RE: (ET) It's ALIVE!!!

["Elie, Larry (L.D.)" <lelie ford com>]

I'm happy for you.  I'm going to try and address SOME of the charger 
issues;



-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Zach [mailto:czach computer org]
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 8:56 PM
To: Elec-trak
Subject: (ET) It's ALIVE!!!


2) How do you know if the charger timer motor is working?

It humms.  A DVM is nice too; V goes up.

3) Should I leave it plugged in all night? Can it blow up the batteries
(they are low now) by charging overnight?

If dead, you can, if not, you will boil off some acid.  They won't blow in 
one night, unless you have a shorted cell.

4) I read a voltage of 42 volts when the batteries were disconnected at the
charger. Is this good, too high, or too low?

It is good.  I checked several meters, and here is where the 'best' of 
them was;

Needle just moves                                       19.8V           
Bottom of red                                           26.7V
Top of red, bottom of green, "E"                33.1V
Top of green, bottom of white, "F"              39.0V   
Top of white, bottom of upper red,              45.5V
Top or upper red                                        47.3V

Not every meter I checked was the same; some were higher (one was 54V at 
the top of the red!), some lower.  This one was 'new'.  We have had some 
real hot discussions on charger voltages.  There is lots of data on 
flooded batteries.  Too bad GE didn't publish a figure.  If the charger 
won't take it mid way in the white, your charger has a problem.  I have 
yet to have one without a leaky capacitor.

How is your charger marked?  I have seen 3 types; the most common is 
marked in battery age; that's a decal and underneath are letter A to (I 
think) G.  That type does NOT have a hard stop, but should shut off at the 
0 position.  It should stop humming.  Caution; I had one charger that 
continued BEYOND the 0 point and began to charge AGAIN.  That one had at 
one time had a hard stop which was broken.  Judging by your battery 
voltage, you don't really need to charge very much.

On the subject of brakes and wheelies;  Yes, on dry ground with no mower 
deck or other front implement, you can indeed pop a wheelie.  Put a tiller 
on the back and you WILL pop a wheelie; in fact, with a tiller it is hard 
to steer.  The weight-box (a simple black appendage) is usually used on 
the back to counter balance the snow blower.  It can hold several patio 
blocks or 2 of the big batteries and one smaller 12V batteries.  In either 
case it is about 285 lbs of extra weight.  It fits the front too.  Now the 
front won't pop.  The deck won't let it pop either.  Yes, the brakes can 
be freed up, and the standard brake is probably good enough UNLESS YOU 
LIVE IN A HILLY AREA!  I would love to re-design it with a pair of back 
brakes so that I could do brake steer, but don't have the time.

Larry Elie