Jun 28, 2021 Pageview:2730
The battery is an integral part of a car. Without a car battery, it is impossible to move your car an inch of it. The term dead battery is quite common in the motor world. A dead battery can make your life hell if you are stuck with your car’s dead battery.
One of these components that can make your battery survive for a long is a battery trickle charger. The main functionality of these trickle chargers is to make your battery running for longer durations. Even if you fail to use your car’s battery for longer periods, it helps your car’s battery to sustain the charge required to start.
Should you Charge your Battery at 2 or 10 Amps
Charging your battery at 2 amps or 10 amps is a matter of concern to many car owners. However, you must remember that if you provide fast charging to your car, it might cause adverse effects to your car. Moreover, it may damage the other components of your car. Certainly, you don’t want to provide a charge to your car forever.
The battery of a car is made up of 48 amps. Meaning, a 2 amp charger will take the entire 24 hours to provide a complete charge to your car. Contrary to this, a 10 amp charger only needs 5 hours to charge your car.
This is the reason many car experts believe that it is absolutely okay to provide a 10 amp charger to your car. The primary objective of using this charge is to provide a complete charge to your battery along with not damaging your car or its components.
Thus, it is advisable to use a 10 amp charger to charge your car’s battery.
How long can you leave a 2 amp Charger on a Battery?
To figure out the time you can leave your 2 amp charger on a battery, you need to consider few factors. Before jumping onto the factors, you need to understand that the batteries of a car have a capacity of 48 amp-hours. Furthermore, the battery can produce 1 amp in 48 hours, 2 amp in 24 hours, and it continues to produce a charge like this.
You can even use a trickle charger to keep the charging of the battery at an optimum level. Avoid fast charging of the battery to start it immediately. Charging your battery at 2 amp is best for a longer duration as the trickle charger will maintain the standard charge required for you to start the car. Fast charging your car can be devastating since it might damage the battery plates along with wear and tear.
The factors that determine how long can leave a 2 amp charger on a battery are as follows.
Determine the Amp Hours of Battery by its Reserve Capacity – The first major aspect you need to determine is finding out the amp hours of the battery. For this purpose, first, find out the reserve capacity of the battery. This information is readily available in the instruction manual or the manufacturer’s guidebook. You can also find out easily the amp hours of your battery’s reserve capacity by multiplying it by 0.6. For example, if your battery has 50 minutes, then your battery has 30 hours.
Figure out Open Circuit Voltage through a Voltmeter – The word open circuit voltage means the voltage rating you’re your car’s battery when it is not functioning. It also means that the battery is on zero load capacity, and you can measure it by a voltmeter. Ensure that the battery is not on in charging mode while you take the measurements.
Find out the temperature of the Battery – While charging, you need to keep in mind the safety temperature of the battery. Sometimes you might experience overheating in your batteries. For this purpose, it is wise to check the wiring of your battery. Although it is quite natural for the battery to have a minimal amount of heat during the charging process. The battery should also cool down after the calculated charging time. You need to ensure that the battery is at room temperature for safety.
Maintenance – Before putting the battery on charging, ensure the levels of electrolyte in the battery. If there is a shortage of electrolytes in the charger, make sure to fill it up before proceeding with charging.
Will a Trickle Charger Charge a Dead Battery?
Before deciding on the answer to this question, let us first understand what is a trickle charger? A trickle charger charges your battery slowly but at a steady rate. Due to its low amperage, it produces a slow rate of charging ampere to the batteries. An average trickle charger produces a 1-3 amps charge. However, a trickle charger is different from a conventional car charger as it restores its lost energy within a specific time. This helps the car battery from going absolutely dead.
The working functionality of trickle charges is the same as that of a traditional car charger. The only difference between a trickle charger and a conventional one is that it produces electric current at a slower rate as compared to the conventional one. This avoids your battery to overcharge whereas the traditional car charger produces charging at a fixed voltage. This can lead to developing overcharging and overheating problems in your car and eventually damaging it along with the other components of the car.
Now coming to the question as to whether a trickle charge can charge a dead battery, the answer is yes. A trickle charger is capable of charging a dead battery. However, it will consume enough time before it can bring the dead battery back to its life. If you charge a 12-volt battery with a trickle charger that produces 1-3 amps of electrical current, it will take 20-24 hours to charge it. The reason for this is that the car battery is originally made up of 48 amps of volt and it takes consumes 1 amp of charge every single hour.
Although, the primary objective of a trickle charger is to keep the battery safe even when it is not used for a prolonged period. Another advantage of using a trickle charger is that it keeps the battery in pristine condition, and free from worn out.
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