What would be the ideal charge 6V 12amp lead acid battery. What i mean what should the volt meter read after charging 6.3 / 6.4 / or higher {7.0}.
You should be measuring amp draw from the charger and not volts. If the amperage draw is well above zero, the the battery is still charging. If the amperage is near zero or zero the battery is done charging. If you are not using a battery charger with an amperage gauge, get one that has one. Or get an automatic charger that decides for itself, based on amperage, when to shut off and go into a maintenance mode. They are not expensive... Ron
I concur with Ronhop about ampereage and chargers. FYI a 6 volt lead acid battery fully charged produces 7.2 volts; each cell should be producing 1.2 volts if they are not sulfated. :rockon:
Thank you .. that was what I was looking for. Ronhop thank you for the info. Any chance I could use my multi function electrical meter to reading the amperage draw?
As long as the meter can handle the amperage rate of the charger, it should not be a problem, or if ya want, pm me and you can use my charger for a couple of days Tim.:biggrin1:
Yes, I agree with HYTMANN. Your DVM needs to handle the charge amperage. I have a nice bench DVM that can only deal with 10 amps. Most if not all are fuse protected so worst case you blow a fuse if you go that route. Good luck. Ron
I didn't know that... I though the 1.2 V per cell was from Ni-Cads in series and not a lead acid battery. I have not used a 6V lead acid battery in ages so I'm out of touch. In any event, amperage draw from the charger to the battery is the key to charging and not peak voltage. Ron
Lead acid and NiCD both have the same volts per cell. Charging lead acid cells with amperage drop is the best way to go, however with both NiCD and lithium polymer batteries (Lipo's have 3.7 volts per cell) charging at constant amperage is preffered, until negative delta shift occurs in the NiCD (minute voltage drop) which occurs due to internal resistance as a result of temperature increase, and with Lipo's charge cutoff should be set for the maximum voltage, overcharging them even a tiny bit will weaken and shorten life, and possibly burst the cell:wave: .
Very informative. So in a nut shell its the amps that are the best measure of batteries charge.:frusty:
Yes, I used to race electric RC cars and the charger I had was a peak detection type... I never messed with Lipo batteries. All I know is that they sell ceramic pots to put your batteries in while sharging in case they blow up or whatever... Sounds like dangerious stuff to me. Thanks for the info... Ron
battery voltage A 6volt lead acid battery has 3 cells @ 2 volts each. charge voltages are: full charge 6.3 volts 75% 6.2 volts 50% 6.1 volts 25% 6,0 volts Charge the battery, unhook the charger, and allow the battery to sit for several hours to allow surface charge to dissipate before testing. To charge a 12 amp battery use a charger with 1.5 amp output or it will fry the battery. Load testing is probably the best way to find out if a battery is good. Bill
