battery charger

My battery charger has a 2 amp setting and a 10 amp setting. What are the reasons for using 1 over the other. Which setting would be better to use for general battery charging?

I have always been told the 2 amp (slow charge ) is better than a fast charge ( 10 amp ) A lot of times I dont have the time to wait for a slow charge. Bill

The 2 amp charge rate is better to bring bac ka completely flat battery. Also I like to charge a battery over night at a low rate rather than a few hours at a high rate.

It kinda depends on the charger design,,, the battery and its condition and state of charge, if its wayyyyyy down and you dont want to wait a longgggggg time Id put it on 10 amps at least an hour or so (again, it depends on charger design and battery state) and then set her on low charge to top her off, hey 2 amps is only like a trickle maintenance and if the battery is way down that isnt gonna do a whole lot very fast ya know, maybe nothing at all if shes way down!!!!!.

If its in a decent charge state already (NOT run down flat) sure the 2 amp trickle rate is fine for topping off or maintenance BUT IF ITS WAY DOWN IT WOULD TAKE A LONGGGGGGGGG TIME IF IT EVER CHARGED HER UP AT ALL USING ONLY THE 2 AMP TRICKLE SETTING.

If you dont know any of the above, since 10 maps isnt all that much anyway, Id say GENERALLY SPEAKING, if its needs a charge?? Id use the 10 and if she comes up and you still have plenty of time to kill set her back to 2 for a while, although it may not even be needed or matter much if any.......

I DONT SEE THE 10 AMPS AS ENOUGH (unlike my big charger which can go to 50 and over) TO HURT IF IT NEEDS ANY CHARGE AT ALL SO IF YOU ONLY USE THAT (dont even fool with 2) THINGS WILL MOST LIKELY BE FINE.........

Not having the charger specs or battery condition its hard to give a definite answer, my Xantrex Truecharge2 smart 3/4 stage charger takes all the guesswork out of it since it adjusts automatically yayyyyyyyyyy

John T

The high charge is for fast bulk charging and to reduce sulphation of the plates.
Low charge is either for little bitty motor cycle batteries. Or to float charge a large battery without the battery becoming hit and gassing excessively.
A 10 amp charger is actually too small for a group 78, group 31 or larger batteries. 10 amps is a float/trickle charge for them.
If you charger won"t produce 40-50 amps on fast charge, it"s too small.

My elders used to preach that too but since I'm the electronics technician in the family I have determined that's bunk. Watch the ammeter on a an engine that was just jumped to start with a low battery. The regulator will send it 20, then 10, then trickle. What is hard on a battery is overcharging it. I have found get the engine started and run it. If the alternator and regulator are working properly a good battery will be back to normal life within an hour.

sorry, will revisit.
try www.buchmann.ca

Why is it called a float charger?

Floating at an equilibrium voltage.

(quoted from post at 10:08:15 11/06/12) Why is it called a float charger?

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Because it cycles off and on when the battery if fully charged to eliminate overcharging.

(quoted from post at 11:08:15 11/06/12) Why is it called a float charger?

Click to expand...

o differentiate it from a trickle. Not at all the same 2 critters! even though some people incorrectly use the names interchangeably.

More:
Trickle means a trickle current is always going into the battery, regardless of whether it is fully charged or not. Bad part is that it will be out gassing & losing electrolyte.

Float is a much more carefully regulated charger output. The voltage is precisely regulated to a temperature compensated level equal to a fully charged battery & when battery reaches this level, the charger maintains that voltage level. If the battery slowly self discharges, then current will begin to flow until battery is back to full charge. It will stay fully charged without overcharging & out gassing as will occur with the simpler/cheaper trickle charger, which is always dumping some current into the battery, needed or not.

This is in German. Doesn't do me any good!!

A lot depends on the battery type a normal car battery expects a quick charge to bring back up after starting the car then it goes to a trickle charge to maintain it at top amperage. A deep cycle battery is different it expects to be run down to nothing then slowly brought back to full amperage. people who use large amperage chargers are only putting a lot of unneccery load on the battery. You can bring a low battery up quick with these in a hurry but they put to much of a chage on the battery and can damage it if used a lot. Some trucks or large diesel engines have a large 80 or 100 amp alternator but this used for running a lot of lights and other things not for charging the batteries if you have an ammeter in the truck watch the meter go up as you turn on things in the cab. Then go back to a low charge as you turn them off.
High charging rates can over heat the battery and cause the battery to loose water due to separation the hydrogen and oxegen. The smell is the hydrogen don't light your cigarette over the battery at this time. Boom. As far as the acid the only to loose this is to dump the battery over. A fully dead battery will have mostly water in it as the acid is in the plates to charge these it take more amps to get them started but should come down after a few minutes to Finnish the charge. Old chargers can over charge your battery if left on to long that's why it pays to replace these antiques with a new regulating charger.
Walt

Hydrogen is colourless, odourless, tasteless , invisible and lighter than air.
Sulfur compounds is the stench from an abused battery.

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