Voltage "hitting the wall" on manual charger

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Everything will rise. I wouldn't try and push the charger much beyond 20 amperes and even that only on a cool day. 2-4 amperes @ 16.2 volts would not be uncommonly seen. The higher the voltage the fewer the amps. But this wattage limit is skewed higher via the incoming (supply) voltage.

Thanks MEX, I'll pick up one of these units and try it out.

Everything will rise. I wouldn't try and push the charger much beyond 20 amperes and even that only on a cool day. 2-4 amperes @ 16.2 volts would not be uncommonly seen. The higher the voltage the fewer the amps. But this wattage limit is skewed higher via the incoming (supply) voltage.

Thanks MEX. Would this raise amps too? A 6 or 8 amp DC output from the charger would be nice.

I've used the HF for days and days at maximum charge rate with 136 volt Mexican power*. The only thing it did was make the useless automatic charging portion completely unresponsive (so much the better).

*Comisión Federál de Electricidad standard is 127 volts.

That, is one tough little charger.

That being said, you really are looking for a way to kick the voltage potential in the butt at the upper limit of inherent voltage capability. Not trying to get more wattage out of the unit. So windings insulation comes into play. Piece of cake. Grab the shaving cream.

What if your input voltage is 122V?

EDIT: I need one of those Variacs so I can the charge at the 10amp setting and shave some time off this exercise.

Sort of was considering everything in light of the topic. Fill a specific request with a specific answer. In this case, a healthy boost for a $29.99 charger without breaking the bank.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
RECESS !!! TIME TO PLAY !!!

More Fun Than A Barrel Of Snot

That's a 6+ amp boost transformer with wire and socket. The price is pretty good, but I like the dual buck/boost transformers with 6 or 12 volt boost capability that can handle 60 amps in 6 volt and 30 amps in 12 volt boost. I picked one up on Craigslist for $50 last summer. It was great for running the A/C on my extension cord. Of course, it didn't have plug or socket, but that was soon rectified. :)

Well, so much for that experiment. Found one of the interconnect cables pulled out of the lug so that pair did not get fully charged (actually neither pair did). Good news is that the lower pair was a bit over 1.200 (~70% SOC according to Trojan) via the hydrometer and the cells were equal so that means I didn't overdischarge those last weekend and the cable must have pulled out while being charged. I fixed that cable and had the DW hold one end while I pulled on the cable. It stayed connected. The higher of the pair was at 1.275 but still took some amps when hooked up to the charger so I'm leaving those charge until it goes to float. I currently have both pairs separated on different chargers. My next boondock trip is in 3.5 weeks so I have another chance to test.

EDIT: Or maybe I can test on the high pair.

Yeah, absolutely post back with your findings. My intuition tells me that if the charge rate is 15v and less than 2 amps, the cells are fully charged but I've never verified that with a hydrometer (maybe have but have forgotten the results).