Scooter Saga: Revisited; Batteries and Charger

If this charger is indeed 24v, it should only be used with TWO 12 volt batteries in series. I thought you were connecting two 6 volt batteries to make 12 volts for a 12 volt motor.

I am also confused by the input current rating of 4.0 amps. At 120 volts, you would have 480 watts "going in" and 120 watts "going out", meaning that the charger is dissipating the difference (360 watts). It should get too hot to touch in a matter of minutes based on that.

Certainly not if you have two 12 volt batteries connected in series to provide 24 volts. To use the "auto" charger in that case, the batteries would have to be disconnected from the scooter. You could connect any number of 12 volt batteries in parallel (plus-to-plus, etc.) and charge them simultaneously.

Mark, at first we had information that you are using two 6 volt batteries to run a 12 volt motor, but now we learn that the batteries are 12 volts each and the charger is 24 volts. I think that with confusion of this magnitude, it would not help to provide further suggestions here. It would be much better if you could find someone near you who could look things over in person and give you a more informed opinion.

Chuck

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Perhaps I am the one who is confusing everyone here -- and I apologize. Yes, I am using 6 batteries; they are connected as per the configuration sent to me, in a parallel set. Each of the batteries is a

12 VDC; I was able to get the recharger through a 'contact' who was nice to me -- it's a 24 volt DC recharger, and I have been using it for the two battery configuration for some time. The only reason I decided to ask the questions that led me to the 6 battery installation was to help with the time factor with recharging.

Yesterday, I was 'thinking' to myself, and I came to the conclusion that the 'system' remains a 12 VDC configuration, as the scooter initally required two (2) of the batteries in a parallel configuration to operate. Therefore, I merely hooked up the charger; but it didn't work, and I heard a rather 'distinctive click' before it no longer operated.

My question at this point was whether I could use a standard 'auto' battery charger; my father-in-law has one, the kind the rolls on wheels; it is a 12 VDC recharger, but it also can charge the 6 V batteries (if needed) and it has a dial on the front that can be adjusted according to the user's needs. Is it appropriate to use this type of recharger on these type of batteries?

Actually, the situation is 'sort of mute' now, as my motor "fell off" this morning. The welding that was used to connect the motor to the chasis had corroded; so I am going to have to get that fixed.

The 'only' reason I wanted more 'time' with respect to charging is because in order to retrieve the newspaper in the AM, I have to navigate a rather long (well, about 1/4 mile) driveway that is on an incline -- I am not sure of the %, but it's not much.

Does this clear it up, or did I make it worse?

Mark chuck wrote:

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That is the wrong charger for your setup. The charger expects to "see" a 24 volt battery, but was connected to a 12 volt setup. Consequently, too much current was drawn, and something inside failed. You could possibly repair the charger, but it is not suitable for you, unless you reconfigure the batteries for charging and then reconfigure for use, every time. Not practical.

No. That kind of charger has no charging management circuit for SLA's. You might "get away with it" using that charger, but it could easily cook your batteries.

No.

Perhaps.

What you need is a proper charger for your setup, designed for SLA charging at the charge rate you need and capable of supplying the charging current required.

In your original post a while back, you gave these specs for the battery charging requirements: "Standby Use": Voltage Regulation: 13.5 - 13.8V; Initial current: 1.8A

"Cyclic Use": Voltage Rrgulation: 14.5 -14.9V; Initial Current: 3.6A

Since you now have two batteries in parallel, the current requirements double to 3.6 and 7.2 amps, respectively. The voltage requirements remain the same.

All of the above assumes that you are using the same batteries that were mentioned in your initial post.

As Chuck mentioned in his reply, you will probably need to find someone knowledgeable who can look at your setup to verify what is needed. Sounds like a great project for an electronics/amateur radio club at the local high school or Boy Scouts or ?

Ed

It sounds like you popped the charger's protection circuit trying to charge 12V batteries with a 24V charger. If all that happened was that you heard a click, you might only need to reset the breaker; but you still can't use it to charge 12V batteries - theoretically, you could charge two

12V batteries in series (for 24V), but unless the batteries are exactly the same age, from the same manufacturer, the same production lot, and have seen exactly the same usage and are in exactly the same state of discharge, this can be risky.

As long as they're 12V batteries, then probably, but be sure to read the instruction manual first. Depending on the amp-hour capacity of the batteries, and the charger's algorithm, you could wind up trying to overcharge them, which can hurt them.

But if the charger is "smart" enough (and you are ;-) ) then you could probably do it.

Of course, read the manual. :-)

...

Pretty much, but I wish you'd learn to bottom-post.

Good Luck! Rich