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Trickle Charge

1727 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Qzyn, 
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Hi!

Here in Canada we got a 'free' inspection of our aging MLs by the stealership and I was told that my battery was getting weak after 7 years of ownership, everything else checked out fine even though they refused to tell me why my truck was vibrating at idle. I have been relatively happy all through these 7 years and am more than willing to spring for a new battery, but while i was shopping at the local hardware store (Canadian Tire), I chanced upon a solar powered battery charger. It looks kinda small but it might work and plus it was on sale at $9.99 from $39.99.

My question is - which socket should I plug it into? the one near the ashtray or the one at the passenger side? I know one stays on all the time whereas the other is on only when the car is on.

Any suggestions, ideas from the technical gurus here?

Thanks!
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keyhole
Qzyn said:
Hi!!

From my professional experience with batteries (NiCd and Pb) and I use o lot of various electronic devices I can tell you one thing about trickle charge:

IT SHORTENS THE LIFESPAN OF THE BATTERY!!!

There is only one purpose of trickle charge - keeping the device ready for immediate use, usually in emergency ( like radiocommunication for example)

Save your dollars!!!
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While respecting your background and experience, I can think of no technical reasons for the statement you make above. I think that there are two types of low-current chargers - a trickle charger, and a 'maintenance' charger.

The trickle charger has no cut-off facility and will continue to deliver current even when the battery is fully charged, which can result in 'boiling'. Not literally, but that's the apppearance from the bubbling. So it needs to be monitored.

The maintenance charger is designed for non-attended operation, eg, on boats & motorbikes, which get laid up. When the battery voltage is sufficiently high (fully charged) the charger switches itself off. This is perfectly safe to be left connected for long periods with no damage to the battery.
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