TomKrajci 🇺🇦
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@KrajciTom@universeodon.com
@darryl_ramm@hachyderm.io
This is for a variety of lead-acid batteries I have. Smallest is less than 10 amp-hour for the wing rigger, my generator battery, all the way up to the truck battery.
I have not characterized them well, but I have done some evaluation of them under appropriate load.
My ancient charger has no brains, so it can't handle everything I require of it. Newer ones have more modes/options.
I want to be ready as I get the glider ready for flight testing, and winter is coming. A bunch of lead-acid batteries need to be healthy and ready.
The FES batteries are lithium and have their own special charger and battery management system.
I'll do some shopping for a new charger, but I may still tweak this old one, but only a little bit.
Darryl Ramm@darryl_ramm@hachyderm.io
@KrajciTom@universeodon.com
This looks like it might be a float only “battery tender”. Do you have any doc for it? In which case I would run away from it for general use.
For VRLA general purpose use like glider avionics or wing runner VRLA batteries I would look for a VRLA charger with bulk charge current ~C/10 to C/5.
VRLA I would not juice up the float voltage, those you want conservative and temperature compensated… one of the main killers of VRLA batteries is charging at too high a rate/too high a voltage/too hot…which causes gas leaking out the over pressure vents and the cells eventually drying out. There is an amazingly small amount of electrolyte in those cells to start with, just enough to dampen some thin fiber sheet spacers.
For glider avionics/motorcycle batteries the West Mountain Radio CBT battery discharge testers aka analyzers are really great. https://www.westmountainradio.com/cba.php