Re: (ET) battery charger

["David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <roden ald net>]

On 10 Aug 2001, at 10:30, william albrecht wrote:

> What I want to find out for now, can one use a 6V charger to
> charge each battery in the meantime, so we can use the E15 for doing lawn
> mowing?  I've notice 36V chargers on the web for $250-350.  I assume that
> I could charge the system using this one? 

Sure, you can use individual chargers.  The catch is that in order to 
charge them all, you need one per battery (or 3 12-volt chargers, 
charging pairs of 6v batteries).  

You can do them one by one in a pinch, but the problem is that you're 
leaving 5 batteries uncharged while you do one.  By the time you get to 
the last one, it's sat for too long uncharged and will have suffered some 
damage.

The solution is to disconnect all the battery cables and reconnect all 
six batteries in parallel (or connect 3 12-volt pairs on parallel).  Then 
charge them in parallel with your 6v or 12v charger.  When done, 
reconnect them in series as they were before.  Of course, this takes a 
fair bit of effort and time every time you charge.

As one person recently wrote, a used 36v golf car charger is an option 
for replacing the ET charger.  Make sure you get one with an automatic 
charge controller.  The Lestronic chargers are quite good, but try to 
find one with a 5 amp finish rate instead of the more common 8 amp finish 
rate.  (The dealer should know what this means.)

Another good replacement for the ET charger is three 12-volt automatic 
chargers from a reputable parts store.  This will cost about $150 to 
$200, and will probably make the batteries last longer.  I have used 3 
Exide brand chargers (made by Cliplight in Canada; NAPA sells the same 
thing for a few more bucks) for 2 years on my gel batteries and they're 
still going strong.


David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1979 General Engines ElectroPed 24vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
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