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Date:         Mon, 4 Nov 1996 15:05:40 -0500 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Cetin  Seren <cseren@fore.com>
Subject:      On-board Charging.

The charging action itself also keeps the battery temp at a good level. I have done this on bad nights when I knew the temp. in the garage would be too low -- got good results even without a battery blanket.

> > i just connected the leads of the charger right to the cable clamp bolts, > ran the leads outside the battery box thru an indentation in the box i'd > made for the battery blanket cord. plugged the charger into a flat, HD > extension cord i have running from the 110v outlet inside the cabinet under > the sink over to the battery box. was pleased as punch. i plug in the van, > the battery warms and charges. O.K., This is very close to what I did, except I left my multi-tester in series in the circuit, measuring the Amps flowing through, and hoping that the 6 amp fuse I put inside the multitester would blow in case of something going wrong and the battery charger beginning to fry things.

> > then i thought "i wonder how much leakage the charger diodes have" as they > are made to be connected only when it is plugged in to 110v. measuring the > reverse current going back into the charger, the diodes allowed about 3 mA > leakage. not much but it bothered me. so i unhooked the charger :( > It is probably the reverse current in the power transistor inside your charger (same difference :-). 3mA is not bad -- considering your battery is capable of holding a charge of 50 to 100 amp-hours, you'll be wasting .006% to .003% or so of your total available charge every hour, or about 2% to 1% of the battery charge every four days -- remember to 'plug' your car in if you'll be gone for too long :-)

The Radio Shack store on my way to work does carry 10 amp diodes. Careful: a 10-amp Silicon Diode (as opposed to a Germanium diode, which has higher reverse current) will dissipate about 7 watts at full throttle (10 amps). means it needs a heat sink so it does not form a health hazard. I'd just keep the charger use it the way it is -- 3mA is about the order of the current drawn by the clock and/or the radio when it is turned off (newer radios that remember things). Cetin


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