Battery Charger help

[maulbeagle]

Hi, I also posted this in the General Chat Battery Charger thread but no reply yet, and I'm looking to buy a charger this week.

I'm looking at the Projecta IC1500 (15A) and IC2500 (25A) chargers.
I want a smart charger, either 15A or 25A (or similar) will suit, but I'd like both the power-supply mode AND the ability to set the charge rate for when I need to charge a smaller battery.
The 1500 has the power-supply mode, and the 2500 has the charge rate options.
Does anyone know of a similar smart charger with both these options ?

Thanks
Paul

 

[Old.Tony]

Short answer from me, no.

The 25A sounds like a good idea, but does it default to the last rate chosen when power is restored, or does it need to be reselected?

That's another one of the reasons why I chose the XS7000 C-Tek over the 15A unit - the power supply. 7A is a good charge rate - my 100Ah gel (which can't be charged at higher than C/10) is charged properly. My AGM gets charged a little slower than it can manage but even if I've used 50Ah, it's about 7 hours to recharge and I often drive longer than that each day when we're on a trip.

I'd be concerned about the higher charge rates. AGMs can handle up to C/2 (capacity in amp hours divided by 2, expressed as Amps) but they do prefer slightly lower rates like C/4. The 25A charger would be fine at max rate with a 100Ah battery or bigger.

And thinking about it, if you've used 70-80A of your battery, at 15A you're talking 5 hours to recharge. That's still not too bad.

 

[4 naving]

Id go the ctek.. I have both a projector in the garage and a ctek in my camper. the projector is only 2 years old just out of warranty and given up the ghost.. the ctek in the camper is 5 ish years old and a much better charger in my opinion.. ctek is 25amp and the projector is the 7 amp model, sorry I bought it though....

 

[maulbeagle]

Thanks guys.
I hear what you're saying about the Ctek, that was always my plan but I never had the spare cash. I just bought the Projecta IC1500 on Ebay for $176 with free express post which I was pretty happy with, and as it has a 2 year warranty I can always reassess the situation in a couple of years.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[maulbeagle]

can recondition mode damage "good" batteries ?

Hi all, as the title says, if I put a battery that doesn't need reconditioning on the Projecta IC1500 in recondition mode, will the battery be damaged ?
I ask as my other car is about 4 years old now, no apparent issues with the battery but just wondering whether it could benefit from being reconditioned by the charger ?

If the charger can't damage the battery, I'll give it a go.

Thanks !

 

[Old.Tony]

'Recondition' mode should bring the battery voltage up to 15V and hold it there while the electrolyte fizzles somewhat and the plates get repaired (essentially). Crystallisation (sulphate crystals) is reversed to a degree and all of the battery cells settle closer in capacity. It's also referred to as 'equalisation' and some chargers automatically do this every two months or so. I know my solar charger does.

 

[maulbeagle]

Thanks Tony, so to confirm, no harm can come from running this unnecessarily ?

 

[Old.Tony]

Every couple of months, no. Frequently - yes. It boils the electrolyte.