Thread: Which stage battery charger?

It looks very expensive at that price but it would be very interesting to compare the specifications to this option.

This is the talk of the caravan scene ATM...its cheap, does the job and you have more money in your pocket. Available from Jaycar.



12V 16A Car Battery Charger

This fully automatic switch mode car battery charger utilises a four stage rapid charge design to optimize the life and performance of lead acid/GEL batteries. The pulsed current charging system allows batteries to accept up to 15% more energy than typical charging methods. Once the battery is charged, the unit switches to maintenance mode to keep the battery in peak condition. The charger has a number of other advanced safety features including automatic short circuit protection, anti spark circuitry, and reverse polarity detection. The charger also has a series of LEDs to indicate charging status and battery fault conditions. The ergonomic design includes a top mounted carry handle and cable storage for the battery leads and clamps. Size270(W) x 220(H) x 120(D)
Specifications:
* Spark free
* Output short circuit and reverse polarity
* Automatic thermal protection/shutdown
* Convectional cooling system
* Weather proof design
* Mains cable length 1.8M
* Battery lead length 1.9M

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...=&SUBCATID=295
QTY 1+ $169.00 2+ $151.95 4+ $134.95

the one just above is very cheap for the features actually... a ctek would cost 2 or 3 times that price for that amperage....

I was more concerned over if I really need a 3 stage or 4 stage battery charger for what I use it for, or if something smaller will do but I'll have a look at that and do some more research...

I've just been speaking with Track with regards to other matters and asked what type of charger they supply. It's a Mascot 9740 - does anyone have or know of this brand?

Grizzly...they are ripping you off

Now I am not proclaiming to be the expert here and hopefully Drivesafe will point you in the right direction but according to the specs the Mascot charger is nothing special.

To my limited understanding it looks a bit small @ 10 amps or over the top @ 20 amps. What this means is that the battery charger has to be on longer to charge the battery to full capacity. If you are charging by generator this would mean most of the night. Your neighbours would be most pleased with that I have noticed that there are 3 models.

The higher the amps the quicker the charging is the general rule.

Like I said, I am not the expert and maybe others can assist.

Hi folks, I would like to make it VERY clear from the start, I have not do all that much R & D with battery chargers and my limited knowledge is more based on researching manufactures data and knowledgeable web sites.

I personally use a two stage battery charger but this is a need specific device that allows me to be able to charge three batteries independently but at the same time.

If I was to be in the market for a battery charger, a two stage or three stage would meet my needs and there in lays the secret. The type of battery charge you choose should be based on your intended needs.

Some info that may help you decide is form, as posted above, other more knowledgeable sites.

Single stage chargers are, in this day and age, not such a good device and when used must be watched while using them. They are NOT a connect and forget device. Leaving one of these on your battery for too long will cook the battery.

Two stage chargers do an excellent job but and are best if the intended use is for maintaining a stored battery, say like the one in your caravan or camper trailer that sits around unused for months at a time and in this type of situation, a small charger is just as good as a large one as the time required to fully charge the battery is pretty well irrelevant. Mine is a 10 amp charger and I use it charge and maintain five 200 A/H batteries and it has kept them in working order for over two years and they were two years old when I got them, so it obviously works ( for my needs )

Three stage chargers have a Bulk charge mode that will charge the battery as quick as possible to about 80% ( based on quite a few factor and not just the maximum output current of the charger ). An Absorption mode which then applies a constant voltage to the battery to bring it up to about 95 to 98% and then a maintenance ( or Float ) mode that simply applies a lower voltage ( than the charge voltage ) to the battery to stop the battery self discharging.

Four stage chargers are similar to the three stage except a four mode, the Equalisation mode is added.

The Equalisation mode is only used on wet cell batteries and MUST NOT be used on sealed maintenance free or AGM batteries.

The Equalisation mode applies a high than normal charge voltage to the battery, something in the order of 15 to 15.5 volts and the high voltage literally boils the wet cell battery to desulfate the plates.

Now as to how quick you charge a battery, this is not just down to the charger being able to supply 50 amps so a 100 A/H battery will charge in two hours.

It just doesn’t does work that way. Put basically, the amount of current going into a battery is actually controlled more by the battery than by the charge and it’s the charger’s charging voltage that has an effect on the amount of current a battery will take, not the charger’s maximum current.

To get a battery to charge at the fastest possible current rate, you have to apply the highest SAFE voltage possible and then the current rate will still be controlled by the battery but the lower the battery is when you start to charge it and the higher the charging voltage is, the greater the current will be but as the battery charges, the current rate will reduce.

There is heaps more to it but that’s the basics.

So Grizzly, if you are going to have a large battery that will be fairly discharged when you go to a powered site then a 20 amp unit may be the way to go but you will probably be able to fully charge a 100 A/H battery to a full charged state over night with a 10 amp two or three stage charger.

One more point, most battery manufacturers list the maximum charging current for their batteries but if you read through all the battery info they usually say the a 2 to 4 amp battery charge is usually the best type of charger to use as slow low current charging is better for any type of battery.

As posted above, this info is primarily based of information acquired from other sources but I hope it is of some help.

Cheers.