RE: (ET) Charger Alternative: 3 Soneil 1206S Chargers, together for $100

["Chris Tromley" <chris_t microtrac com>]

Markus Lorch wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> the talk about chargers lately and somebody's post on a 
> Soneil 36V charger prompted me to report on my experiences 
> with three Soneil 12V automatic 
> chargers. While they are 3 Amp the manufacturer claims they 
> are as fast as standard 6 Amp chargers.
> 
> I opted for 3 chargers for two reasons: (thanks to David 
> Roden for valuable
> tips)
> 1. I had differing battery capacities (2 90Ah 12V and two 200 
> Ah 6V Gel) 
> 2. Low Price
> 
> I bought the three chargers for about $100 (batterymart.com 
> sells them as "battery defender" 
> http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-> 1206WB) 
> and 
> hooked each of them up to a 12V battery (2 6V 
> batteries respectively). 

Hi Markus,

"Modular charging" like this has been discussed many times on the EV
discussion list.  It has all the advantages you describe.  And one
potentially big disadvantage.  If one charger fails and you're not
paying attention, you won't notice the somewhat lower pack voltage when
starting out on what you *think* is a full charge.  As you discharge,
the batteries that didn't get charged get really hammered or even
reversed.

This is admittedly more of an issue with a road EV with many batteries
in series.  The voltage drop from one uncharged battery will be easier
to see if you only have 36 V.  Still, you have to pay attention.  Chris
Zach's monitor would be a good thing to add to a modular system,
allowing you to verify that all batteries are ready to go.

Chris