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Re: (ET) charging time

If you bought a Wal Mart or Harbor Frieght type charger,  just because it
says 15A on the plate don't mean it is going to deliver that.  It means
more like 'peak amps it will deliver into a real big dead battery before
it blows it's circuit breaker'.
   We are mainly using 100AH 6V batteries and discharge them about 50%. 
To charge them we must use a charger that will not blow a 20 amp house
circuit breaker  (the GE charger draws bout 17A from a 120V circuit, it's
real hefty, not something you'd like to pick up if it were in a box.
     You can expect, after a mow, using the GE charger,  that she will be
 up to 100% overnite, the charge rate tapering down as they get filled. 
I figure this lawn as 3/4 acre but it's hilly and there's a lot of
backing up and backing out of spots to do.  If you got a flat 3/4 acre,
might take 6 hrs for the GE charger to replenish.  Might take more or
less depends more on your lawn and the speed you got to do it at  than it
does on the tractor.  At one time, with a dead GE charger, used a Harbor
Freight/Wal Mart type charger and did em 12V worth at a time it took 3
days.

Now I don't worry about it at all.  Picked up 3 50W 12V photovoltaic
solar cells (PV's) (used secondhand ones) put em in series, and when the
lawn (or driveway, I blow snow too) is done, just plug em in to the
panels (at a 2 1/2A  rate in full sun)  and she's ready for the next time
I need her.  Very seldom need the charger. (like a blizzard, where I got
to do 2 driveways and sidewalk between em  twice or 3 times that charger
gets a workout)

Dave
Weymouth MA






On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:04:07 -0500 "Dan Childress" <daniel csuol com>
writes:
> My charger is not working at present and as a temp measure I 
> purchased a 15 amp charger.  Connected it to two 6 volt batteries 
> (12volts).  Batteries were new, used approx 20 min to check out the 
> tractor.  It took in excess of 12 hours to charge the two batteries. 
>  Is this what I can expect?  May need to get a larger charger.
> Dan
> E-14
> E-15