution inside of a box. what exactly is getting
over-charged ? what's going to happen ? the plates are going to
suddenly stop being made out of lead ? the acid is going to suddenly
stop being acidic ? the box is going to stop being a box ? i mean
what is this "over-charging" anyway ? the worst thing that's going to
happen is that you're going to create some hydrogen gas and have to put
water in more often ... the hydrogen isn't a problem because a good
install already has good ventilation. and as far as the vigorous broth
you're making in the batteries by "over-charging" (at the extreme) ...
that's a GOOD THING! why would you want to stop that ? if you've got
power to waste, OVER-CHARGE and get rid of some of the sulfate on the
plates already. and then in the article they turn right around ..
right after talking about over-charging, and then say it's a good thing
by giving it the name "equalization"!!!! i mean come on!!!! it's the
same damn thing!!! lol. i mean what kind of snake oil is this when you
say over-charging is a bad thing because it gasses off your electrolyte
and then turn right around and say "equalization" is a good thing!!!
it's the same thing!!!! lol.

Yes, people, including me, have been charging batteries for years
without a three stage regulator. A three stage regulator just makes the
charging take less time. As for over charging, keeping the charge
voltage at a high voltage, i.e. 14.4 causes the electrolite to boil off
and require water replacement more frequently.
krj