Intelligent Battery Charger

Just purchased an Intelligent Battery Charger, thought I would give it a try. Anyone have any experience with smart charges?

For my previous vehicles(Cobras) I've been using a trickle charger. Had wired up hidden cigarette lighter socket to plug charger into. Would just plug it in for a day or so if the car had not been used for a while.

In GT40 I was going to wire in a socket in the engine bay that can be reached through the air intake vent. So wouldn't have to lift the rear clip each time it is plugged in. Charger actually comes with fused cable with connector(with dust cover) that is ready to permanently wire to vehicle, so I'll just use the supplied one.

I think this will greatly extend battery life and no more problems with battery being flat when the toy hasn't been taken out for a while. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


Details of Charger:

Brand: Battery Fighter www.batteryfighter.com
Model: BFA-012-230
Output: 12Vdc @ 1.25Amp
Supports: range of lead acid battery styles: Flooded, Sealed, Maintenance Free, VRLA, Gel & AGM.
Comes with: 3m(10FT cable) and plug-in fused cable connector to hard wire, plug-in alligator clips.
(Supplied cable is a bit short, but manual provides a table of cable lengths up to 45m(150FT) and wire guage required.)


4-stage progressive charging program by steps:
1. Qualification: Ensure the battery status in safety prior to charging
2. Constant Current Charging: Raises battery voltage to reach about 80% full
3. Constant voltage Charging: Holds battery voltage at 80% and forces current to top off the battery.
4. Float Maintenance: Maintain the fully charged battery at a proper working voltage

* Reverse polarity protection
* Temperature compensation ensuring optimal charge voltage in extreme conditions.


Cost me AU$60 delivered through a friend. This particular model seems to be mainly available in Australia.

For more info see:

http://www.batteryfighter.com/products.html#top1
http://www.master-instruments.com.au/Dat...xplaination.pdf
http://www.amiles.com.au/battery%20fighter.htm

I have something similar to what you described. Here in the US, we have Battery Tender. Like yours it even comes with two sets of leads, one you can bolt to the battery terminals, the other is pair of clips. Because the specs for the Optima battery in my car say it should only be float charged at a max of 1 amp, I got one that puts out 0.8 amps.
http://batterytender.com/product_info.php?products_id=36

I bought it earlier this year, and so far I've been happy with it. We'll see if the battery is still okay when the winter is over. Having the leads attached the battery makes it easy to hookup the charger (and it means I'm more likely to use it).

Yep, same sort of thing.

I've got an Odyssey Battery (ES-12V 800).

I checked on Odyssey website and they specifically mention 1.25amp auto charges, so thought 1.25amp model would be fine. I actually thought it would be ok for any battery type, interesting to know about Optima.

I use the Battery Tender charger for my cars and motorcycles; I have a pigtail on each one that the charger hooks to, and it works very well.
This technology has been around in the marine world for a long time. Boats, especially big cruising sail and powerboats, depend a lot on their battery banks. I modified my engine alternators with smart regulators, made by Balmar, that have a charging control profile similar to the one you described. I also have a Xantrex Statpower smart charger which keeps the batteries up when the engines are not running- the boat is plugged into shore current when at rest. I have noticed better battery life and faster recharging when running the boat. As far as I know, modern car electrical systems still include the kind of dumb single-stage voltage regulator that is one step above a Model A Ford cutout. Batteries, especially starting batteries, do not last long if they aren't kept fully charged, so it is a pity modern regulators are not multi-stage. Marine batteries, which are deep-cycle ones, are more tolerant of frequent discharges, as are golf-cart and similar batteries.
I have not had any experience with spiral-cell (Optima) batteries as they are not made in sizes big enough for my marine engines. (4D or 8D) Has anyone here used them and what do they think...I have an AGM battery in at least one of my bikes, and so far so good. AGM batteries have a low self-discharge rate, so they are good in vehicles that get driven occasionally, but they are not tolerant of overcharging, which is why the smart chargers are good withthem.