Re: (ET) How NOT to check your batteries... Battery Charge / Monitor / maintainer

[Christopher Zach <cz alembic crystel com>]

JBR wrote:
> Chris' solution still requires that we have an available human to look at that 
> little bulb ...
Naah. The diode dissipates .5 amps of current as it lights the bulb. 
Thus two of them will bypass 1a of charge current.

Naah. The diode dissipates .5a of current as it lights the bulb when the 
battery gets to 6.8 volts or so. Two of them in parallel will dissipate 
1.0a of charge current, which matches up nicely with the end charge of 
the E20 charger. Walk out every month, turn the knob, go back inside.

As a bonus, your batteries are kept in perfect balance. On an elec-trak 
with that stupid tapped pack for lift and lights this is an important thing.

As a reference, I left a Hawker genesis 26ah battery on a standard 
stupid motorcycle charger for 6 months with a zener reg. No damage to 
the battery, still being tortured in my kid's power-wheels car.

Chris