Do battery chargers mostly suck, in your experience?

[Ignoramus7945]

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

 

[Lloyd E. Sponenburgh]

Ignoramus7945 <ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> fired this volley in
news:XuCdncklSKrFX4HKnZ2dnUU7-U2dnZ2d@giganews.com:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

Ig,
The problem with most consumer lead-acid battery chargers (and most of
the pro versions, too) are built on 30-to-40-year-old technology.

The 'smartest' consumer lead-acide smart-charger isn't nearly as
adaptable as the chargers on most kids' hand-held toys.

There are some smart 'maintenance' type chargers out there. But even
those are 10-year-old tech.

LLoyd

 

[legg]

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 07:55:52 -0500, Ignoramus7945
<ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

Most simple lead-acid chargers do just that, and only for one battery
voltage. The larger the charger, the more likely it is designed for
one specific application.

The more elaborate they are, the more things that can go wrong to
confuse the controller and trigger protective circuitry.

Smart chargers and particularly smart chargers intended to charge
'smart' batteries have the worst record. If you examine their
state-machine organization, you will see innumerable vectors that
result in incomplete charging functions, or cyclical fault loops, with
little regard for completion of the intended task.

This is getting better, with time, but there is poor emphasis on
battery charging integrity in the development of most new products
that offer rechargeable battery options. It is considered as an
add-on, or a feature that can be handled in firmware, despite the lack
of experience that programmer's may have in the power electronics
field.

As a result, established products can be expected to operate more
reliably, as they benefit from their previous iterations, similar to
other software-dependent applications.

RL

 

[Gunner Asch]

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 07:55:52 -0500, Ignoramus7945
<ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

There are good battery chargers, there are fair battery chargers and
there are a large...large number of Junk battery chargers.

Most common battery chargers are designed for the homeowner. These
tend to be more or less... junk, make in China, of
materials/components that are apparently designed to have a minimal
life span. Personally..I think its a crime to sell them. False
advertising at best.

Here is a listing of the best homeowner type chargers, per reviewers

http://car-battery-charger-review.toptenreviews.com/

Here is a brand that is quite good.

http://www.usabatterychargers.com/commercial_battery_charger.htm

And another

https://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/12-volt/gel-cell/ICS1225.html

Some..some of Schumachers chargers are quite good. Some.

http://www.batterychargers.com/blog/schumacher-sc10030a-battery-charger-rated-1two-years-in-a-row/

That being said....USING battery chargers Can be more involved than
hooking up 2 leads and plugging it in. You need to know if the
battery itself can actually be recharged. You said something about
the charge indicator needle banging back and forth.... you do know
that USUALLY indicates either a badly calcified battery or one that
has broken plates...IE..an internal short...right?
Batteries need to be charged in certain environmental conditions as
well. Trying to get a marginal charger to charge a battery that has
been sitting stone cold dead for 4 yrs after being removed from an off
road pickup truck, in the dead of winter....is an exercise for someone
with nothing better to do with their life. Etc etc etc. Trying to
jump/charge a diesel truck battery in the Freightliner, with a float
charger meant for small cars...simply wont work very well either.....

Ive got about 4 -6 chargers at the moment..most of them purchased at
yard sales. Each one of them has been beat to hell by the previous
owners. Ive had to take them apart, straighten out internal bends and
breaks that happened when they fell off tall shelves, were kicked into
the corner, were run over and so forth. An elderly Schumacher is the
oldest..and has given me the best service for at least 15 yrs. I also
have a floor model that is in the To Do pile..its older than dirt but
should be easy to restore when I get the time to fuck with it.

Ive used 12volt forklift chargers with great sucess over the years.
Some are very good indeed. Others..older ones...are simply larger
versions of home use chargers. They will charge a battery in good
condition and not run flat and left sitting for 5 yrs, quite well.
Other batteries less well treated...not so much.

Gunner

 

[Ignoramus7945]

On 2016-04-24, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com> wrote:

Here is a brand that is quite good.

http://www.usabatterychargers.com/commercial_battery_charger.htm

I like those chargers, thanks.

i

That being said....USING battery chargers Can be more involved than
hooking up 2 leads and plugging it in. You need to know if the
battery itself can actually be recharged.

And this is why, any decent battery charger needs to have both amps AND
volts displays. With these two you can figure out what is going on
very quickly.

i

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 08:04:01 -0700, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com>
wrote:


>Ive got about 4 -6 chargers at the moment.

I love the variable number! Typical Wieber. LOL So are you a crazy
hoarder, or are you the classic
don't-fix-it-if-you-can-get-away-with-constantly-charging type of
battery expert?

1. Get a job so you can afford new batteries when needed.
2. Learn how to diagnose electrical issues so that you're not dealing
with dead batteries all the time.

Then you'll find you only need one decent battery charger for
emergencies, or for helping people who ignored 1. and 2. Bonus, you
can hold a yard and earn between $15 and $25 selling your fleet of
chargers.

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:25:19 -0500, Ignoramus7945
<ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

And this is why, any decent battery charger needs to have both amps AND
volts displays. With these two you can figure out what is going on
very quickly.

i

DC clamp multimeters are cheap and any serious DIYer should have one.
Duplicating that functionality on a charger is more of a want than a
need.

 

[Gunner Asch]

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:25:19 -0500, Ignoramus7945
<ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

On 2016-04-24, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com> wrote:
Here is a brand that is quite good.

http://www.usabatterychargers.com/commercial_battery_charger.htm

I like those chargers, thanks.

i
That being said....USING battery chargers Can be more involved than
hooking up 2 leads and plugging it in. You need to know if the
battery itself can actually be recharged.

And this is why, any decent battery charger needs to have both amps AND
volts displays. With these two you can figure out what is going on
very quickly.

i

Ayup. And many folks today are so butt ignorant about "what is going
on very quickly" that voltmeters simply arent included because Aunt
Mae or Brother Bob doesnt have a clue, nor has any interest in knowing
whats going on. When the electric start snow blower or mower wont turn
over and fire up..they want to simply put the charger on it..wait a
long time (usally 15 minutes) and go do the mowing/blowing.

Im reminded daily..what an august group we have here. Smart people who
can actually find their asses with more than one hand..even
simultainiously or consecutivly!!
A very large portion of our population can barely pour in gas..let
alone know if its supposed to have oil mixed in it or not. As any
mower shop about that......

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 07:55:52 -0500, Ignoramus7945
<ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Nope. Over the years, I've found cause to blame the battery, the
owner, the dealer, and the charger. Sometimes, it's bad combinations
of the two. For example, the charger clearly says that it's for
lead-acid flooded batteries, but the owner insists that it should
charge an AGM or Gel type battery. I've lost count of how many times
I've run into people trying to charge batteries that are obviously
dead, leaking, or dry. Sometimes (not often) the chargers are just
plain junk:
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/drivel/slides/dead-battery-chargers.html>
As I vaguely recall, all but one of these blew up in service. The one
that survived and another that was not in the photo, were
pre-emptively replaced.

Smart chargers are actually better than crude chargers because they
take the decision making responsibility away from the owner. Plug it
in, walk away, and it's done. In 95% of the situations, that's fine
and will work as advertised. However, you can get into situations
where a smart charger can be fooled and will screw up. For example,
it can't tell the difference between a shorted battery and a totally
discharged battery. In order to protect itself (from fire and
liability lawsuits), smart chargers refuse to charge such batteries.
Yet, the battery is still good, but needs to be brought up slowly
until the smarts in the smart charger decides that it's worthy of
charging. If this is your problem, you can buy a charger that will do
that automagically, or you can bring it up slooooowly with a simple
trickle charger until the smart charger is happy. There are other
situations that might cause problems, but I don't want to burn the
time right now.

You can also create problems by having the battery and charger at
different temperatures or using corroded or rotten battery leads. Both
of these can fool a smart charger.

With the LiIon family of batteries, you have no choice in chargers.
It's going to be a smart charger or forget about charging. Lots of
reasons but the big one is that one tiny mistake with a LiIon type
battery and it's toast or you start a fire. Again, the smart charger
takes the decision away from the owner. LiIon also adds the need to
use a "balance charger", which equalizes the voltage of each cell.
"Equalization" can also done with flooded lead-acid cells if they get
out of balance, but for LiIon, methinks it's a necessity. Of course,
a balance charge requires a smart charger.

Basically, you have to evaluate each battery, battery charger, and
user combination together. If one part doesn't fit well, it's not
going to work. For example, you can have the worlds best battery and
smart charger, but if the owner doesn't follow the instructions, it's
unlikely to work. If you do decide to do your own thing, ask yourself
"are you really smarter than the smart charger"?


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Gunner Asch]

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:34:33 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 07:55:52 -0500, Ignoramus7945
ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Nope. Over the years, I've found cause to blame the battery, the
owner, the dealer, and the charger. Sometimes, it's bad combinations
of the two. For example, the charger clearly says that it's for
lead-acid flooded batteries, but the owner insists that it should
charge an AGM or Gel type battery. I've lost count of how many times
I've run into people trying to charge batteries that are obviously
dead, leaking, or dry. Sometimes (not often) the chargers are just
plain junk:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/drivel/slides/dead-battery-chargers.html
As I vaguely recall, all but one of these blew up in service. The one
that survived and another that was not in the photo, were
pre-emptively replaced.

Smart chargers are actually better than crude chargers because they
take the decision making responsibility away from the owner. Plug it
in, walk away, and it's done. In 95% of the situations, that's fine
and will work as advertised. However, you can get into situations
where a smart charger can be fooled and will screw up. For example,
it can't tell the difference between a shorted battery and a totally
discharged battery. In order to protect itself (from fire and
liability lawsuits), smart chargers refuse to charge such batteries.
Yet, the battery is still good, but needs to be brought up slowly
until the smarts in the smart charger decides that it's worthy of
charging. If this is your problem, you can buy a charger that will do
that automagically, or you can bring it up slooooowly with a simple
trickle charger until the smart charger is happy. There are other
situations that might cause problems, but I don't want to burn the
time right now.

You can also create problems by having the battery and charger at
different temperatures or using corroded or rotten battery leads. Both
of these can fool a smart charger.

With the LiIon family of batteries, you have no choice in chargers.
It's going to be a smart charger or forget about charging. Lots of
reasons but the big one is that one tiny mistake with a LiIon type
battery and it's toast or you start a fire. Again, the smart charger
takes the decision away from the owner. LiIon also adds the need to
use a "balance charger", which equalizes the voltage of each cell.
"Equalization" can also done with flooded lead-acid cells if they get
out of balance, but for LiIon, methinks it's a necessity. Of course,
a balance charge requires a smart charger.

Basically, you have to evaluate each battery, battery charger, and
user combination together. If one part doesn't fit well, it's not
going to work. For example, you can have the worlds best battery and
smart charger, but if the owner doesn't follow the instructions, it's
unlikely to work. If you do decide to do your own thing, ask yourself
"are you really smarter than the smart charger"?

Excellent post!! Bravo!!

Gunner

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 07:55:52 -0500, Ignoramus7945
<ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

Cheap battery chargers are universally troublesome.
Smart chargers will not charge a defective battery and are often
optimized for, say, an automotive starting battery- and will balk at
charging an 8Ah "gell cell"

Different horses for different courses - and no such thing as
"universal"

Lead Acid batteries may never start to charge with a charger limitted
to 13.3 volts - and would NEVER reach a full charge.

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:13:04 -0700, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com>
wrote:

Aunt
Mae or Brother Bob doesnt have a clue,

But if they have jobs and own their homes then they're miles ahead of
you! As is *everyone* I know personally, including some teenagers and
many who can't open their hoods much less know anything about what's
in there.

You're perpetually broke, in debt, spend most of your nights sleeping
in a truck, and the rest sleeping in a dingy mobile home on a tiny
rented lot in a crummy town. Does it really make sense to you to be
running down fictitious people for not knowing how to use a voltmeter?
Particularly since your own troubleshooting skills have been proven a
joke.

"As for his "prowess" as an electrical trouble shooter, I picked up a
complete service manual with all of the electrical diagrams and his
"Fix" for the failed components was to bypass the fuses - TO THE
CHARGING CIRCUIT - and baste everything in PB Blaster. There wasn't
anything wrong with the charging circuit. The batteries he had cobbled
together were shit. I picked up a set from Big Joe and, miracle of
miracles, the relay's and solenoinds suddenly started working. It was
pretty obvious at that point that his real skill is bull shitting. A
ten year old could have made perfect sense of the electrical drawings
but not Gunner."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.survivalism/msg/551e94166afc0da2

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 13:33:37 -0700, whoyakidding@gmail.com wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:13:04 -0700, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com
wrote:

Aunt
Mae or Brother Bob doesnt have a clue,

But if they have jobs and own their homes then they're miles ahead of
you! As is *everyone* I know personally, including some teenagers and
many who can't open their hoods much less know anything about what's
in there.

You're perpetually broke, in debt, spend most of your nights sleeping
in a truck, and the rest sleeping in a dingy mobile home on a tiny
rented lot in a crummy town. Does it really make sense to you to be
running down fictitious people for not knowing how to use a voltmeter?
Particularly since your own troubleshooting skills have been proven a
joke.

"As for his "prowess" as an electrical trouble shooter, I picked up a
complete service manual with all of the electrical diagrams and his
"Fix" for the failed components was to bypass the fuses - TO THE
CHARGING CIRCUIT - and baste everything in PB Blaster. There wasn't
anything wrong with the charging circuit. The batteries he had cobbled
together were shit. I picked up a set from Big Joe and, miracle of
miracles, the relay's and solenoinds suddenly started working. It was
pretty obvious at that point that his real skill is bull shitting. A
ten year old could have made perfect sense of the electrical drawings
but not Gunner."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.survivalism/msg/551e94166afc0da2

Just like the old saying "most carburetor problems aren't" - most
battery charger problems aren't. More likely battery problems - or
like the idiot a while back who insisted it was a dangerous defect in
a Canadian Tire battery charger that the ammeter melted inside the
case when he used the 100 amp "start assist" mode as a fast charger -
- - - - -.

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 18:16:16 -0400, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 13:33:37 -0700, whoyakidding@gmail.com wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:13:04 -0700, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com
wrote:

Aunt
Mae or Brother Bob doesnt have a clue,

But if they have jobs and own their homes then they're miles ahead of
you! As is *everyone* I know personally, including some teenagers and
many who can't open their hoods much less know anything about what's
in there.

You're perpetually broke, in debt, spend most of your nights sleeping
in a truck, and the rest sleeping in a dingy mobile home on a tiny
rented lot in a crummy town. Does it really make sense to you to be
running down fictitious people for not knowing how to use a voltmeter?
Particularly since your own troubleshooting skills have been proven a
joke.

"As for his "prowess" as an electrical trouble shooter, I picked up a
complete service manual with all of the electrical diagrams and his
"Fix" for the failed components was to bypass the fuses - TO THE
CHARGING CIRCUIT - and baste everything in PB Blaster. There wasn't
anything wrong with the charging circuit. The batteries he had cobbled
together were shit. I picked up a set from Big Joe and, miracle of
miracles, the relay's and solenoinds suddenly started working. It was
pretty obvious at that point that his real skill is bull shitting. A
ten year old could have made perfect sense of the electrical drawings
but not Gunner."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.survivalism/msg/551e94166afc0da2
Just like the old saying "most carburetor problems aren't" - most
battery charger problems aren't. More likely battery problems - or
like the idiot a while back who insisted it was a dangerous defect in
a Canadian Tire battery charger that the ammeter melted inside the
case when he used the 100 amp "start assist" mode as a fast charger -
- - - - -.

A while back I dragged out a 13hp generator that had been in unheated
storage through 2 winters. The small and cheap AGM battery was about 6
years old. I assumed it would be toast and at a minimum would be dead
flat. But my charger refused to pass any current. Nah, it couldn't
be... I pressed the start button and the generator cranked quite a bit
and then fired up.

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 16:08:02 -0700, whoyakidding@gmail.com wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 18:16:16 -0400, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 13:33:37 -0700, whoyakidding@gmail.com wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:13:04 -0700, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com
wrote:

Aunt
Mae or Brother Bob doesnt have a clue,

But if they have jobs and own their homes then they're miles ahead of
you! As is *everyone* I know personally, including some teenagers and
many who can't open their hoods much less know anything about what's
in there.

You're perpetually broke, in debt, spend most of your nights sleeping
in a truck, and the rest sleeping in a dingy mobile home on a tiny
rented lot in a crummy town. Does it really make sense to you to be
running down fictitious people for not knowing how to use a voltmeter?
Particularly since your own troubleshooting skills have been proven a
joke.

"As for his "prowess" as an electrical trouble shooter, I picked up a
complete service manual with all of the electrical diagrams and his
"Fix" for the failed components was to bypass the fuses - TO THE
CHARGING CIRCUIT - and baste everything in PB Blaster. There wasn't
anything wrong with the charging circuit. The batteries he had cobbled
together were shit. I picked up a set from Big Joe and, miracle of
miracles, the relay's and solenoinds suddenly started working. It was
pretty obvious at that point that his real skill is bull shitting. A
ten year old could have made perfect sense of the electrical drawings
but not Gunner."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.survivalism/msg/551e94166afc0da2
Just like the old saying "most carburetor problems aren't" - most
battery charger problems aren't. More likely battery problems - or
like the idiot a while back who insisted it was a dangerous defect in
a Canadian Tire battery charger that the ammeter melted inside the
case when he used the 100 amp "start assist" mode as a fast charger -
- - - - -.

A while back I dragged out a 13hp generator that had been in unheated
storage through 2 winters. The small and cheap AGM battery was about 6
years old. I assumed it would be toast and at a minimum would be dead
flat. But my charger refused to pass any current. Nah, it couldn't
be... I pressed the start button and the generator cranked quite a bit
and then fired up.

An AGM battery is about as close to "magic" as you can get in a
battery!!!

 

[Gunner Asch]

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 18:16:16 -0400, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

"As for his "prowess" as an electrical trouble shooter, I picked up a
complete service manual with all of the electrical diagrams and his
"Fix" for the failed components was to bypass the fuses - TO THE
CHARGING CIRCUIT - and baste everything in PB Blaster. There wasn't
anything wrong with the charging circuit. The batteries he had cobbled
together were shit. I picked up a set from Big Joe and, miracle of
miracles, the relay's and solenoinds suddenly started working. It was
pretty obvious at that point that his real skill is bull shitting. A
ten year old could have made perfect sense of the electrical drawings
but not Gunner."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.survivalism/msg/551e94166afc0da2

Snicker....roflmao!!

Gunner

 

[Phil Allison]

Ignoramus7945 wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

** The charges that really "suck" are ones that ruin the cells in short order by overcharging and hence overheating them. Ones that rely on sensing the temp of a cell or run for a fixed time are the main offenders.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

** Most do just that, fixed current charge with a max voltage of 13.5 or so to float the cells. Smart ones can detect shorted cells or open circuit conditions and do noting.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

** Plenty - especially ones that try to fast charge loose cells removed from the item as if they were a pack.

FYI:

I have a cordless screwdriver ( Bosch, made in Switzerland) ) that has a non removable pack and a fixed time charger, runs about 4 hours. Long as the driver is sluggish when you connect the charger it does the job fine every time with only a slight temp rise.

Its 20 years old now and I have replaced the 4 sub-C NiCd cells three times..


..... Phil

 

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 17:56:01 -0700, Gunner Asch <gunnerasch@gmail.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 18:16:16 -0400, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:


"As for his "prowess" as an electrical trouble shooter, I picked up a
complete service manual with all of the electrical diagrams and his
"Fix" for the failed components was to bypass the fuses - TO THE
CHARGING CIRCUIT - and baste everything in PB Blaster. There wasn't
anything wrong with the charging circuit. The batteries he had cobbled
together were shit. I picked up a set from Big Joe and, miracle of
miracles, the relay's and solenoinds suddenly started working. It was
pretty obvious at that point that his real skill is bull shitting. A
ten year old could have made perfect sense of the electrical drawings
but not Gunner."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.survivalism/msg/551e94166afc0da2

Snicker....roflmao!!

Gunner

Pretend to laugh all you want, but in every time you open your yap
about electricity you prove that that guy had a ringside seat to your
self destructiveness and limitations. It's clear that you are even
worse at troubleshooting than you are at lying about being able to
troubleshoot.

 

[gregz]

Ignoramus7945 <ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

I have some good ones, until they broke. Some lead acid chargers I built
with 80s. Chip, with temp sensing. Don't know if any still work. My trusty
4 amp manual charger for lead acid still working after 35 years. I got an
old Eico variable variac battery eliminator is nice to use manually.

Greg

 

[Roger Blake]

On 2016-04-24, Ignoramus7945 <ignoramus7945@NOSPAM.7945.invalid> wrote:

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

My best experiences have been with old-school "dumb" chargers. I have
a 4-amp model purchased over 40 years that is still going strong, works
every time. Recently I purchased a modern charger but it would not work
worth a damn even after returning for a replacement. So I went back to
the old standby and picked up another similar charger at a flea market.
That one also works great.

"New" and "improved" are not always the same thing.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Posts from Google Groups killfiled due to excess spam.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------