[NLRS] Battery charge regulator

[Bill Ockert]

Hi John,

Not sure if it is applicable to the overall situation but...

The trolling motor on my boat uses 24V so has two 12V batteries in series. 
The boat
overall therefore has three batteries, on for cranking and two for the 
trolling motor. This
is a common situation. I bought a charger from Cabelas that changes all 
three in place.
In addition to changing all three batteries from 120VAC, the model that I 
have will charge
the two 12V series batteries from the charge current the boat motor puts out 
to the cranking
battery.

I do not recall the make and model of the charger but looking at Cabelas web 
site there
are several models that do this.

Hope this is of some help.

73 de Bill ND0B
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <tosca005 at umn.edu>
To: "NLRS Reflector" <nlrs at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 11:30 AM
Subject: [NLRS] Battery charge regulator


>
>
> Well, I managed to "cook" one of my 31 AH gel cell batteries while trying
> to recharge it. It didn't explode or rupture spilling acid all over the
> place, but the case sure looks funny as it pushed outward from internal 
> gas
> liberation. Fortunately, it held together without cracking open, but...
>
> Anyway, not wanting to repeat that experience, I am looking for a battery
> charge regulator. I realize that a 1.4 ohm 150 watt resistor in the
> positive lead of the (replacement) battery would limit the charge current
> to about 10 amps, but it would also limit the drain current to the same 10
> amps or so, which is not enough when roving when some of the "low
> microwave" amps kick into high gear. I would like a device or circuit that
> would limit the charging current into the battery to whatever is optimal
> for a gel cell battery, but not limit how much current is drawn out of the
> battery under severe load.
>
> An even tougher need is a way to put two 12v gel cells in series to 
> provide
> 24 volts at high current for a few of the amplifiers that need 18-26 
> volts,
> and still be able to safely charge the pair of batteries from the 
> vehicle's
> 12 volt electrical system. I have a 12V to 24V inverter that can deliver
> about 30 amps at 24 V, but some of the amplifiers want even more than 30
> amps when driven to the max. I figure that a pair of healthy gel cells in
> series could provide all the current I need for short periods of time, as
> long as I can keep them properly charged. Using the 12-to-24V inverter
> output across the series-connected 12V batteries would potentially work, 
> if
> not for the problem of lack of charging current regulation leading to
> another catastrophic battery failure, which would not be nice on the road.
>
> Ideas, anyone?
>
> 73 de W0JT
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