Tiny Battery Charging - Sub 1.2ah

[cleoncleon]

I couldn't find enough info on this, so, I'd better ask before I blast battery acid around the garage...

I got the 0.8ah/ Power Sonic PS1208 deal off eBay and it came absolutely flat..
Tried hooking it up to the system and running it.. there have been times a bike has spun enough on a dead battery to charge it, but, no avail.

**I got a reg/rect that i was going to use for a PMA swap, but just wired it in as a Rec and used the stock Regulator with it. Got a PAMCO also.

Anyway, can I touch this thing to my old 12V - 2/10/50ah charger?
2ah Setting of course..

I wouldnt imagine it taking long, if not minutes for a battery so small..
Could i hook it up and just watch it for heat?

 

[pamcopete]

cleoncleon,

Not if the battery is absolutely flat. If it had some voltage, like 10 volts, then the current draw would be less than 2 Amps. If the battery is flat, like zero volts, then it will draw the maximum available from your charger, or 2 Amps which will probably cook the battery, but in that regard, you are right...it won't take very long

 

[cleoncleon]

"Not if the battery is absolutely flat.."
Gawdd Dammit!

Hmm.. Well, it might be cheaper buying a charger off craigslist.
Or just getting another battery.. as opposed to a chemical cleaning service for Post-Battery Holocaust..

THANKS EBAY!!

 

[cleoncleon]

Quickie: Would this help me at all?

http://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html

From what a reviewer says, it pushes out about 1/2amp at 14v+.

 

[pamcopete]

cleoncleon,

That is not a battery charger per se. It is a battery maintainer that maintains the battery voltage at 13.2 Volts which is the voltage at which a battery neither charges nor discharges. If you download the instructions, it clearly says to not use the product if the battery voltage is less than 12 Volts. HF should not have listed it as a battery charger. http://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/42000-42999/42292.pdf

 

[cleoncleon]

Ahh okay, I see it now.. It's a 'Tender/Trickle' more so, makes sense.
I went ahead and got a new PS1208WL, had a battery salvage here in town, they replaced it at exchange, no cost! - I wonder what charger I can use on this thing though.. hmm.

 

[pamcopete]

cleoncleon,
Well, as long as the battery voltage is above 10 Volts, you can use a 2 Amp charger, but not a constant current charger. You want a charger that reduces the current as the battery charges and shuts off automatically at 14.5 Volts. You might even use the charger you have if it meets these specs. Use an Ammeter to see what the charging current is when you first try it.