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#1
posted to rec.boats.electronics
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Battery switches, alternators and regulators?
purple_stars wrote:
Wayne.B wrote: There is a BIG difference between the charging requirements of a car versus a boat. When things are working normally on a car the battery never gets deep cycled. The only charging that takes place is for the relatively small amount of power drawn during engine cranking. After that the alternator supplies all of the power needed and the battery just floats across the output, usually at about 13.8 volts. On a boat however, the house bank routinely gets deeply discharged, often to as low as 50% of capacity. To replace that amount of power as quickly as possible, 3 stage charging is required. i don't know what use a charge controller is if you have a voltage regulator, such as on an alternator. a charge controller, at least in a solar panel install, is just there to regulate voltage and current, because solar panels can put out upwards to 16 to 17 volts on a cool clear day and that would be high enough to damage your batteries over time. so with solar panels the charge controller's job is to make the solar panel work like an alternator, supplying the voltage and amps needed to properly recharge the batteries. Maybe you need to read regulators 101. http://www.sailnet.com/collections/a...eid=caseyd0081 krj |
#2
posted to rec.boats.electronics
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Battery switches, alternators and regulators?
krj wrote in news:rlJKf.1275$u%.1221
@bignews1.bellsouth.net: sailnet.com From people who sold (past tense) expensive regulators and chargers....(c; |
#3
posted to rec.boats.electronics
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Battery switches, alternators and regulators?
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. |
#4
posted to rec.boats.electronics
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Battery switches, alternators and regulators?
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 |
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