Battery charging question.

[Nicksan]

Hello, new to the board here.

I have a charger for a 24 Volt battery but the end that connects to the batteries has been cut off. I plugged it in and tested it and it reads 26 volts output. Can I simply hookup the leads to the battery and let it charge? The charger has LEDs that show when its done charging and such.

Thanks.

 

[chemelec]

Hello, new to the board here.

I have a charger for a 24 Volt battery but the end that connects to the batteries has been cut off. I plugged it in and tested it and it reads 26 volts output. Can I simply hookup the leads to the battery and let it charge? The charger has LEDs that show when its done charging and such.

Thanks.

Possibly, But Why were the Leads Cut off?

Just because it puts out 26 Volts, Doesn't really mean it is working properly.

And DEFINATELY, Don't try to connect it to a 12 Volt Battery.

 

[Nicksan]

The cord on the charger was damaged and the end connector could not be used. This will be used on a 24 volt battery only. (Its actually 2 - 12v in series made that way from the factory) The label on the charger says 24 volts output at 1 amp I have always thought that chargers actually put out a little more than what is stated on the labels.

 

[chemelec]

The cord on the charger was damaged and the end connector could not be used. This will be used on a 24 volt battery only. (Its actually 2 - 12v in series made that way from the factory) The label on the charger says 24 volts output at 1 amp I have always thought that chargers actually put out a little more than what is stated on the labels.

Either its a Trickle Charger or there quite low powered batterys.

But it should be OK.

 

[Hero999]

If it's for a lead acid battery, it should stop charging at 28V and not 26V.

 

[Nicksan]

If it's for a lead acid battery, it should stop charging at 28V and not 26V.

The batteries say "sealed lead acid"
I dont understand what you mean about what voltage the charging stops at
The charger seems to charge at 26 volts, thats what the output is of the charger when I have it plugged in and hookup my voltmeter.

 

[ericgibbs]

The batteries say "sealed lead acid"
I dont understand what you mean about what voltage the charging stops at
The charger seems to charge at 26 volts, thats what the output is of the charger when I have it plugged in and hookup my voltmeter.

Hi,
When charging SLA batteries, say for example a 12V SLA, there are two common ways the battery is recharged.

One way sometimes called Cyclic charging, is were the battery is charged quickly, the charger is set at 14Vdc [ 28Vdc for a 24Vbty].
Usually the charger can push out a few amps.

The other way is float or trickle charge, were the battery can be left on the charger as long as required,
the charger is set at 13.8Vdc [ 27.6 for a 24Vbty]
As your charger is 26Vdc, 1Amp, it sounds like float charger type.

Does this help?

 

[Nicksan]

I guess its a trickle charger, The batteries and charger are from a large electric wheelchair. The charger is pretty massive.
Thanks.

 

[Sceadwian]

Depends on the amp/hour capacity of the pack to be charged. If it's a 7amp hour battery it will charge one in less than 8 hours at 1 amp. I'd hardly consider that a trickle charge. With lead acid packs you tend to have to match the pack to the charger. Sealed packs are even worse because optimial lead acid charging after deep discharge requires a bit of gassing for a full charge, and since you can't add electrolyte or fluid the batteries decay over time

 

[jtleo11]

couldn't you use a 7805 regulator since it has a max amperage of 1 amp with adequate heat sinking? Also, a 12 volt solar panal with a rectifier in series with its line to the battery in question can safely charge the battery (p.s.-use a 1amp fuse to limit the current in series between 7805 and circuit board-although the 7805 has a built-in limiter)

 

[ericgibbs]

Depends on the amp/hour capacity of the pack to be charged. If it's a 7amp hour battery it will charge one in less than 8 hours at 1 amp. I'd hardly consider that a trickle charge. With lead acid packs you tend to have to match the pack to the charger. Sealed packs are even worse because optimial lead acid charging after deep discharge requires a bit of gassing for a full charge, and since you can't add electrolyte or fluid the batteries decay over time

Extract from OP's posts.
The label on the charger says 24 volts output at 1 amp I have always thought that chargers actually put out a little more than what is stated on the labels

 

[chemelec]

If it's for a lead acid battery, it should stop charging at 28V and not 26V.

It Probably does put out 28 or 29 Volts when charging a battery.
I Doubt the Charger has any Filter Caps, so the measured output without a battery would be on the low side because of no filtering.

 

[Nicksan]

It Probably does put out 28 or 29 Volts when charging a battery.
I Doubt the Charger has any Filter Caps, so the measured output without a battery would be on the low side because of no filtering.

I dont know, the charger is pretty huge, its around 19 cm x 7.5 cm x 3 cm and each battery says, 12V 35 Ah on them, they are wired in series to give 24V.