![]() Regarding a battery charger, it suggests 13.8V - 15V, 10A maximum, for 6-12 hours. I am not going to debate ad infinitum what I have said with ER, it is quite easy for anyone who is interested in knowing what is what to verify what I have said.Ĭlick to expand.The Optima website recommends 14.7V for "cyclic applications" and up to 15.6V for "rapid recharge". You might be able to use lesser chargers, but this will require a strict monitoring regime, lest you damage (overcharge) your AGM, which are sensitive to overcharging. ![]() So when choosing a charger for your AGM battery, choose one that will charge at the voltages as recommended by the battery manufacturer.Īlso you should note that battery manufacturers recommend that their batteries be charged in various stages in different voltage/current configurations so make sure your charger can do this also. While I don't disagree that this voltage will do an "adequate" job of lifting the battery's charge up, it will never fully charge an AGM battery. ER posits that this is not necessary and a normal charger (13.8 - 14.2 V) will do an adequate job. ![]() Now on this next point ER and I disagree, but if you look up the data sheets of any AGM battery you will see that most, if not all manufacturers, state that you need to charge an AGM at a higher voltage (~14.8 V) to fully charge when compared to standard flooded lead/acid. I have looked at quite a few battery chargers currently on the shelves, and all have specifications differentiating between flooded lead/acid and AGM/Gel. The one I bought from Harbor Freight no longer seems to be available, but I see similar ones on Amazon for about the same price.Click to expand.I wouldn't advocate buying the cheapest of anything out of China, and while most consumer electronics are certainly built there, there is still value in buying a known brand of charger. ![]() With the 10W total power under the most ideal conditions that you have, I would think I would want to have a charge controller. To be on the safe side, I also bought a charge controller from Harbor Freight for about $25, which worked adequately but was eventually found to be unnecessary, particularly since neither of the locations where are cars are parked get direct sunlight all day long (maybe 4 hours during the winter or summer, but the angle is more direct in the summer, of course). Unfortunately, 2 of the 4 stopped working after a month or 2, so I bought 2 of the 5W panels referenced above and they have been doing the job for a couple of years now. ![]() 1.5W from one panel was not enough to keep a battery fully charged in the winter, although it was adequate during the summer. I bought 4 of these: 1.5 Watt Solar Battery Chargerīecause I needed 2 for each car. My first attempt at using solar panels to keep 12V batteries charged was a "fail". Like you appear to be, I am a person who is interested in trying out the newest technology, especially when it points the way to a lower carbon future, but I am also wary of paying too high a price for what I'm getting, or in the case of battery charging, risking damaging the battery with something that is unproven. Which have been working well with the amount of winter sunlight we get in either downstate New York or Southwest Florida. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |