We check devices that retain battery charge during long-term parking. Eight samples are being tested.

Many people are not even aware of the existence of such devices. Everyone knows about chargers, but what are they? And in what cases may they be required?

We will return to the terminology later, but these “recharges” are needed for this reason. Imagine a car sitting in a garage for weeks without moving. When you suddenly need it urgently, it turns out that the battery is so low that it cannot turn the starter. What if this happens all the time?

Cars that are on exhibition stands often find themselves in a similar situation. Their audio system is playing, the lights are on, but the engine is not running. So thin wires stretch under the hood, feeding the standard battery of the car from an external source.

Large currents are not needed: it is enough to compensate for the consumption of standard microcontrollers, as well as the security system and telematics. Modern gadgets have a modest appetite - tens of milliamps, despite the fact that their analogues from previous years of production sometimes consumed an order of magnitude more.

It would seem that connect the charger - and there are no problems! But not every “charge” is designed for continuous operation for weeks, or even months. It’s another matter if the manufacturer indicates a similar possibility of using their product. These are the devices we decided to test in real conditions - for several months.

Of the eight products purchased, only two are clean water“recharging” - Tornado and Moratti. The rest are “chargers” that promise not only to revive dead batteries, but also to maintain their charge at the proper level. It is this function that we evaluated during the tests.

WHAT WE TESTED AND WHERE

The tests were carried out in the laboratory of the Federal State Institution 3 Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for three months. A long-term test of the devices’ ability to compensate for a drop in charge was carried out on batteries with an energy capacity of 55, 75 and 90 Ah at temperatures of -20; 0; +25 ºС. The tendency to overheat was assessed when working with batteries from 75 to 190 Ah, setting the maximum possible load for each device. For each product, they checked the “fool resistance” - they used polarity reversal, etc. When arranging in places, they took into account the declared parameters, workmanship, correctness of instructions and ease of use.

They decided to open the Tornado device in a “foreign” case. It's well put together, but it's at the level of the last millennium. Dates on radio elements reveal themselves.

STORAGE? RECHARGING? COMPENSATION?

The multi-month marathon ended successfully: not a single device asked for mercy, not a single battery complained of poor service. “Fool protection” is also at its best: the products are not afraid of polarity reversals and other provocations. At the same time, not everyone liked it - we spoke about this topic in detail in the captions of the photo gallery. We also note that all devices provide recharging in 20-degree frost - even those that, judging by the instructions, are not at all frost-resistant.

But you need to be more polite with wires - they lose their flexibility right before your eyes.

Is it worth looking for simple chargers in stores, or is it better to buy a multifunctional charger? We believe that the second option is preferable: the difference in price is not astronomical, and a full-fledged charger in the household will not hurt. In addition, they are almost always on sale, and exotic “smaller brothers” need to be looked for via the Internet.

8. STARTED AZU-108 8 7 6

Automatic pulse charger, Saint Petersburg

Approximate price, rub. 1280

Temperature range, ºС 0…+40

3–110

The cute device was unpleasantly jarring to the eyes with the illiterate “A/h” inscriptions on the front panel, in the instructions and on the packaging. There is no such unit of measurement in nature - there is Ah. The manufacturer's requirements for the temperature conditions of the device's operation - from 0 to 40 ºС - were not encouraging: how to maintain the battery charge if it is frosty outside? The execution is sloppy: the glued switches are loose. In general, the device is functional, but I don’t want to recommend it.

7. Tornado 3 A.02

Automatic charger for batteries, Tolyatti

Approximate price, rub. 860

Temperature range, ºС -20…+40

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah up to 75

The device promises to maintain the working condition of the battery “for as long as desired”, without being a full-fledged charger (except for batteries with an energy capacity below 10 Ah). Outwardly, it resembles an amateur radio design in a housing from a time relay for photo printing. The element base is a quarter of a century old. The product successfully passed all electrical tests (overheating tests were carried out with a 75 Ah battery). However general impression rather negative.

6. Moratti 01.80.005

Battery recharger, China

Approximate price, rub. 600

Temperature range, ºС not lower than -10

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 10–250

The device is not intended for charging batteries, but to maintain battery performance during long-term storage and infrequent use. Withstands long-term operation calmly; The overheating test was carried out on a battery with an energy capacity of 190 Ah. There are no comments about the technology, but I didn’t like the description: what are “gel” batteries? Maybe they meant gel ones?

5. SONAR U3 207.03 3

Charger, Saint Petersburg

Approximate price, rub. 1500

Temperature range, ºС -5…+35

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 10–180

The charger provides storage mode with self-discharge current compensation. Unfortunately, the lower temperature limit is only -5 ºС. In other words, the device is not designed for winter operation in an unheated garage. The case does not overheat during operation (the test was carried out with a battery with an energy capacity of 170 Ah). There are no complaints about the technology, but the price seemed overpriced.

4. AIRLINE ASN‑5 A‑06

Charger, Russia - China

Approximate price, rub. 1050

Temperature range, ºС no data

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah up to 65

Provides a charging mode for the battery installed on the vehicle. The overheating test was carried out on a battery with an energy capacity of 65 Ah; no reasons for comment were found. It copes with recharging successfully. Unfortunately, the mythical unit of measurement A/h is found in the description of this device...

3. HEYNER, AkkuEnergy Art. 927130

Charger, Germany

Approximate price, rub. 6000

Temperature range, ºС no data

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 30–190

A charger designed for long-term connection to the battery, regardless of the season. All tasks were completed without problems. The overheating test was carried out with a 190 Ah battery. Among the shortcomings are an abstruse description with poor translation and an unappetizing price.

1–2. SMART POWER SP‑2N BERKUT

Compact universal charger, Russia - China

Approximate price, rub. 1150

Temperature range, ºС -20…+50

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 4–80

It can also be used for seasonal battery storage, remaining connected to the network for several months. The long-term operation mode is tolerated calmly; The overheating test was carried out with a 90 Ah battery. “Fool resistance” is normal, there are no comments on the work.

1–2. SOROKIN® 12.98

Universal battery charger, Russia

Approximate price, rub. 3000

Temperature range, ºС -20…+50

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 6–160

Full charger. Can be connected to a car battery for a long time - for winter storage and year-round use. It does not overheat during operation (the test was carried out with a 170 Ah battery). No comments. It's just a little expensive.

A LITTLE ABOUT SAFETY

If you leave a charger connected to the mains in the garage for a long time, make sure that you have not cheated. In other words, you must be sure that the “crocodiles” connected to the terminals of the engine compartment battery will not suit you under any circumstances. short circuit(for example, when touching the closing hood!), and the corresponding wires will not be pinched by the hood cover or in any other way. Yes, the devices we tested have built-in protection, but don’t hesitate to double-check yourself. It goes without saying that the charger must be guaranteed to be protected from direct hit moisture, snow and other weather troubles. It should also be remembered that at low temperatures, wire insulation has a habit of hardening and even breaking. This is especially important to take into account in cases where the car is used from time to time, and the charger is in a hurry either disconnected or reconnected, without paying attention to such “little things”.

What damage to the insulation of the positive wire can cause if it accidentally touches ground is clear to everyone.

And one last thing. Before moving away, do not forget to disconnect the charger from the mains and from the battery.

Drip charging

Despite popular belief, trickle charging does not in any way contribute to long-lasting battery life. At this method The charging current does not turn off even after the battery is fully charged. For this reason, the current is chosen to be small. Even if all the energy transferred to the battery is converted into heat, at low current the battery will not be able to heat up enough. For Ni-MH batteries, which react more negatively to recharging than Ni-Cd, it is recommended to set the charge current to a maximum of 0.05C. To charge a larger capacity battery, the trickle charging current should be set higher. It follows that low-capacity batteries cannot be charged in devices designed to charge high-capacity batteries due to the danger of excessive heat and reduced battery life. If you place a large capacity battery in a small capacity battery charger, it may not be fully charged. Being in such conditions for a long time, the batteries begin to lose capacity.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to reliably determine the end of a drip charge. At low charging currents, the voltage profile is flat and the characteristic maximum at the end of charging is practically not achieved. The temperature rises smoothly and the only method is to limit the charging time. But to use this method, it is necessary, in addition to the exact capacity of the battery, to know the amount of its initial charge. The only way to eliminate the influence of the initial charge is to completely discharge the battery immediately before charging it. And this increases the duration of the charging process and shortens the battery life, which depends on the number of charge-discharge cycles. The next problem when calculating the drip charging time is the rather low efficiency this process. The efficiency of drop charging does not exceed 75% and depends on large quantity factors (battery temperature, its condition, etc.). The only advantage of drip charging is the ease of implementation of the process (without monitoring the end of charging). Only in Lately Battery manufacturers note that trickle charging no longer leads to a decrease in the capacity of modern Ni-MH batteries.

Fast charging

Most manufacturers of Ni-MH batteries indicate the characteristics of their batteries in the case of fast charging with 1C current. There are recommendations not to exceed 0.75C. The smart charger itself must evaluate the conditions and, if necessary, switch to fast charging. Fast charge is used only at temperatures from 0 to +40°C and with a voltage from 0.8 to 1.8V. The efficiency of fast charging is about 90%, so the battery practically does not heat up. But at the end of charging, the efficiency decreases sharply and almost all the energy supplied to the battery turns into heat. Thus, there is a sharp increase in battery temperature and internal pressure. This causes the vents to open and some of the battery contents to be lost. In addition, under the influence of high temperature, the internal structure of the electrodes changes. Therefore, it is important to stop fast battery charging on time. Fortunately, there are fairly reliable indicators that a charger is capable of doing this.

Work fast charger consists of the following phases:

1. Determining the presence of a battery.
2. Battery qualification.
3. Pre-charge (pre-charge).
4. Transition to fast charging (ramp).
5. Fast charging.
6. Top-off charge.
7. Maintenance charge.

Battery detection phase

At this stage, the voltage at the battery terminals is usually checked. If the voltage is higher than 1.8V, this means that the battery is not connected to the charger or is damaged. If a lower voltage is detected, then the battery is connected and you can proceed to charging.

In all phases, along with the main actions, the presence of a battery is checked. This is because the battery may not be in the charger. If this happens, the charger from any phase should move to checking the presence of the battery.

Battery qualification phase

Charging the battery begins with its qualification phase. This phase is needed for a preliminary assessment of the initial battery charge. When the battery voltage is less than 0.8V, fast charging cannot be performed, an additional pre-charging phase is required. If the voltage is greater than 0.8V, the pre-charging phase is skipped. In practice, it has been observed that batteries do not discharge below 1.0V, and the pre-charging phase is almost never used.

Pre-charge phase

Designed for initial charging of seriously discharged batteries. The pre-charge current value must be selected from 0.1C to 0.3C. Pre-charging must be limited in time. A long pre-charging phase is not required, since the voltage of a working battery should quickly reach 0.8V. If the voltage does not increase, this means that the battery is damaged and the charging process must be interrupted.

During long charging phases, it is necessary to monitor the battery temperature and stop charging when the temperature reaches a critical value. For Ni-MH batteries, the maximum permissible temperature is 50°C. Also, as in other phases, you should check the presence of the battery.

Transition phase to fast charging

When the battery voltage reaches 0.8V, you can proceed to fast charging. It is not recommended to immediately use high charging current. It is not recommended to turn on high current at the beginning of charging. It is necessary to gradually increase the current over 2-4 minutes until the specified fast charging current is reached.

Fast charge phase

The charging current is set from 0.5-1.0C. In this phase it is important precise definition the moment of its end. If the fast charging phase is not stopped in time, the battery will be destroyed. Therefore, to determine the exact end time of fast charging, it is necessary to use several independent criteria.

For Ni-Cd batteries, the –dV method is usually used. During charging, the voltage increases, and at the end of charging it begins to decrease. For Ni-Cd batteries, a sign of charging completion is a decrease in voltage by approximately 30 mV (for each battery). The –dV method is the fastest and works great even for not fully charged batteries. If you start charging a fully charged battery using this method, the voltage on it will quickly increase and then decrease sharply, which will cause the end of the charging process.

For Ni-MH batteries, the method does not work as successfully, since the decrease in voltage for them is less noticeable. At charging currents less than 0.5C, the maximum voltage is usually not reached, so a charger for small-capacity batteries often cannot correctly detect the end of charging for large-capacity batteries.

Due to the slight drop in voltage at the end of charging, it is necessary to increase the sensitivity, which can lead to early termination of fast charging due to noise generated by the charger and also penetrated from the mains supply. That is why you should not charge batteries in a car, due to the fact that the on-board network, as a rule, has too high level interference The battery is also a source of noise. For this reason, filtering should be used when measuring voltage. Therefore, filtering must be used in the voltage measurement process.

When charging batteries of series-connected batteries, when individual batteries differ in their state of charge, the reliability of the –dV method is noticeably reduced. In this case, the peak voltage of different batteries is reached at different times, and the voltage profile is blurred.

For Ni-MH batteries, the dV=0 method is also used, in which, instead of a voltage decrease, a plateau in the voltage profile is detected. In this case, the end of charging is indicated by constant pressure on battery for several minutes.

Despite all the difficulties in determining the end of battery charging using the –dV method, most manufacturers of Ni-MH batteries define this method as the main one for fast charging. At the end of charging with a current of 1C, the voltage should change from -12mV to -2.5mV.

Immediately after connecting the large charging current The voltage may experience fluctuations, which can be identified as a decrease in voltage at the end of charging. To prevent false termination of the fast charging process, the –dV control must be disabled for the first time (usually 3-10 minutes) after connecting the charging current.

Along with a decrease in voltage at the end of charging, an increase in temperature and pressure inside the battery begins. Thus, the charging completion time can be determined by the temperature rise. However, due to the influence environment It is not recommended to set an absolute temperature threshold to determine the end of charging. More often, it is not the temperature itself that is used, but the rate of its change. With a charging current of 1C, charging must be completed when the rate of temperature rise reaches 1°C/min. It should be noted that at charging currents less than 0.5C, the rate of temperature increase practically does not change and this criterion cannot be used.

Both of the methods discussed cause a slight overcharge of the battery, which leads to a decrease in its service life. To ensure the battery is fully charged, completion of the charging process should be carried out using a low current and at a low battery temperature (at elevated temperatures, the battery's ability to accept a charge is seriously reduced). Therefore, it is recommended to complete the fast charging phase a little earlier.

There is a so-called inflexion method for determining the end time of fast charging. The essence of the method is that the maximum derivative of voltage with respect to time is analyzed. Fast charging stops when the voltage rise rate reaches its maximum value. This method makes it possible to complete the fast charging phase before the temperature has time to rise significantly. This method requires high precision voltage measurements and mathematical calculations.

Some chargers use pulse charging current. Current pulses have a duration of about 1 s, and the interval between pulses is about 20-30 ms. Among the advantages of this method are better equalization of the concentration of active substances throughout the entire volume and a lower probability of the appearance of crystalline formations on the electrodes. There is no exact information about the effectiveness of this method, but it is known that it does not cause harm.

In the process of determining the end of fast charging of the battery, it is necessary to accurately measure the voltage. If these measurements are made under current, then an additional error will appear due to the contact resistance. For this reason, the charging current is turned off during the measurement. After turning off the current, you should pause for 5-10 ms while the voltage on the battery is established. Next, the measurement is carried out. For high-quality filtering of network frequency interference, as a rule, a number of successive samples are taken over an interval of one period of the network frequency (20 ms), and then digital filtering is performed.

Another charging method has been developed pulse current, called FLEX negative pulse charging or Reflex Charging. It differs from a conventional pulse charge by the presence of discharge current pulses in the intervals between charging current pulses. For charging current pulses of the order of 1 s, the duration of the discharge current pulses is selected to be approximately 5 ms. The magnitude of the discharge current exceeds the charging current by 1-2.5 times.

Among the advantages of the method, mention should be made of a lower battery temperature during charging and the ability to eliminate large crystalline formations on the electrodes. General Electric Corporation has conducted independent studies of this method, which indicate that the method brings neither benefit nor harm.

Because correct definition The end of fast charge is extremely important; the charger must use several methods to determine the end of charge at once. Also, it is necessary to check some additional conditions for fast charging abort. During fast charging, you should monitor the battery temperature and interrupt the process if it reaches a critical value. For fast charging, the temperature limit is more stringent than for the entire charging process. Therefore, when the temperature reaches +45°C, it is necessary to emergency stop fast charging and proceed to the recharging phase with a lower charging current. Before continuing charging, the temperature of the battery must decrease, since elevated temperature The battery's ability to accept a charge is significantly reduced.

Another additional condition is a time limit on fast charging. Knowing the charging current, battery capacity and charging efficiency, you can calculate the time required for a full charge. The fast charging timer should be set for a time exceeding the calculated time by 5-10%. If this charging time has ended, but none of the methods for determining the end of fast charging has worked, then the process is terminated abnormally. This situation most likely indicates a malfunction of the voltage and temperature measurement channels.

Recharging phase

The charging current is set within 0.1-0.3C. With a recharging current of 0.1C, manufacturers recommend recharging within 30 minutes. Carrying out longer recharging results in overcharging the battery; The battery capacity increases by 5-6%, but the number of charge-discharge cycles is reduced by 10-20%. A positive effect of the recharging process is to equalize the battery charge. Those that are fully charged dissipate the input energy as heat at the same time as the remaining batteries are charged. If the recharging phase follows immediately after the fast charging phase, the batteries must be allowed to cool for a few minutes. As the temperature of the battery rises, its ability to accept a charge drops significantly. At 45°C the battery can only accept 75% charge. Therefore, the recharging process, carried out at room temperature, makes it possible to fully charge the battery.

Float charge phase

Chargers for Ni-Cd batteries after the charging process, as a rule, switch to trickle charging mode in order to maintain the battery in a fully charged state. Thus, the battery temperature remains elevated all the time, and this significantly reduces the battery life. Ni-MH batteries do not tolerate overcharging well, and therefore it is not advisable for them to be in a trickle charge state. It is necessary to use a very low float charging current just to compensate for self-charging.

For Ni-MH batteries, self-discharge in the first 24 hours can be up to 15% of the battery capacity, and then self-discharge decreases and amounts to 10-15% of the battery capacity per month. To compensate for self-discharge, an average current of less than 0.005C is sufficient. Some devices turn on the maintenance charging current once every few hours, and at other times the battery is disconnected from the device. The amount of self-discharge depends heavily on temperature, so the best option is to make the float charge adaptive - so that a small charging current is connected only when a specified decrease in voltage is detected.

The maintenance charging phase does not need to be carried out, but if a long time elapses between charging and using the battery, the battery must be recharged before use in order to compensate for self-discharge. The best option is one in which the charger keeps the batteries fully charged.

Ultra-fast charge

When charging up to 70% of the battery capacity, the efficiency of the charging process is close to 100%. This indicator is a prerequisite for the creation of ultra-fast chargers. Of course, it is impossible to increase the charge current indefinitely. There is a limit due to the speed at which chemical reactions occur. In practice, charging currents of up to 10C can be used. To prevent the battery from overheating, after reaching the 70% charge level, the current must be reduced to the level of standard fast charging and the end of charging must be monitored in the standard way. It is necessary to accurately monitor the achievement of the 70% charge mark. There are no reliable methods for solving this problem yet. The problem lies in determining the state of charge in the battery, in which batteries can be discharged differently. It is also problematic to supply charging current to the batteries. With such high charging currents, a weak contact can cause additional heating of the battery, leading to its destruction. If the charger fails, the battery may even explode.

Many people are not even aware of the existence of such devices. Everyone knows about chargers, but what are they? And in what cases may they be required?

We will return to the terminology later, but these “recharges” are needed for this reason. Imagine a car sitting in a garage for weeks without moving. When it is suddenly needed urgently, it turns out that the battery is so low that it cannot turn the starter. What if this happens all the time?

Cars that are on exhibition stands often find themselves in a similar situation. Their audio system is playing, the lights are on, but the engine is not running. So thin wires stretch under the hood, feeding the standard battery of the car from an external source.

Large currents are not needed: it is enough to compensate for the consumption of standard microcontrollers, as well as the security system and telematics. Modern gadgets have a modest appetite - tens of milliamps, despite the fact that their analogues from previous years of production sometimes consumed an order of magnitude more.

It would seem that connect the charger - and there are no problems! But not every “charge” is designed for continuous operation for weeks, or even months. It’s another matter if the manufacturer indicates a similar possibility of using their product. These are the devices we decided to test in real conditions - for several months.

Of the eight purchased products, only two are pure “recharges” - Tornado and Moratti. The rest are “chargers” that promise not only to revive dead batteries, but also to maintain their charge at the proper level. It is this function that we evaluated during the tests.

WHAT WE TESTED AND WHERE

The tests were carried out in the laboratory of the Federal State Institution 3 Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for three months. A long-term test of the devices’ ability to compensate for a drop in charge was carried out on batteries with an energy capacity of 55, 75 and 90 Ah at temperatures of -20; 0; +25 ºС. The tendency to overheat was assessed when working with batteries from 75 to 190 Ah, setting the maximum possible load for each device. For each product, they checked the “fool resistance” - they used polarity reversal, etc. When arranging in places, they took into account the declared parameters, workmanship, correctness of instructions and ease of use.

STORAGE? RECHARGING? COMPENSATION?

The multi-month marathon ended successfully: not a single device asked for mercy, not a single battery complained of poor service. “Fool protection” is also at its best: the products are not afraid of polarity reversals and other provocations. At the same time, not everyone liked it - we spoke about this topic in detail in the captions of the photo gallery. We also note that all devices provide recharging in 20-degree frost - even those that, judging by the instructions, are not at all frost-resistant.

But you need to be more polite with wires - they lose their flexibility right before your eyes.

Is it worth looking for simple chargers in stores, or is it better to buy a multifunctional charger? We believe that the second option is preferable: the difference in price is not astronomical, and a full-fledged charger in the household will not hurt. In addition, they are almost always on sale, and exotic “smaller brothers” need to be looked for via the Internet.

8. STARTED AZU-108 8 7 6

Automatic pulse charger, Saint Petersburg

Approximate price, rub. 1280

Temperature range, ºС 0…+40

3–110

The cute device was unpleasantly jarring to the eyes with the illiterate “A/h” inscriptions on the front panel, in the instructions and on the packaging. There is no such unit of measurement in nature - there is Ah. The manufacturer's requirements for the temperature conditions of the device's operation - from 0 to 40 ºС - were not encouraging: how to maintain the battery charge if it is frosty outside? The execution is sloppy: the glued switches are loose. In general, the device is functional, but I don’t want to recommend it.

7. Tornado 3 A.02

Automatic charger for batteries, Tolyatti

Approximate price, rub. 860

Temperature range, ºС -20…+40

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah up to 75

The device promises to maintain the working condition of the battery “for as long as desired”, without being a full-fledged charger (except for batteries with an energy capacity below 10 Ah). Outwardly, it resembles an amateur radio design in a housing from a time relay for photo printing. The element base is a quarter of a century old. The product successfully passed all electrical tests (overheating tests were carried out with a 75 Ah battery). However, the overall impression is rather negative.

6. Moratti 01.80.005

Battery recharger, China

Approximate price, rub. 600

Temperature range, ºС not lower than -10

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 10–250

The device is not intended for charging batteries, but to maintain battery performance during long-term storage and infrequent use. Withstands long-term operation calmly; The overheating test was carried out on a battery with an energy capacity of 190 Ah. There are no comments about the technology, but I didn’t like the description: what are “gel” batteries? Maybe they meant gel ones?

5. SONAR U3 207.03 3

Charger, Saint Petersburg

Approximate price, rub. 1500

Temperature range, ºС -5…+35

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 10–180

The charger provides storage mode with self-discharge current compensation. Unfortunately, the lower temperature limit is only -5 ºС. In other words, the device is not designed for winter operation in an unheated garage. The case does not overheat during operation (the test was carried out with a battery with an energy capacity of 170 Ah). There are no complaints about the technology, but the price seemed overpriced.

4. AIRLINE ASN‑5 A‑06

Charger, Russia - China

Approximate price, rub. 1050

Temperature range, ºС no data

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah up to 65

Provides a charging mode for the battery installed on the vehicle. The overheating test was carried out on a battery with an energy capacity of 65 Ah; no reasons for comment were found. It copes with recharging successfully. Unfortunately, the mythical unit of measurement A/h is found in the description of this device...

3. HEYNER, AkkuEnergy Art. 927130

Charger, Germany

Approximate price, rub. 6000

Temperature range, ºС no data

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 30–190

A charger designed for long-term connection to the battery, regardless of the season. All tasks were completed without problems. The overheating test was carried out with a 190 Ah battery. Among the shortcomings are an abstruse description with poor translation and an unappetizing price.

1–2. SMART POWER SP‑2N BERKUT

Compact universal charger, Russia - China

Approximate price, rub. 1150

Temperature range, ºС -20…+50

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 4–80

It can also be used for seasonal battery storage, remaining connected to the network for several months. The long-term operation mode is tolerated calmly; The overheating test was carried out with a 90 Ah battery. “Fool resistance” is normal, there are no comments on the work.

1–2. SOROKIN® 12.98

Universal battery charger, Russia

Approximate price, rub. 3000

Temperature range, ºС -20…+50

Energy capacity of rechargeable batteries, Ah 6–160

Full charger. Can be connected to a car battery for a long time - for winter storage and year-round use. It does not overheat during operation (the test was carried out with a 170 Ah battery). No comments. It's just a little expensive.

A LITTLE ABOUT SAFETY

If you leave a charger connected to the mains in the garage for a long time, make sure that you have not cheated. In other words, you must be sure that the “crocodiles” connected to the terminals of the engine compartment battery will not give you a short circuit under any circumstances (for example, when touching the hood when it is being closed!), and the corresponding wires will not be pinched by the hood cover or in any other way. Yes, the devices we tested have built-in protection, but don’t hesitate to double-check yourself. It goes without saying that the charger must be guaranteed to be protected from direct contact with moisture, snow and other weather hazards. It should also be remembered that at low temperatures, wire insulation has a habit of hardening and even breaking. This is especially important to take into account in cases where the car is used from time to time, and the charger is in a hurry either disconnected or reconnected, without paying attention to such “little things”.

What damage to the insulation of the positive wire can cause if it accidentally touches ground is clear to everyone.

And one last thing. Before moving away, do not forget to disconnect the charger from the mains and from the battery.

With bated breath and crossed fingers, service station owners are waiting for a frosty winter. After all, thanks to the persistent cold weather last winter, battery sales went beyond all imaginable and unimaginable limits. But, even without taking into account battery sales, the service station can receive additional benefits every time the car is brought in for service and preparation for winter. Battery charger supplier, Swedish company STEK, makes several compelling arguments for keeping the battery charged, and service station workers should pass this information down the chain to their customers.

Temperature- This is a key factor for the correct operation of the battery. Outside the range of 20°C - 30°C, any battery experiences additional stress, which can lead to a reduction in its service life.

When the temperature drops below 20°C, the battery performance decreases due to the thickening of the electrolyte. In turn, this causes the chemical reaction needed to produce energy to slow down. Engine oil also thickens, making it difficult to start the engine.

However, even in the coldest weather, the driver has the right to expect that the car will start from half a turn, and then turn on the lights, heated rear window, heater and radio to load.

“The battery loses up to 35% of its power when the temperature drops to zero, and more than 50% when it drops further. Low temperatures They also require additional power consumption from the engine during startup - together, these two factors significantly increase the likelihood of battery failure,” states STEK. In addition, short trips, during which the engine does not have time to warm up, shorten the battery life.

STEC explains: “Without proper maintenance and care, the battery quickly loses capacity in winter, especially when using the car for short distance trips, and, as a result, battery failure is the most common reason breakdowns in the UK over the past three years.”

Last year, STEC recommended that service stations offer battery care services as part of their car maintenance procedures, and those companies that heeded the recommendation received gratitude from their customers. This year, the next step was taken - it became possible to charge the battery overnight using the “smart” charger STEC MXS 4003. It's a reverse polarity and arc-proof charger that can be left connected to the battery for an "unlimited period of time," the company says.

“By charging your battery overnight, you'll not only ensure it's fully operational in the morning, but you'll also warm it up, so chemical reaction required to start the engine in the morning will be less energy intensive.” Not everyone, however, uses their car for winter period, especially owners of classic cars. But at the end of the season, driving the car into the garage, turning off the engine and just walking away is not enough.

Check your battery:

• Inspect the battery for cracks, and if there are any, seek professional repair services or replace the battery
• Clean all contacts and the top surface of the case
• Clean the battery compartment
• Terminals must be clean, dry and lubricated to prevent corrosion
• Use a smart charger to maintain charge levels

By following this procedure, when spring comes, the car will be guaranteed to be running and will not present you with unpleasant surprises. “Effective battery care doesn't have to be time-consuming or complicated with the STACK charger—it's all plug-and-play. There is no need to even remove the battery from the car or disconnect it from the on-board network.

STEC smart chargers optimize operation lead acid batteries, reading accurate charge level indicators, and provide adequate actions to charge and maintain the battery in maximum operating condition.

Electrolyte separation- a trivial cause of battery failure. The electrolyte collects at the bottom, and the acid at the top becomes much less effective. In addition, excessive concentration of electrolyte at the bottom leads to sulfation of the battery, reducing its capacity and service life.



Sulfation. If a lead-acid battery is left uncharged, the process of sulfation begins - the biggest battery killer. The sulfuric acid of the electrolyte settles on the plates and forms lead sulfate, which impairs the current between them. If the process is not stopped, the battery will go to landfill.

Desulfation. At this stage, all STEC chargers send a series of high current and voltage pulses that not only remove lead sulfate from the battery plates, but also “revitalize” the electrolyte, which in turn mixes with the acid and reverses the sulfation process.

Currently, there are many methods for charging batteries. There are more modern ones that require special chargers, and there are also simple, classic charging methods that have been known since the creation of rechargeable batteries and are popular to this day.

Today we will look at two classic methods of charging a battery.

1. Charge the battery at a constant charging current. I=const.

2. Charge the battery at constant charging voltage. U=const.

Today we will need the following devices:

1. Level tube (if available)

2. Hydrometer.

3. Voltmeter (multimeter or built-in charger device).

4. Charger.

Before you start charging the battery, you need to make sure that this is necessary, that is, check the battery and prepare it for charging, for this we need:

1. Clean the battery case and terminals from oxides, remove the filler plugs

2. Check the electrolyte level using a level tube and if a low level is observed (less than 10-12 mm), it is necessary to add distilled water.

3. Measure the density of the electrolyte using a hydrometer

4. Measure the voltage (emf) of the battery using a voltmeter or multimeter.

And it is advisable to write down or remember these values; we will need them to monitor the end of the battery charge.

Based on the measured density and voltage values ​​of the battery, assess whether it still needs charging or not.

The density of the electrolyte in a fully charged battery measured at a temperature of +25°C depending on climate zone must correspond to the values ​​indicated in the table.

The voltage on a fully charged battery must be at least 12.6 volts.

Do not charge the battery unless necessary, as this will shorten its service life by overcharging the battery.

The principle of battery charging is that voltage from the charger is connected to the battery, and for the charging current to occur, that is, to begin the battery charging process, the charging voltage must always be more battery voltage.

If the charging voltage is less than the voltage on the battery, then the direction of the current in the circuit will change and the battery will begin to give up its energy to the charger, that is, discharge to it.

So, let's look at the first method of charging a battery.

Charging the battery at a constant charging current.

Charging a battery with a constant charging current is the main universal charging method. You need to know that when using this method, unlike some others, the battery is charged to 100% of its capacity.

At this method The charging current is maintained constant throughout the entire charge.

This is achieved either by using special chargers with the function of setting a given charging current value, or by including a rheostat in the charging circuit, however, in the latter case, you must change the rheostat resistance values ​​yourself to achieve a constant charging current during the charging process.

The point is that during the charging process, the battery resistance and voltage on it change, which leads to a decrease in the charging current. To maintain the charging current at a constant level, it is necessary to increase the value of the charging voltage using the above-mentioned rheostat.

I will say again that in modern chargers the charging current value can be maintained automatically.

The charging current is usually selected equal to 10% of the battery capacity, which is indicated on the battery case. In the literature, this capacity is designated as C20, which is the capacity at a 20-hour discharge mode. Just remember this.

The charging time of the battery depends on the degree of its discharge before charging. If the battery has been completely discharged but not below 10 volts, then approximate time its charge will be within 10 hours.

If you are not limited by charging time, then it is better to charge the battery with a current of 5% of the battery capacity, while the charging process occurs more efficiently and the battery is charged to 100% of its capacity, while the charging time increases.

The battery is charged until abundant gas evolution, constant voltage and electrolyte density are achieved for 2 hours.

The voltage of the charger connected to the battery usually reaches 16-16.2 volts at the end of the charge.

It should be said that at the end of charging the battery using the constant charging current method, there is a significant increase in the temperature of the electrolyte in it. Therefore, when the temperature reaches 45 degrees, you should reduce the charging current by 2 times, or interrupt the charge altogether to reduce the temperature to 30-35 degrees.

So, we take the charger, connect the positive and negative clamps to the battery terminals, set the charging current setting knob to minimum, that is, to the far left position, and connect the charger to the network.

Next, we set the charging current equal to 10% of the battery capacity and every 2 hours we control the density of the electrolyte, the voltage on the battery, which will increase during the charging of the battery and, if possible, the temperature of the electrolyte, or at least indirectly, by touching the battery case with your hand.

If the charger does not have the function of maintaining a constant charging current, then we maintain it manually by changing the charging voltage and monitoring the charging current every half hour using the ammeter of the charger, or an ammeter connected in series to the charging circuit.

When the voltage reaches approximately 14 volts, we monitor the density and voltage every hour.

If you observe signs of charging (boiling, constant density and voltage), disconnect the charger from the network and disconnect the clamps from the battery.

Our battery is charged.

Disadvantages of the charging method:

1. Long battery charging time (when charging with a current of 10% of the capacity, about 10 hours, when charging with a current of 5% of the capacity - about 20 hours, provided that the battery was completely discharged).

2. The need for frequent monitoring of the charging process (charging current, voltage, density and temperature of the electrolyte).

3. There is a possibility of battery overcharging.

Charging the battery at a constant charging voltage.

Charging the battery while maintaining a constant voltage across it is faster and simple method commissioning of the battery.

The essence of this charging method is as follows.

The charger is directly connected to the battery and maintains a constant charging voltage throughout the entire charging process. In this case, the voltage is set within 14.4-15 volts (for a 12-volt battery).

With this charging method, the value of the charging current is set, one might say, automatically, depending on the degree of discharge, electrolyte density, temperature and other factors.

At the beginning of battery charging, the charging current can reach large values, even 100% of the battery capacity, since the emf of the batteries has the smallest value, and the difference between this emf and the charge voltage is the largest. However, during the charging process, the battery EMF increases, the difference between the battery EMF and the charging voltage decreases, thereby reducing the charging current, which after 2-4 hours can reach about 5-10% of the battery capacity. Again, it all depends on the degree of discharge of the battery.

Such high charge currents are the reason for faster charging of batteries.

At the end of the battery charging process, the charging current decreases to almost zero, so it is believed that when charging by maintaining a constant charging voltage, the battery will only charge to 90-95% of its capacity.

Thus, when the charging current is close to zero, the charge can be stopped, the battery can be restored to its original state and installed on the car.

By the way, the battery charge when constant value charging voltage is implemented in the car.

If the battery voltage is less than 12.6-12.7 volts (depending on the car brand), then the regulator relay connects the generator to the battery to recharge it. Moreover, the voltage from the generator corresponds to a value of 13.8-14.4 volts (standard value; in foreign cars the generator voltage is found to be slightly higher than the specified value).

1. Connect the charger to the battery,

2. Set the charging voltage within 14.4-15 volts,

3. Control the battery charging current

4. Remove the battery from charging when the current value is close to zero.

Disadvantages of the method:

1. The battery is not charged to its full capacity, but on average to 90-95% of its value.

2. Large overload of the charging voltage source at the beginning of the charge, due to a large charging current (relevant when charging the battery from a car generator).

After charging the battery using any of the methods, you must:

1. Make sure that the voltage on it is at least 12.6 volts,

2. Electrolyte density within 1.27 g/cm3

3. Electrolyte level 10-12 mm above the plates

4. Eliminate possible electrolyte leaks and install the battery on the car.

And now the question. In some videos on YouTube and in articles on websites, I came across the following advice on connecting the charger to the battery: first connect the plus, then the minus. So I would like to know your opinion: is this statement correct or does the sequence of connecting the charger wires not matter?

Write your opinions in the comments.

I suggest you look detailed video in which I explain how to charge a battery using two classic charging methods: