(ET) Chargers

[Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com>]

There are a lot of posts of late regarding chargers and charging of the 
tractors.  The capacitors are failing from old age on many units, and 
many owners are looking for a viable unattended maintenance charging 
solution.

I own a Soneil 36-volt charger which I use on my E-12, and it is simply 
marvellous.  It's the only charger I use now, despite having a 
completely functional original charger still in the tractor (on its 
third capacitor).

Disclosure:  I am a distributor for Soneil chargers - because of the 
unit I originally bought for the E-12.  (It's been a while since I have 
talked about replacement chargers, so I hope no one is offended by my post.)

I have not used the Landis charger controller, but it sounds like one 
reasonable approach.  The original charger is also reasonable, provided 
you know your capacitor is the correct size for tuning the 
ferro-resonant charger, and is in good working order.  The Soneil simply 
provides another option, which is intelligent, affordable, compact and 
lightweight.  Plug it in, walk away, and forget it.  The charger will 
push the maximum rated current into the batteries until they reach 
charged voltage.  Your tractor will be charged when you come back to it 
the next day, or a week, or a month, later.  The Soneil can even charge 
in parallel with the original charger to increase the charging rate 
(requires two circuits, as the GE charger can suck a 15-amp circuit dry 
on start-up).

--
Darryl McMahon                  http://www.econogics.com
It's your planet.  If you won't look after it, who will?