You might be wondering what happens during charging. Here is what happens, an electric current is introduced to the battery to reverse the chemical reactions in the cells, this is electric current introduced in the battery has to be in chemical form for it to be stored.
This chemical potential is turned into electrical power during discharge. There chemical reactions responsible for this conversion.
To avoid damaging your charger and battery during charging, always ensure that you follow the instructions from the manufacturer. When the specific gravity in the battery acid remains constant for more than 1hour then a battery can be termed as fully charged.
As a safety measure, you always need to make sure that your charger is off before having it connected to the battery. Never should you connect a live charger to your battery so that you avoid sparking.
Battery Charger Types
Even though we have only two major categories of chargers that is Manual and Automatic, the chargers will still come in different shapes and sizes.
No input from the user is required while using automatic chargers this is because the automatic charger automatically pulse and cycle the charging current. This is a plus because the battery remains protected from damage and also allows the charging current to tamper as times goes by.
For manual chargers, the person responsible for charging the battery needs to time properly so that the battery is not overcharged. Manual chargers provide constant charging current and, in most cases, the manual chargers are used by professionals.
Basic Rules to Battery Charging
Here are some of the rules to battery charging:
- To avoid pressure building up in the battery, the vent caps need to remain open for proper venting of the gases that are produced during charging.
- To avoid damaging the charger and the battery, always ensure that you follow the guidelines provided by the manufacturer.
- Ensure that batteries are charged in a room that is properly ventilated. Proper ventilation ensures that gases don’t build up in the room to cause an explosion. For instance, hydrogen gas concentration which is above 4% is very dangerous when exposed to the slightest ignition.
- Battery acid is corrosive and hazardous to the person handling the batteries therefore it is important to have protective gear on. Protective gear includes gloves for the hands, eye googles for the eyes and an overall or apron for the clothing.
- Ensure there are no sparks in the charging room. You need also to ensure that open fire is not in use in the charging area and lastly NEVER smoke in the charging area
- Rapid or fast-charging damages your battery and shortens its life span. It is advisable to therefore opt for slow charging to avoid damaging the battery.
- When in a position to, please have the battery disconnected from the vehicle before charging. Use a battery disconnect switch if one is in place. Doing this will ensure that the vehicle’s electrical devices are kept safe against any damage that might result due to high voltages. This does not however mean that you cannot charge the battery while connected.
- The battery acid-specific gravity needs to be monitored regularly
- You need to have the battery’s heat monitored from time to time. In the event that the casing of the battery feels hot when touched, you need to have the charger switched off and the battery given time to cool down.
Automatic Charger Battery Charging Procedures
For best results, below are some of the procedures you may follow as you charge the battery.
- First, know the kind of battery that needs to be charged. Some batteries are sealed and others are the flooded type. When dealing with the sealed type where you do not have access to the battery cells and may not be in a position to add water even when the levels fall, it is advisable to use slow charge to have the battery charged.
- Ascertain that the main power supply socket is switched off and that the charger is connected to the power supply.
- Have the charger connected to the battery that needs to be charged. Connect the positive cable to the positive terminal of the battery and also the negative cable to the negative terminal of the battery. The connections at the terminals needs to be very tight. Crocodile clips can help you ensuring the connection is on point.
- Now plug the charger into the main power supply and switch it on. With the guide of the manual, you can switch between regular battery and deep cycle battery charging in instances where this option is available.
- Charging can now continue taking place as you monitor the temperature of the battery. In case the battery feels hot when touched, you need to switch off the charger and give the battery time to cool before you resume charging again.
- You do not need to make any changes in the charger setting as the battery will be able to note the changes in the charge levels and the charging current will be adjusted adequately.
- Switch off and disconnect the charger from the main power supply once charging is complete. Have the charger disconnected from the battery. Remember not to disconnect the battery when the charger is still on.
Manual Charger Battery Charging Procedures
Fir manual chargers, we had mentioned earlier that they charge at constant current and does not tamper down the charging power even as the battery gets fully charged. This therefore means that dangers of overheating are very high. To prevent overheating cases, consider the following:
- Because different battery types require different charging, you need to first know the kind of battery to be charged whether it is the sealed or the regular flooded type.
- Ascertain that the charger is not connected to the main power supply source and it is switched off.
- Have the battery positive cable connected to the positive terminal and the negative cable connected to the negative terminal of the battery
- Have the required charge rate set. This is determined by whether it is a slow or fast charge, the connection type whether it is parallel or series and also the number of batteries connected.
- Have the charger connected to the main power supply and have it switched on.
- Monitor the charging process from time to time as you feel the temperature of the battery casing. If it feels hot, have the charger disconnected and give the battery time to cool down.
- To avoid overcharging, time the charging periods and once the time is achieved, have the charger switched off.
- Once charging is complete, disconnect the battery from the charger by disconnecting the charger from the main power supply followed by disconnecting the terminals. NEVER should you disconnect the battery while the charger is still on.
How To Determine Charging Rates Of Manual Charger
As we have mentioned earlier, a manual charger gives constant charging power to the battery and due to this reason, proper timing and perfect power setting is needed to ensure that the battery is kept in check during charging.
To determine the charge time, the reserve capacity (RC) of the battery together with the charge capacity of the battery are used. Therefore, always have the state of charge of the battery measured against the battery’s rated capacity.
In quite a number of cases, you will find a label showing the reserve capacity attached to the battery. In cases where you don’t find the labelling, the specific gravity of the battery electrolyte needs to be measured by the use of a hydrometer and then a low charge rate is applied.
The specific gravity needs to be monitored with an interval of 30 minutes and when it gets to a point where it remains constant for 1 hour then that is an indication that the battery is charged to capacity. You can use the below table to calculate the charge time in minutes that is required for a battery with a specific reverse capacity.
| State of charge | 75% | 50% | 25% | 0% | ||||
| Charge Rate (Amps) | 5 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 10 |
| 50 RC | 75 | 35 | 150 | 75 | 225 | 180 | 300 | 150 |
| 60 RC | 90 | 45 | 180 | 90 | 270 | 135 | 360 | 180 |
| 70 RC | 105 | 50 | 210 | 105 | 315 | 155 | 420 | 210 |
| 80 RC | 120 | 60 | 240 | 120 | 360 | 180 | 480 | 240 |
| 900 RC | 135 | 65 | 270 | 135 | 405 | 200 | 540 | 270 |
| 100 RC | 150 | 75 | 300 | 150 | 450 | 225 | 600 | 300 |
| 110 RC | 165 | 80 | 330 | 165 | 495 | 240 | 660 | 330 |
| 120 RC | 180 | 90 | 360 | 180 | 540 | 270 | 720 | 360 |
| Battery Reserve (RC) Capacity Rating in Minutes | Charge Time in Minutes | |||||||
Conclusion
Automatic chargers are easy to use and its advisable to always use them as opposed to the manual chargers. The charging procedure is not complicated and can be easily done even without any special skills.
Batteries that are stored when in a discharged state may get damaged permanently.
Make it a routine to have your battery charge levels checked after every 6 months. This should form part of the maintenance procedures. If it is within your means, its advisable to have the battery connected to a trickle charger which will provide the battery with a floating charge.
When the battery is stored in a discharged state, it might suffer permanent damage.