Battery charging problem...help.

[tim slocum]

Sorry about posting so many "help needed" threads lately,things just keep comming up.Well, Ive been charging my 6v 10amp/hr sealed acid batteries,2 at a time with a 12v slow charger with decent results.I recently purchased two new batteries everything was working fine until I put them on the charger that last time and then found that one was fully charged and the other was barely charged.Whats up with this??What do you guys/gals use to charge your large capacity lead acid batteries?I dont think I ought to put them back on the charger with the two having such a different level of charge.I was thinking of finding a good 6v charger and charging one at a time.I have a Vision Peak 2 charger,but was told by the tech at Horizon that its not designed for lead acid batteries.Suggestions?,comments?

[Aerominded]

I have a pair of 6v 5Ah SLA batteries that I use in my Springer- I charge them one at a time using a cheap, basic 6v charger I bought at batteries plus... I think it charges at 500mah and then switches to a trickle charge... at that rate, you can see it will take a while if the battery is fully discharged... not a very exotic solution... :o

[steveciambrone]

The tech is correct, it is not designed for lead acid batteries. You need to get a proper charger for lead acid batteries. I do not use lead acid only Nicad, NMhd, a few lipos.

Steve

[patmat2350]

I have a general purpose somewhat "smart" SLA charger, which can be switched between 6 and 12v. Handy.

Pat M

[Shaun Hendricks]

You'll sometimes find Triton v1 chargers on ebay and other sites for cheap ($30-$60). That charger will charge LA, NiCd, NiMh and LiPo. 1.5-24v.

[tim slocum]

Aerominded, I just checked out the Batteries Plus website and they have a 6v 500mah(like you mentioned) for $19.96 and for $5 extra a 1000mah charger.The brand name is Werker.OK, a 1000mah charger should take 10hrs to charge my 10amp/hr batteries,right??(if their totally discharged)1000mah is another way of saying 1amp,right?

[Brooks]

Charging takes 1.4x the amps lost due to inefficiencies. Thus, it would probably take 14 hours to accomplish your charge. And yes, 1000mah = 1amph.

[tim slocum]

Does anyone know why one battery charged and one did'nt??

[Shaun Hendricks]

My guess is different resistance values across the cells. The lower resistance cell would likely charge while the higher one would generate heat. Once the lower resistence one hit 'full' it triggered the delta peak of the charger and shut it down. If you had been using a 12v trickle charger, it doesn't have peak detection and would've eventually charged the other cell as well while the charged cell went into a heating state with excess power. Bad for the cells. :D

[tim slocum]

A little update. I ordered a simple,6volt,1000mah charger and got it today.I hooked it up and the red light went on. Instructions say that means either I reversed the leads or there's a short.Well, I hooked the leads up right,so I guess I have a short in BOTH batteries.On one the red light stayed on and the other it flashed between red and green(green means charged). I think my next move is to take the batteries back to where I got them,Interstate Batteries, and have them test them.Hopefully, if they are defective,I will get a refund or new,good batteries.This may explain the Bismarcks,wanting to suddenly shut off.