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Batteries & Battery Charging

Batteries & Battery Charging. Welcome. In this presentation we try to give you: An overview of lead acid batteries and how they work. An overview of Hawkins battery chargers and how they work together with some charging curves. Some common battery charger problems.

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Batteries & Battery Charging

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  1. Batteries & Battery Charging

  2. Welcome • In this presentation we try to give you: • An overview of lead acid batteries and how they work. • An overview of Hawkins battery chargers and how they work together with some charging curves. • Some common battery charger problems.

  3. All Devices Using Lead Acid Batteries Need a Battery Charger • Regular supplementary charging with a battery charger extends battery life substantially. • This results in an economic benefit to the end user for which he will pay.

  4. Our Battery Charger Range Covers • Domestic & Recreational Chargers • Professional Chargers used commercially in all the Automotive and Agricultural sectors • Fully Automatic Chargers used for standby and sealed batteries

  5. Battery Types • We deal with rechargeable Lead-Acid batteries only. • 2 Fundamental Types • Engine Starting – Quick bursts of high current for a few seconds. • Deep Cycle – Prolonged discharges of low current

  6. Battery Construction • 2 Basic Types depending on plate construction • Flooded Cell - Usually allows water addition • Low Maintenance (Lead-Antimony) • Maintenance Free (Lead-Calcium) • Valve Regulated (VRLA) - Always Sealed • Gel Cell • Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)

  7. Amp Hours - A Useful Battery Term • Ah – Amp Hours • This indicates the battery capacity. If a battery is rated at 100 amp hours, it should deliver 5 amps for 20 hours or 20 amps for 5 hours, etc. This is useful for deep cycle batteries. • An old rule of thumb is to choose a battery charger capable of delivering in amps, one tenth of the battery capacity in amp hours. eg For a battery with 100 amp hours capacity, choose a charger capable of delivering 10 amps. Some modern batteries may use C/5 & even C/3 & high tech batteries ask for 3 x C.

  8. How Lead-Acid Batteries work

  9. Battery Life • In general, only 30% of lead –acid batteries sold attain a 4 year life. • 80% of all battery failure is due to stale sulphation of the plates.

  10. Stale Sulphation – the Silent Killer • Stale Sulphation is caused by • Storage without some energy input • Deep discharging an engine start type battery • Undercharging a battery • Heat - increases internal discharge • Low electrolyte level. The exposed portion of the plates will sulphate • Incorrect charging levels – cheap chargers cause problems • Parasitic drain – the load put on the battery in a standby mode – see below

  11. Parasitic Drain • Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery that has been switched off • Most vehicles today have clocks, alarm systems, engine management computers etc all of which may be operating without the engine running or when it is idling. This is parasitic drain. • The constantly low or flat battery caused by excessive parasitic drain will have a dramatically shortened battery life.

  12. Battery Charging • If you don’t put the energy used back into the battery soon after use, it will commence to sulphate which affects life and performance. • The vehicle’s alternator is a battery charger. It works well if the battery is not deeply discharged. • The alternator will usually maintain the battery’s state of charge at somewhere around 80% - see the following diagrams & charts. • Full state of charge is best achieved by using a separate battery charger when the vehicle is at rest.

  13. Battery State of Charge vs Regulator Settings Typical Regulator Setting +/- 73% of capacity

  14. Driving PatternsAlternator Current Delivery ex Bosch SA Engine idling = battery discharging

  15. Driving PatternsEngine Speed : Idling as % of Driving Time

  16. What is a Battery Charger ? • In simple terms, a battery charger is a device that applies a d.c. voltage across the battery terminals. • If the applied voltage is higher than the battery voltage, energy flows into the battery. • This continues until the two voltages are approximately equal. At this point the battery has been charged up to the capability of the charger.

  17. Battery Charger Construction • Good quality battery chargers should have the following fundamental components • Some type of transformer to reduce the supply voltage down to the nominal battery voltage • Some type of rectifier to turn the a.c. into d.c. • Some type of control over the output of energy to the battery • Some type of device that will fail safe & limit or prevent damage to the battery or the charger

  18. Battery Charger Types • Battery Chargers are divided into three broad types: • Non-adjustable • Adjustable • Automatic.

  19. How to Select a Battery Charger - 1 • Establish the battery’s capacity in Amp Hours Ah. • Look at the output current data on the back of the range of chargers (use the lowest current rating.) • Choose a charger capable of delivering a MINIMUM current in Amps equal to 10% of the battery Capacity. Eg for a 50Ah battery, choose a charger that can deliver at least 5 Amps

  20. How to Select a Battery Charger - 2 • Is the battery sealed or refillable? • If it is sealed, you MUST use an automatic charger. • If it is refillable, you can use an automatic, a manually adjustable charger or a non-adjustable charger. • A non-adjustable (trickle) charger cannot be left on a battery permanently.

  21. How to Select a Battery Charger - 3 • A non-adjustable (trickle) charger will continue to trickle current into the battery as long as the battery voltage will allow this. • Over time, this trickle is quite capable of taking the battery in to the gassing stage where it will lose water and may suffer permanent damage. • All battery chargers except the automatics have to be monitored to prevent overcharging.

  22. How to Select a Battery Charger - 4 • If the battery is not used very often – eg leisure application, boating, biking etc – leave it connected to an automatic charger permanently. • The automatic charger will keep the battery at optimum voltage for years if need be, ready to go at a moment’s notice.

  23. Hawkins Non-Adjustable Chargers • These chargers include the Power 4, the Power 6, the Power 8 and the Power 10. • These chargers all have similar charging profiles. • They are taper chargers which rely on the rising voltage in the battery to reduce the current into the battery. • They use fuses &/or thermal cut-outs for protection. • The charging operation must be monitored from time to time to check on the battery’s state of charge.

  24. Power 4 Non-adjustable Taper Charger

  25. Power 4 charging 50Ah Raylite BatteryThis taper charger must be monitored Eelectrolyte gassing but voltage still rising Current tapering off but still delivering over 1a after 45 hrs

  26. Power 10 Non-adjustable Taper Charger

  27. Power 10 charging 12V Exide 628 50 Ah BatteryThis taper charger must be monitored Voltage well into electrolyte gassing stage: stable at +/- 15V Current tapered down and still delivering +/- 1,3A

  28. Hawkins Adjustable Chargers • These chargers include the Pro 15, Pro 30, Pro 615, the Pro 224, Pro 324 & Pro 524. • All these chargers have operator controlled switches for both voltage & current. These allow the operator to charge multiple batteries if desired and vary the charging current to obtain the best charging profile. • They use fuses &/or thermal cut-outs &/or circuit breakers for protection. • They use toroidal transformers – a very efficient design • The last 3 are combination engine starters/battery chargers and are able to boost start a vehicle with a flat battery.

  29. Hawkins Pro 15 Operator Adjustable Taper Charger Current Selector Overload c/b Voltage Selector

  30. Pro 15 Charging 50 Ah Exide BatteryThis charger has manually operated switches to control the output current Pos’n 3 on current selector Voltage rising, current tapering down Current low.. Pos’n 4 selected Current increases & voltage rises

  31. Hawkins Regulated Chargers • These chargers include the Classic 6, the Smart 6, the Smart 15, the Auto Pro 5, Auto Pro 10, Auto Pro 20 & Auto Pro 50. • They subdivide into 2 types, voltage regulated and fully regulated. • The Smart chargers are voltage regulated only • The Auto Pro chargers are fully regulated and conform to a precise charging profile. They self adjust their performance with ambient temperature change. • They all use fuses &/or thermal cut-outs for protection

  32. Hawkins Smart 6 Voltage Regulated Automatic Battery Charger 3 indicator lights Red – Power on Yellow – Charging Green - Charged

  33. Smart 6 charging Exide 628 50 Ah BatteryThis automatic charger is voltage regulated only Voltage reaches top limit & charger switches off. Current falls Voltage decays to bottom limit & charger switches on. Current & voltage rise to top limit and cycle repeats.

  34. Hawkins Smart 15 12-24V Fully automatic 3 - Stage Charger 3 indicator lights Red – Power on Yellow – Charging Green - Charged 12/24V Selector Switch Min/Boost Selector

  35. Smart 15 12/24V fully automatic 3 Stage charger charging 1 x 12v 105 Ah Battery Bulk Charge Absorption Charge = 1/3 Bulk Charge Float Charge

  36. Sealed, Maintenance Free Batteries • There is an accelerating trend to sealed, maintenance free batteries particularly in hard-to-service applications. • Such batteries demand an automatic charger. • The more intelligent the charger, the better the result. • Time constraints for charging dictate the rating of the charger and thus the turn round time of the battery.

  37. Common Battery Charger Problems • A damaged or sulphated battery will result in little or no current flow. The customer then complains that the charger does not work. Check this by connecting the charger to a known good battery. • An automatic charger needs a minimum voltage in the battery of about 10v before it will switch on. An extremely flat battery may not allow this to occur. • Customers short out the clamps to see if the charger is working. This will result in blown cable fuses or rectifiers. • Badly corroded clamps mean a poor connection between charger and battery. Poor maintenance of clamps can mean no current flow and/or heating at the point of contact i.e. the battery terminal.

  38. Typical Battery Charger Applications • Home Use – Unsophisticated customer generally topping up batteries – suggest Smart 6, Smart 15. • Leisure/Recreation – Biking, Boating, Fishing, Golfing, Caravanning. Wants battery always ready to go. Suggest Smart 15, Auto Pro 10,Auto Pro 20.

  39. Hawkins Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd • Thank you for watching this Presentation. • If you have any queries or comments please contact us • via our website www.hawkins.co.za or email info@hawkins.co.za • or telephone/fax 031 579 2813 (Tel) 031 579 4642 (Fax)

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