Understanding how a Car Battery Trickle Charger Works
Batteries that are left connected to circuits constantly release charge in the circuit. This is called self-discharge. Car batteries, for example, can lose up to 2 percent of their charge daily. Most cars, as well as other vehicles, have an alternator that recharges the battery while the engine is running. If the vehicle sits idly for too long, meaning several months, with the battery connected, the battery will be rendered useless. Disconnecting the battery from a vehicle that will be stored is a solution to this problem. However, this means the vehicle will not be immediately available in the event of an emergency.Trickle chargersare designed to keep a battery fully charged while the vehicle remains in storage. This eliminates the need to disconnect the battery, leaving the vehicle ready for use in an emergency.
Trickle chargers workby delivering charge to the battery at a rate equal to the battery’s self-discharge rate. They use battery regulators to control the charging rate. For this reason, trickle chargers can also be used to recharge batteries that have been depleted. Recharging a depleted battery at a slower rate than a normal charger helps preserve the life of the battery. Furthermore, charging a battery too quickly can cause the charge to build up on the terminals and make the battery appear fully charged when it isn’t.
There are many different varieties of trickle chargers with different voltage and current ratings. When choosing a trickle charger, it is necessary to get one that delivers thesame voltageand current as the vehicle’s battery. The battery voltage can be confirmed by checking the vehicle owner’s manual while the amps, which are the units of current, can be found on the label on the face of the battery. Some trickle chargers come with factory-set outputs that cannot be changed, while others have dials or buttons for manual calibration.
Beforeconnecting a trickle charger, it is important to ensure that the area in which the vehicle will be stored is properly ventilated. This is because the charging process produces hydrogen gas and can cause an explosion in a poorly ventilated room. It is also necessary to remove the key and any other devices connected to the car to reduce the risk of electrical fire. Before connecting it to the vehicle battery, the trickle charger must be grounded. This is done by connecting the power cable on the charger to a metal bolt on the car’s chassis or engine block. If the car has a metal frame, this will also provide sufficient grounding. Once the charger has been properly grounded, all that is necessary is to connect the alligator clips on the charger to the battery, remembering that red goes to positive and black goes to negative. Then plug the charger into an available wall outlet to begin the charging process.
Trickle chargers should not, however, be left connected to batteries for anindefinite periodof time. This is because they do not stop charging when the battery is full. If a trickle charger is being used to recharge a battery, the trickle charger must be monitored frequently and removed whenever the indicator on the face shows a full charge. Leaving the battery connected to the trickle charger too long can ruin it, or even cause it to catch fire. Float chargers, on the other hand, may be left connected to batteries indefinitely. Like trickle chargers, float chargers deliver charge to a battery at a slow rate. Unlike trickle chargers, float chargers contain electronics that sense when the battery has been fully recharged and stop delivering charge to the battery. These devices can also sense when the battery loses some of its charge and will begin delivering charge again. Float chargers are better suited for use in vehicles that will remain in storage indefinitely because they do not require monitoring. Both trickle and float chargers are available at most automotive stores and are very inexpensive.
