Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?

Primarly the length of time it takes to recharge the battery.
Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 17:47:44 -0700, Michael Remski
wrote:
Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?
============================

The reason for the 2 amp setting is to use it as a trickle charger
where you are going to leave the battery connected to the charger for
a long period of time.

I don't mean to be a wise guy, but did your charger come with instructions?

"Michael Remski" wrote in message
...
Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?

On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 14:32:16 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

I don't mean to be a wise guy, but did your charger come with instructions?

"Michael Remski" wrote in message
.. .
Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?

It was a charger I had lying around for years, and have long lost the
instructions......Thanks for the help guys.....

I hope that wasn't sarcastic? You did get the answers. LOL

-W

"Michael Remski" wrote in message

Thanks for the help guys.....

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 17:47:44 -0700, Michael Remski
wrote:

Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?

From my understanding, a "trickle" charge is preferred over a higher
Amperage charge, if time permits. The slower the electrons (?) bond to
the plates (?) the better they pack. Plus, gasses and plate buckling
are kept to a minimum.

Hey, I know this isn't technical, but it's like trying to roast a
Turkey in half the time at twice the heat. But.... 6 Amps is hardly
considered a big charge current.

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 03:24:52 -0400, Joe Here wrote:

6 Amps is hardly
considered a big charge current

==========================

Depends on battery size, but even a fairly large battery can be boiled
dry over time at 6 amps.

Michael Remski wrote:
Should I use the 2A or 6A setting on the battery charger when charing
a marine battery? Whats the difference (besides 4 amps....L)?


Joe Here wrote:
From my understanding, a "trickle" charge is preferred over a higher
Amperage charge, if time permits. The slower the electrons (?) bond to
the plates (?) the better they pack. Plus, gasses and plate buckling
are kept to a minimum.

Correct in essence, a lower amperage over a longer time frame will result
in a higher final charge and less temperature rise. However a cheap
trickle charger can still boil off a battery by running up to higher
voltage than the battery can take, even at very low amperage.



Hey, I know this isn't technical, but it's like trying to roast a
Turkey in half the time at twice the heat. But.... 6 Amps is hardly
considered a big charge current.

The problem is the volts vs amps curve. At lower charge voltage, batteries
can take a whopping amp load... consider it sort of like the jolt they
endure when kicking over a starter for a big engine, only in reverse.
However, as the battery approaches full charge, the voltage rises and the
amperage drops. To continue trying to charge at a fixed amperage will
damage the battery as the voltage climbs towards 15 or even 16V.

A 3-stage "smart" charger will actually taper off the amperage at a fixed
voltage, and then trickle a lower voltage to maintain the full charge. It
takes a fairly sophisticated controller to do this. But it's very well
worth the extra money IMHO because the batteries will have about 25% more
electricity available (when new, if you get a smart charger and hook it up
to an old battery it could be much much more) and they will last longer.

If you are going to plug in a charger and leave the battery for a few
days, absolutely use the lowest setting. At 2A it is getting almost
50amp-hours a day, which means that in two days a big Group 31 will be
fully charged, in three or four days it will be trying to soak up a
damaging overcharge. A smaller battery will fare worse.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

[Snip]

The problem is the volts vs amps curve. At lower charge voltage, batteries
can take a whopping amp load... consider it sort of like the jolt they
endure when kicking over a starter for a big engine, only in reverse.
However, as the battery approaches full charge, the voltage rises and the
amperage drops. To continue trying to charge at a fixed amperage will
damage the battery as the voltage climbs towards 15 or even 16V.

A 3-stage "smart" charger will actually taper off the amperage at a fixed
voltage, and then trickle a lower voltage to maintain the full charge. It
takes a fairly sophisticated controller to do this. But it's very well
worth the extra money IMHO because the batteries will have about 25% more
electricity available (when new, if you get a smart charger and hook it up
to an old battery it could be much much more) and they will last longer.

If you are going to plug in a charger and leave the battery for a few
days, absolutely use the lowest setting. At 2A it is getting almost
50amp-hours a day, which means that in two days a big Group 31 will be
fully charged, in three or four days it will be trying to soak up a
damaging overcharge. A smaller battery will fare worse.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King


I have a question I've pondered for a while ..........

On a trickle charger, if you were to connect an IC
that limits the voltage to 12 Volts only ( LM12 ) could you
leave the charger on indefinately without damage to the battery?