Battery Chargers

[Robbie Shaw]

Hi Guys,

Whats the view on using a battery trickle charger on trikes ?
As some of us do not fly every weekend which means having to pull start it... (battery in good condition) just not in use that often.
If battery chargers are an option which one ? Who suppliers it ? What would be the +- costs....

To those fellow avatars that respond I thank you for your time and input..... To those others have one for me ...he he

[ZULU1]

A properly designed intelli-battery charger will do no harm to a lead acid battery, they are in fact designed to intelligent charge the, First prize though is to go buy a Li Iron phosphate battery from a motorcycle shop, they dont go flat and are 1/3rd of the weight.

For an example of a charge chip google ST microelectronics SEA 05 which i use.

You can buy a decent charger from Mantech or Electrocomp at reasonable prices, 1 amp is fine.

[Robbie Shaw]

Zulu 1,

Thanks for the input mostly appricated...will it fit in neatly in the battery box of the aquilia ?

[mulderpm]

100% Paul. I replaced my battery after 2 years because it was not trickle charged. My previous battery was trickle charged and it lasted 5 years. Robbie, if a lead acid battery voltage drops below 1.2 V per cell the plates become de-sulphated resulting in the battery loosing capacity, regardless of amount of charging. A lead acid battery should be float charged at between 2.3 and 2.36 volts per cell. (13.8 to 14.2 Volts).

CTek make a good trickle charger but they are quite pricy. I bought my trickle charger from Electronics 123 in Pretoria. It is not a CTek but it costs a lot less and it works well. You can get a CTek from Outdoor Warehouse. I also know Battery Inn, in Botha Ave. in Centurion, has an alternative float charger that works like a CTek but is also much cheaper. They import it from the UK.

The risk of trickle charging a battery is that it is unattended and if something goes wrong the charger or battery could start a fire. This has happened at FABA. I am sure the charger was just an unregulated cheap unit from a car spares place thus overcharging the battery when it was left unattended for an extended period. Do not use an unregulated cheap one and expect it to automatically trickle charge your battery.

[mulderpm]

Sorry, costs, CTek start at R 650 for an 800mA unit. The others are about half to 3/4 that price.

[Robbie Shaw]

Hey Paul,
Thank you I was always worried about it when leaving it unattended for sometime what could happen... Thank you for the heads up... Will chat to you next time we sink a wet one... I see that you had a wale of a time on your fly away...

Good to hear you are back safe and sound...