Battery chargers - intelligent ones

[Channel Hopper]

Well, not so much intelligent, but those that run off an alarm battery and are able to 'boost' a flat car or motorcycle battery from scratch.

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There was a promotion around ten years ago on a shopping channel that mentioned these could start a car whose battery that was almost dead by leaving for a few minutes, but of course connecting a smaller unit in parallel with a low resistance sink is unlikely to assist unless there is some intelligence going on with the drain.

So, is there somebody out there that knows of the circuitry these things have inside, or can divulge the theory behind the 'magic' ?

 

[2cvbloke]

For the delivery of a lot of current to start a car, I'd say they're using the same tech as the cheap & compact welders often seen today, using IGBTs to deliver a lot of power briefly without the need for a massive transformer, though of course only briefly or else the magic smoke escapes, as for the "intelligent" part, that's probably just the software onboard to restore, charge and maintain the battery rather than just pump current into it 'til it boils a shorted cell...

I bought a chinese "intelligent" charger last year and ran it on an ex-car battery I have hooked up to my solar stuff, as said battery was suffering with a failed cell (having been left to discharge in the car it came from and sat for a few months before it was replaced and I rescued it), and the restoration part of the charge involved it pulsing current into the battery, presumably to break up crusties in the failed cell, aswell as following that pulsing up with a charging cycle, worked great if I'm honest as the battery is nice and stable now...

Though I will note, the pulsing part, it sounded like a PC modem dialling a very long number over a pulse-dial only phoneline, which was amusing initially, but the sound got a bit tedious after a while...

 

[Channel Hopper]

Thanks and yes, I was thinking along the lines of 'pulsing' (perhaps with a particular waveform that is good at desulphating the cell plates).

I have a old scrap unit in the shed that looked expensive when they were first advertised, I might take it apart after dinner to see what makes it tick, or dials.

 

[Terryl]

I use a Progressive Dynamics PD9160A RV power converter along with it's "Charge Wizard" on my battery stack, it's been over 15 years without a battery change.

They are a bit costly, but the extended life span of the deep cycle battery stack outweighs the cost.

Here are a few link's to their site.

For the converter

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/power-converters/pd9100-series-rv-power-converters/pd9160a-60-amp-electronic-power-converter/

And for the charge wizard

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/charge-wizard/pd9105-tcms-charge-wizard/

They have a good explanation on the charge wizard.

I also keep a GOOLOO 800A jump starter on the houseboat in case the generator battery has drained, when I first unpacked it I though...Gee was this little bitty thing going to be able to jump start a motor??? Well it did fine, it also jump started a inboard V6 ski boat motor, WOW.