Nowadays, our life is filled with all kinds of rechargeable batteries. From cell phones, laptops to all kinds of electronic products, from emergency lights to a wide variety of vehicles, rechargeable batteries power our lives in many forms. Among the many rechargeable battery types, lead acid batteries have the longest history. Created in the mid-1800s, it was the world’s first rechargeable battery. Because they are cheap and easy to use, they are widely used in many industries. Today, from electric bicycles to motorcycles, from cars to trucks, lead acid batteries are an essential part of vehicles, providing the power for starting and lighting.
But almost everything has its pros and cons, and lead acid batteries are no exception. Compared with lithium-ion batteries, which have come to market in recent years, lead acid batteries have no advantage in terms of energy density, size or service life. But that doesn’t mean lead acid batteries are about to give in to lithium-ion batteries. In terms of cost, safety and compatibility, the advantages of the conventional lead acid batteries are sufficient to maintain a large user base.
In the daily use and maintenance of lead acid batteries, the quality of the charger has an important effect on the performance and stability of the battery. Therefore, choosing a quality charger is the first step to use and to protect lead acid batteries. In this article, we will discuss with you how to choose and use the charger correctly, hoping to provide help for your life.
1. The importance of a quality lead acid battery charger
It is well known that in the use of lead acid batteries, overcharging is a great threat to the battery. We have discussed this topic in a previous article, and you can check it out by clicking here: On Lead Acid Battery Overcharging. Low-price and low-quality charging products are equal to the killers of batteries, and high-quality chargers can ensure the stability of battery performance, and thus effectively extend the life of the battery. Therefore, in the long run, choosing a high-quality charger with a slightly higher price is more cost-effective than choosing a low-quality charger with a lower price.
2. Choose a lead acid battery charger that best matches your battery
Common lead acid batteries are divided into maintenance-free, flooded (wet) batteries, VRLA (valve regulated lead acid), AGM (absorbed glass mat), gel cell batteries, etc. Of these categories, gel cell batteries are unusual. It is produced by adding a gelling agent into the electrolyte, so that the common sulfuric acid electrolyte will be changed into gelatinous material. By doing this, its power storage will be improved. When making choices, the gel cell batteries should also go with its matching chargers. Except for the gel cell lead acid batteries, in the selection, you only need to select the charger according to the charging power setting of your battery.
3. Specification of a lead acid battery charger
Each type of lead acid battery will be labeled with a charging current rating when it leaves the factory. When selecting a charger, the specification of the charger should match the charging current rating of the battery. Also, consider what device your battery is used on. It can be an electric bike that you use every day, or a lawn-mower that you don’t use too much. If you have a strict requirement for charging time, it is necessary to choose a quick charger with greater charging power. Or if you don’t, you can choose a model with a lower charging current. Whether to choose a quick charger or not depends on both the necessity of time and the battery compatibility. The benefits of quick chargers need not to be said. But quick charging will also bring the rapid consumption of battery electrolyte and significant temperature rise. Therefore, when making the choice, these factors should be considered comprehensively.
4. How to use your lead acid battery charger correctly
Before connecting the charger to your lead acid battery, firstly, please make sure the charger is not energized. Then, according to the instruction, the positive and negative poles of the charger should be connected correspondingly to the positive and negative poles of the battery properly. After that, you can plug the charger in and start charging the battery.
Here, there is one more thing to emphasize. For lead acid batteries, we know it is necessary to avoid overcharging of the battery. But what we also need to remember is that we should also avoid charging the battery when it is completely dead. Neither of the two situations is good for the long-term stability of the battery.
5. How to calculate charging time
The charging time of lead acid batteries is jointly determined by the battery capacity and the charging power of the charger. The approximate charging time can be calculated by dividing the battery capacity by the charging power of the charger and adding another 10%.
6. About smart chargers
Unlike ordinary battery chargers, the reason why smart chargers are smart lies in their built-in microprocessors or sensors. Through these microprocessors or sensors, the charger can continuously collect information about the battery while it is working, and adjust the voltage and current of the charger based on that information. When the battery has been charged to 100%, the charger will detect such state of the battery and automatically shut down the charging circuit in time. In this way, not only can the battery be fully charged, but also can the overcharging of battery be effectively avoided. At the same time, smart chargers bring convenience to our lives.
So far, we have introduced to you some knowledge about lead acid batteries and the importance of choosing a high-quality charger. From lead acid battery chargers to lithium-ion battery chargers, from conventional electric bicycle chargers to smart chargers, you can find a wide range of charging products to meet your specific needs on Power1986.com.