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lead battery charging ?
Hobbico Torqmaster LC 12 v 7Ah battery.
Instructions are to charge with 12V 500mA charger for 10 hours. My current charging options are a 2amp car battery charger.. Is this to much?? especially for the 1st charge? or I have a 12V 300mA wallwart charger. (Cut the charge plug off and solder on some clips to the wallwart?) This is less than the 500mA so charge for longer? I also have a hobbico field charger but it doesnt say it does lead batteries.. it will go down to 0.2amps... could I set this for .5amps and shut it off after 8-10 hours? I know low and slow is better, especially for the first charge,,? (does that apply to lead batteries?) ' I always used my 2 amp car battery charger on my last battery and it only lasted 1.5 years??? Thanks for any input Steve |
RE: lead battery charging ?
I use a 2 amp car charger to top up my Hobbico 12v 7000Mah field box battery. My first one lasted 5 years.
Your old battery might have sat in a warehouse or hobby store shelf for a couple of years before you ever bought it. That might be why you only got another 18 months out of it. |
RE: lead battery charging ?
The Gell Cell batteries don't have a very long life. One thing to keep in mind, and I'm bad about this, they are not a deep cycle battery, IE boat battery, or camper battery. They will probably last longer with more frequent short charges than the way I've done it over the last five years, which is charge it and when it drops down so the fuel pump in struggling or the starter won't kick over my O.S 52 four stroke, then I charge it again. I replaced my first about 5 months back. I got maybe 4 1/2 years on it. Iused a wall wart from my old Motorola Brick cell phone for a carger. You may want to look at Harbor Freight, they have a "Float Charger" for around $5. It is for putting on your boat or RV over the winter and it keeps the battery up to charge, but doesn 't over charge it. I've got one, but never used it, it might be just the ticket.Of course, I would have to hook it up after flying each day.
Don |
RE: lead battery charging ?
i wouldnt use the 2 amp, gell cells dont like to be charged quick, it will work but you wont get the longest life possible.
the 300 mah charger would be fine, it would just take longer, just make sure you dont mix up the + and -. |
RE: lead battery charging ?
I have been using my 2 amp charger for over 4 years and all the 7 amp hobbico or hanger 9 batteries are still going and hold charge I have 5 batteries
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RE: lead battery charging ?
I'd like to agree with Campgem's point. I think the key to keeping a field box battery working for a good, long time is to keep it topped up. It's not as important whether you top it up at .3 amps or 2 amps for a charge rate, it's important that you don't let the battery get too far run down.
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RE: lead battery charging ?
You really don't want to be trickle charging at above 70mA, once the battery is fully charged.
Lead acid batteries are finnicky animals. A good start would be to ask the supplier for charging recommendations. Cyclic charging requires different characteristics in the charger to float (or trickle) charging for the best and most efficient battery charge and life-time. There are motorcycle chargers that would do a really good job on any small battery; 'trouble is they are about $60. |
RE: lead battery charging ?
I think I'd like to charge slowly with the .3 amps but how do I know when its done?
Unlike my hobbico field charger which when used for Nicads will/should shut down when it peaks. this setup will just keep pumping in the .3 amps till I shut it off... For that matter, I think my Car battery charger at 2 amps will also just keep pumping in the juice??? Sooo, I usually clamp my voltmeter probes onto the battery terminals with the charger clamps. I can see the increase in voltage as the charger is charging. when should I shut down the charger? I admit, I wasnt very kind to my previous battery. I'll attempt to keep this one topped off. Thanks Steve Edit: actually, perhaps I should get a better 12 volt charger as I started using a deep cycle marine battery on my canoe and I need to maintain that also? |
RE: lead battery charging ?
ORIGINAL: psuguru You really don't want to be trickle charging at above 70mA, once the battery is fully charged. Lead acid batteries are finnicky animals. A good start would be to ask the supplier for charging recommendations. Cyclic charging requires different characteristics in the charger to float (or trickle) charging for the best and most efficient battery charge and life-time. There are motorcycle chargers that would do a really good job on any small battery; 'trouble is they are about $60. I'm thinking I could use the .3 amp wallwart I have and charge for 13-14 hours???? I'm thinking: .5 amps = 10 hours so .25 amps would be 15 hours so the the .3 amp I have would be about 13 - 14 hours. what I need to know is at what voltage should I stop charging this 12 volt battery? Just trying to get the best life without buying another charger? steve |
RE: lead battery charging ?
One of these would be worth it to you. It will charge all 12 volt lead acid and gel battery's.
http://batterytender.com/motorcycle/...-at-0-75a.html I use one of these but I have, bikes, sleds, under water camera, vexilar flasher, and cars and vans. It also desulfates the battery if required. With the automatic charger you just put it on the charger and forget about it. The ultimate came with extra leads so I added banana plugs to one set and during the flying season as soon as I come home and unload I put my field battery on the charger and don't take it off till I leave the next time to go fly. 3 years now with the same battery. http://www.optimate3.com/classic/ To answer your question about 13 volts is when it is charged. |
RE: lead battery charging ?
Guy's you're all making this lead acid thing way too complex.
Just go to Walmart and pick up a Schumacher battery charger, model# 1562A. It's a cheap and perfect charger to not only charge the lead acid batteries we use at the field, but it's specifically designed to be left on a battery virtually all the time and will keep the battery at it's perfect charged (but NOT overcharged) state. Not only will it not hurt your battery by leaving it attached, but keeping a lead acid battery at it's optimum full-charged state will allow you to get the maximum life out of it as well. I've got 2 batteries that still load-test like new that are over 3 years old, and they've spent 99.999% of those 3+ years attached to the 1562A's. I've got four of these chargers, and they are ALL doing full-time duty attached to the several LA batteries in my vintage cars, motorcycle, and of course, RC field battery. And by the way, the price shown is about twice what you have to pay for it at Walmart, so pick up a couple, hook them up, and just walk away and forget about them until you want to go fly. I don't think I paid more than $20 for any of mine that I bought at different times. http://store.schumachermart.com/sem-1562a.html |
RE: lead battery charging ?
The charger that Highflight has recommended is the only one I ever had, and it has kept my battery OK for four years.
It cost me $15 at Wal-Mart. There are only two things that kill this type of batteries: strong vibrations and deep discharges. Each of the six cells will not accept charge much more than what it needs at 2.4 volts each; it is just a chemical reaction inside. I believe, they cannot be overcharged, since I have never seen any at more than 14.4 volts. Check this tutorial out: http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html |
RE: lead battery charging ?
ORIGINAL: Highflight Guy's you're all making this lead acid thing way too complex. Just go to Walmart and pick up a Schumacher battery charger, model# 1562A. It's a cheap and perfect charger to not only charge the lead acid batteries we use at the field, but it's specifically designed to be left on a battery virtually all the time and will keep the battery at it's perfect charged (but NOT overcharged) state. Not only will it not hurt your battery by leaving it attached, but keeping a lead acid battery at it's optimum full-charged state will allow you to get the maximum life out of it as well. I've got 2 batteries that still load-test like new that are over 3 years old, and they've spent 99.999% of those 3+ years attached to the 1562A's. I've got four of these chargers, and they are ALL doing full-time duty attached to the several LA batteries in my vintage cars, motorcycle, and of course, RC field battery. And by the way, the price shown is about twice what you have to pay for it at Walmart, so pick up a couple, hook them up, and just walk away and forget about them until you want to go fly. I don't think I paid more than $20 for any of mine that I bought at different times. http://store.schumachermart.com/sem-1562a.html I think I'll pick one up tonight! Thanks Steve |
RE: lead battery charging ?
ORIGINAL: Popriv ORIGINAL: psuguru You really don't want to be trickle charging at above 70mA, once the battery is fully charged. Lead acid batteries are finnicky animals. A good start would be to ask the supplier for charging recommendations. Cyclic charging requires different characteristics in the charger to float (or trickle) charging for the best and most efficient battery charge and life-time. There are motorcycle chargers that would do a really good job on any small battery; 'trouble is they are about $60. I'm thinking I could use the .3 amp wallwart I have and charge for 13-14 hours???? I'm thinking: .5 amps = 10 hours so .25 amps would be 15 hours so the the .3 amp I have would be about 13 - 14 hours. what I need to know is at what voltage should I stop charging this 12 volt battery? Just trying to get the best life without buying another charger? steve The instructions are indicating an initial charge of 5.0AH, so at 0.3A you'd need a 16-17 hour charge at constant current. Do not, under any circumstances, allow the terminal voltage to rise above 14.4V, because all Lead Acid batteries will gas at that voltage. Hydrogen gas is explosive and I have seen a Panasonic 12V battery used in a Telecomm application blown out like a balloon! Acid release from a venting battery will destroy anything nearby and may cause personal injury. For cyclic charging, I recommend a peak termination voltage of 13.8V and trickle or float charge at 13.2V constant voltage. (at 25C. decrease by 13.2mV per degree C above this temperature ) Make sure the voltages you read are the actual voltages at the terminals and that your readings are not affected by voltage drops along leads and connectors. The battery chargers in the post above are good stuff. I use the Optimate on my bikes. |
RE: lead battery charging ?
I don't know the battery, so these are generic recommendations; I still advise obtaining charging information from the manufacturer. The instructions are indicating an initial charge of 5.0AH, so at 0.3A you'd need a 16-17 hour charge at constant current. Do not, under any circumstances, allow the terminal voltage to rise above 14.4V, because all Lead Acid batteries will gas at that voltage. Hydrogen gas is explosive and I have seen a Panasonic 12V battery used in a Telecomm application blown out like a balloon! Acid release from a venting battery will destroy anything nearby and may cause personal injury. For cyclic charging, I recommend a peak termination voltage of 13.8V and trickle or float charge at 13.2V constant voltage. (at 25C. decrease by 13.2mV per degree C above this temperature ) Make sure the voltages you read are the actual voltages at the terminals and that your readings are not affected by voltage drops along leads and connectors. The battery chargers in the post above are good stuff. I use the Optimate on my bikes. |
RE: lead battery charging ?
not sure if its my gel cell battery or my charger
I have a Hobbico 12V battery that seems to have gone dead left it on the wall wart charger for a couple of days and it still doesn't show much for signs of life,so how do you determine if its the charger thats gone bad and not the battery I don't mind buying a new charger if needed but they don't seem to go bad that often |
RE: lead battery charging ?
You can just check the voltage with a meter with the charger connected to the battery. If the voltage goes up when you connect the charger, then the charger is working.
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RE: lead battery charging ?
Here are some good sources for battery info, especially Red's site, check out the section on Pb batteries.
Two ways to quickly ruin a sealed 12 volt Pb (gell cell) battery: charge at higher than 0.1C and discharge it below 11.9 volts. Battery information http://www.hangtimes.com/redsbatteryclinic.html http://www.camlight.com/techinfo/techtips.html http://www.whenshtf.com/showthread.php?t=2153 http://www.srbatteries.com/nimh.htm http://dansdata.com/gz011.htm http://users.frii.com/dlc/battery.htm |
RE: lead battery charging ?
I agree with whoever said that everyone was making a mountain out of a molehill here. I have 3 of the Hobbico gel-cell 7 amp hour batteries varying in age from 2 years to 10 years. I also have a Hobbbico wall wart that charges at 600 mah rate. Whenever I'm going flying I just plug the field box in for a few hours and go. I've never run low and have not replaced one because it won't hold a charge. As far as quick charging a gel-cell, I don't know if that is good or bad but using the right equipment for the right job is important. Just buy the Hobbico wal-wart and you'll be fine.
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RE: lead battery charging ?
I have a 10 year old Sears jump-start kit. I don't know what the battery is in that thing, but it should have been named "Timex". Never quits even with the abuse I give it. I use it as as starter battery, to charge glow drivers, LiPo batteries, NiMh and LiFePO4 receiver batteries, and to power my fuel pump... and I'm sure several other purposes.
It has an internal charger. I just plug the thing into a wall socket at night and the next morning, the green ready LED is lit and off we go for another day of abuse. I don't know what the charger supplies, nor do I care. All I care about is that it works fine, has worked fine in the past, and that I have no reason to doubt that it won't continue to work fine in the future. Of course, I'm enough of a realist that it won't last forever, but as of now, it ows me absolutely nothing. If I had to replace it, this is what I would get (the one I have is no longer available): http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...1987000P?mv=rr CGr. |
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