Any car battery you need to recharge - this is a kind of axiom! After starting the engine, the car's generator makes up for energy losses, but not always! For example, in " cold start”, when the temperature is overboard with extremely low rates of -20, - 30 degrees. The battery is cold and it cannot take energy normally, it needs to be warmed up, and if you move short distances, your battery will “undercharge”. As a result, a decrease in capacity may develop. In general, once a month (or maybe more often) you need to recharge the battery and, of course, what is needed for this Charger! But how to choose it? After all, batteries come in different technologies? This article will detailed guide and video at the end. Definitely useful, so read - look ...

Of course, now batteries have stepped forward very much, if you do not take AGM, GEL and EFB technologies, then even conventional batteries are divided into three main subspecies - these are antimony, calcium and hybrid (I described these technologies in detail in the article -). If “antimony”, this beast is quite rare on our shelves, because it is hopelessly outdated, then calcium and hybrid ones are very widely placed on our shelves. And for each battery you need the right charger, because let's say "calcium", many manufacturers recommend charging with currents of 16 - 16.5V,. And this is, as you know, completely different “chargers”!

Classic Charge

I already have an article about this, you can read it. But in short, then:

• The battery is RECOMMENDED to charge 10% of its capacity. For example, 60Ah, you need to charge 6 amps.
• You need to take into account the voltage of your battery, there are both 12 and 24 Volts
• The voltage must be set - so that the charge goes! EXPLAIN. For the 12 Volt version, you need to supply 13.2 - 14V (this is how much the generator gives), if the charge goes from 12.7 - 12.8V, then the battery will not be charged, or it will be very slow
• Gentle charge mode. Personally, I always RECOMMEND everyone to charge in the so-called "sparing mode", this is about 3 - 4% of the capacity. That is, if 60Ah, we set approximately 2 - 3A and charge until it falls charging current up to 0.5A

This manual is suitable for most types of batteries, but not all. Therefore, if you choose a charger that has a maximum voltage of 14.5V, then modern options it can't ask.

Pulse or transformer

Now there are only two types of "chargers":

• transformer
• Pulse

Transformer models are outdated models that are based (as the name implies) on "transformers". They are bulky, heavy and are now practically not produced. The advantages of these models can be called reliability and fault tolerance.

Pulse models are much lighter and more compact, and most importantly they are cheaper, they just flooded the market now. With the development of technology, they have also become quite stable and fault-tolerant.

Look at your battery

Accordingly, we proceed from our tasks, that is, if you use old batteries, maybe also antimony ones, then almost every charger is suitable for them. But if you have "calcium" or even more so "charger" should be completely different, more perfect.

For example, the “antimony” option - if a voltage of more than 14.2V is applied to it, it will boil, and very intensively.

Also, calcium batteries are charged with a current above 16V, not every device can give it out.

A big plus is the desulfation system, with its help you can restore the battery (if it is still possible).

I want to note that the more perfect the charger, the more options it will be able to charge or even restore.

Charger and start-charger

When choosing, it is worth noting that there have been two types of units on the market for quite a long time:

• Ordinary charging systems- they simply charge the batteries.
• Start-charging systems - they not only replenish the charge, but can also start a car with a completely “dead” battery.

Many may think that a regular "charger" can also start a car - BUT IT'S NOT! They do not have high starting currents, and they can simply burn out. After all, when a car starts, it briefly consumes hundreds of amperes, for example, the average value for passenger car, this is about - 300 amperes, and even more is possible in winter. It is this current that can give starter-charger.

Automatic, not automatic

For me personally, a high-quality charger is one in which I can control “from and to” with “hands”. For example, voltage, current, charge time, etc. However, there are a lot of so-called "automatic devices" (automatic chargers) on the market now. Usually Chinese made, with dubious quality. Actually, there are no designations on them, no voltage, no amperage - just connect it and it should automatically charge your battery! Should, but not required! Also, how does he know what type of battery is connected to it? YES, corny, you won’t even be able to control what voltage is on the terminals now!

Of course, such options are a great help for beginners who do not understand anything about such systems at all! It turns out, like a cell phone, connected the terminals and forgot, there is a bit of rationality in this. However, if you take such systems, then take serious firms, at least such as BOSCH.

As I wrote above, I personally am for a controlled option. I like to set currents and voltages myself, set algorithms (by the way, all serious “chargers” are now programmed). For example, for calcium batteries, the so-called “swing” is needed - if you exaggerate, when the current is the same for several minutes, with one voltage, but the next few minutes are different, with a different voltage. Cheap "machines" by default are not capable of this.

Therefore, if you decide to take a “charge”, then I personally advise you to take it with the possibility of manual adjustment, and now they have excellent instructions that even a “teapot” will understand.

Desulfation mode

This is a really useful mod. from hot weather or deep discharges sulfates of sulfuric acid can form on the plates, while the density of the electrolyte will drop. These sulfates seal the plates and the capacity of the battery drops significantly. Sometimes the capacity loss can be 70 - 80%! With such indicators, it is impossible to start the car engine.

Removing these sulfates is quite difficult,. However, there are devices that do this in normal mode, with charge-discharge cycles. Just put in your battery and it will last for hours, probably days. Sulfates are broken, the surface of the plates becomes clean, the capacity is restored. It should be noted a very useful mode.

Battery health check

Many batteries are maintenance-free, so to speak, they cannot be opened (without surgical intervention) and it is really impossible to understand when one of the cans has failed. Sometimes it is corny jumped. If in a serviced battery you unscrew one plug and a dark electrolyte is visible, then in an unattended battery, this cannot be done. Although the voltage will drop to 10 - 10.5V. So modern chargers can detect a closed jar and state a "verdict", just useful feature.

Measurement and control of battery capacity

Again, not all chargers, but only the most advanced ones, can show battery capacity. And both the residual and the one they take. A very useful feature. That is, you can clearly see how much your battery has taken, how many Amperes in what time.

As a result

So, let's go over the main steps when choosing a car charger:

• 12 or 24 volts. Often if you passenger car, enough for a 12 volt system.
• An automaton is not an automaton. Personally, I advise a manually tuned unit, preferably with programs
• Charger or start-charger. If you have your own garage, then a starter-charger will not be superfluous. It will start the engine of your car, even if there is no battery at all. However, such a unit costs almost twice as much.
• Capable of charging AGM, GEL and calcium batteries. On many modern "chargers" such information will be indicated. THIS IS A USEFUL FEATURE. Because batteries are developing now. Often this means applying voltage from 15 to 16.5 volts
• The presence of a desulfation mode
• Health check
• Capacity check
• Programmable charge. It will be useful if you can program the charge cycle, that is, one current and voltage is supplied now, another in a few minutes, etc.

Actually, these are all functions, I did not specifically point out the manufacturers because there are really a lot of them, even on our Russian market There are very good devices, such as "ORION VIMPEL"(they are very flexibly programmed). Also, many people ask me if it is possible to charge IMAXB6 car batteries? Of course you can, this device is generally universal. The main thing is to choose the right power supply and set the right program.

Now short video, look.

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Proper charging car battery with charger

Any motorist sooner or later faces the problem of charging the battery. You can’t get away from this and you need to learn how to charge the battery, if you don’t already know how. Otherwise, a situation will come when you will have a car with a dead battery in front of you, and you will not even know which side to approach it from. On the Internet you can find many questions regarding the charging process. Is it necessary to remove the battery from the car or not? What do you need to charge? How to charge correctly? These are the questions we will try to answer in our today's material.

To charge the car battery, you will need a charger (charger). This device is also called a rectifier, since the memory converts alternating current into permanent. If you do not yet have a memory, then read about. And here we will only briefly talk about choosing a charger for your battery.

When choosing a charger for a car battery, you need to consider the following points:

• modes for various types battery. The most common type of WET batteries with liquid electrolyte. There is also AGM, GEL. In the case of the last two, you need a special memory or a universal one with a mode for these batteries. All devices are suitable for WET;
• output voltage. This parameter must be selected depending on the nominal voltage of your battery. Some device models allow you to charge batteries with different voltages (6/12/24V). For common car batteries 12V output voltage must be at least 16 volts. This will be enough for full charge battery;
• charging current. This value is chosen according to rated capacity batteries. It must be at least 0.1 of the nominal capacity. It is better if there is a small margin so that the charger does not work at the limit of its capabilities.

As a rule, the charger is the rectifier circuit itself in the case, a plug for connecting to a 220V network and wires with alligator clips for connecting to the battery.

Let's say you purchased a memory. Now about how to charge the car battery with a charger. But first, a few words about safety.

Battery Charging Safety Precautions

The charging procedure should not be carried out in the apartment, especially if you have small children. The battery must be charged in a ventilated area. If this is not possible, then do it on the balcony. The main danger is the release of hydrogen when charging the battery. Together with oxygen, it forms an explosive mixture. Therefore, the room should be good ventilation so that hydrogen does not accumulate.

Remember that near the battery that is being charged, you can not set fire to something, smoke, cut metal with the formation of sparks, etc.

In addition, it is important to remember that the electrolyte is water solution sulfuric acid. It is a caustic substance hazardous to human health. When working with electrolyte, wear gloves and goggles so that it does not come into contact with the skin or eyes. Ideally, keep a 10% baking soda solution nearby to neutralize the acid.

How to properly charge the battery

To begin with, the answer to the question, is it necessary to remove the battery from the car when charging? Basically, it's optional. You can disconnect the terminals and charge it directly on the car. But to properly charge the car battery, it is better to remove it. All work will be carried out much more conveniently and you will not have to pull wires to the car to plug in the charger.

Attention! Do not charge in a high humidity environment. The battery and charger must be dry.

In the simplest case, charging the battery will look like this. Unscrew the plugs on the battery banks, cover the holes with them so that the electrolyte does not splash out. Connect the charger crocodiles to the battery terminals in accordance with the polarity (red to plus, black to minus). Turn on the charger on the machine and leave it overnight. For standard batteries with a capacity of 55─60 Ah charging will last 8-10 hours. In the "automatic" mode, the device will automatically turn off charging when the battery reaches the required parameters.

After charging is completed, replace the plugs and wipe the surface of the battery with a solution of baking soda and water to neutralize acid residue and dirt. This will reduce battery self-discharge.
Now, when how to properly charge a car battery in general view, let's talk about various modes charging.

There are two battery charging modes:

• direct current;
• with constant voltage.

Charging the battery with direct current

How to charge a car battery with a charger using direct current? The idea here is that charging is divided into several stages. Each of them maintains a certain value of current strength. In this case, the value of the current strength must be constantly monitored and, if necessary, corrected. Here you will need a multimeter to monitor the voltage at the battery terminals.

The DC charging process itself is divided into several stages:

• First step. First, set the current equal to 0.1 of the nominal capacity of the battery. For a 55 Ah battery, this will be 5.5 amps. In this mode, we charge up to a voltage at the battery terminals of 14.4 volts;
• second phase. At a voltage of 14.4 volts in the battery, the process of water electrolysis is sharply activated and hydrogen evolution begins. Therefore, we reduce the charge current by half (up to 2.5 amperes) in order to reduce the boiling intensity and continue charging;
• third stage. When the voltage at the terminals reaches 15 volts, the charge current is reduced by another half (up to 1.2 amperes) and we continue charging. Check the voltage and current every two hours. If their values ​​do not change, the battery is fully charged.

The advantages of this method include the fact that the battery receives a full charge and restores its capacity by almost 100 percent. The disadvantage is that you need to constantly monitor the process.

Battery charging with constant voltage

The idea behind this method is that the voltage at the battery terminals will tend to equalize with the voltage at the charger terminals. The degree of battery charging in this case will depend on the magnitude of the applied voltage. The battery will be fully charged when the current drops to 200 mA and the charging process will stop. This process does not require human control. In this mode, almost all chargers work in automatic charging mode.

As for the battery charging time at a constant voltage, the values ​​here are approximately the following:

• Voltage 14.4 volts. In a day, the degree of charge of the battery (nominal 12 volts) will be about 80 percent;
• Voltage 15 volts. In the same 24 hours, the degree of charge will be about 90 percent;
• Voltage 16 volts. In the same time, the battery will be charged to almost 100 percent.

Accelerated battery charging

Accelerated battery charging is performed in cases where the battery needs to return part of the capacity very quickly. For example, you need to go to work, and the battery is dead. Then fast charging comes in handy.

Now many chargers have a Boost charging mode. In this mode, an increased current is immediately supplied and in 20 minutes the battery gains enough capacity to start the engine. In principle, it is not necessary to have a Boost mode in the memory. The main thing is to be able to adjust the current. Then you can manually set the required value.
Remember that you can not set more than 30 percent of the nominal charging current. If in normal mode you charge the battery at 6 amps, then in accelerated mode do not set more than 8 amps. It causes rapid wear plates and reduce battery life.

use mode fast charging only in emergency cases when it's really needed. If this is not necessary, then charge the battery in the normal mode. If you constantly charge the battery in Boost mode, then it will very soon exhaust its resource.

Dependence of battery charge and electrolyte density

Basically, we determine the end of battery charging by the readings of the charger or by the voltage at the battery terminals. But it will not be possible to determine the exact degree of battery charge from them. To find out how charged the battery is, you need to measure the density of the electrolyte. To do this, there is such a device as a hydrometer. It is inexpensive and is sold in any car shop. We recommend you to have it in your household.

Measure the density of the electrolyte should be in all banks. Read more about density measurement and electrolyte in general in the article "". On a fully charged battery, the electrolyte has a density of 1.28─1.3 g/cm3. A fully discharged battery has a density value of about 1.1 g/cm3.

Below you can see a table of the dependence of the density of the electrolyte on the degree of charge of the battery:

			The degree of battery charge,%
Electrolyte density, g/cm. cube (+15 gr. Celsius)	Voltage, V (in the absence of load)	Voltage, V (with a load of 100 A)	The degree of battery charge,%	Freezing point of electrolyte, gr. Celsius
1,11	11,7	8,4	0	-7
1,12	11,76	8,54	6	-8
1,13	11,82	8,68	12,56	-9
1,14	11,88	8,84	19	-11
1,15	11,94	9	25	-13
1,16	12	9,14	31	-14
1,17	12,06	9,3	37,5	-16
1,18	12,12	9,46	44	-18
1,19	12,18	9,6	50	-24
1,2	12,24	9,74	56	-27
1,21	12,3	9,9	62,5	-32
1,22	12,36	10,06	69	-37
1,23	12,42	10,2	75	-42
1,24	12,48	10,34	81	-46
1,25	12,54	10,5	87,5	-50
1,26	12,6	10,66	94	-55
1,27	12,66	10,8	100	-60

Based on these values, after measuring the density, you can find out exactly how charged the battery is.

In general, and everything I wanted to say about how to properly charge a car battery. It remains only to remind once again about the observance of safety precautions. Before you charge the battery yourself, it makes sense to ask for advice from more experienced motorists. Charger and hydrometer should be your own. It is not so expensive and they will always come in handy when operating a car.

If you have questions or additions to the article, write them in the comments below.

Each of us, motorists, at least once in our lives found ourselves (or will still find ourselves) in a situation where a dead battery does not allow us to start the engine. This is especially common for winter period because at low temperatures the battery does not hold a charge well. And if the car was parked severe frost more than a week, problems with the battery are almost guaranteed, up to a complete discharge.

What to do in such a situation? Of course, you can “light it up” from the battery of another car, and this will help if there are long trip, but it will be completely useless if you only have to drive a couple of kilometers. The battery just won't charge. In this case, it is best to charge the battery with an external device. InfoCar.ua knows how to do it correctly and safely.

What are batteries?

To begin with, perhaps it is worth briefly considering batteries in terms of their chemical compositions and properties. Today, the market is dominated by three main types - low antimony (plain lead battery without additives in the composition of the plates), hybrid (with plates different composition: positive low antimony; minus lead-calcium or with the addition of silver) and calcium.

It is clear that each type of battery has its own advantages and disadvantages. Low-antimony batteries, for example, are subject to the greatest self-discharge and boiling of water from the electrolyte solution, but are not afraid of deep discharges. Calcium batteries, on the contrary, have low self-discharge, almost do not boil away, but the probability of “killing” the battery with several deep discharges is very high. A kind of golden mean are hybrid batteries - resistant to self-discharge, almost not subject to boiling over and not afraid of deep discharges. True, they cost more than all the others.

There is another characteristic of a car battery, purely consumer. It is worth paying attention to whether the battery is serviced or unattended. This is important because it is directly related to the features of charging. Maintenance Free Batteries- these are those that do not imply any human intervention in their insides. As a rule, on the case of such batteries there is nothing that could be unscrewed, and the inscription Do not open (Do not open) flaunts. However, some manufacturers produce maintenance-free batteries with removable plugs, but these are becoming less and less.

Main advantage maintenance-free batteries in that, structurally and in composition, they are focused on minimal evaporation of liquids. The disadvantage is that if the liquid does evaporate, it will not work to add it to the battery. Yes, and such batteries are more expensive than serviced ones, despite the fact that this does not affect the service life.

As for serviced batteries, it is possible and necessary to add liquid (distilled water) to them, but more on that later.

What to charge?

There are a huge number of car battery chargers today - from penny Chinese ones to fully automatic, high-quality, but expensive ones from famous manufacturers. To choose the “right” memory, it is better to consult a specialist, but it’s still worth navigating the basic selection criteria. Moreover, there are not so many of them.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the charge circuit, since some devices operate with a constant current value, while others operate with a constant voltage value. In practice, this means that a DC charger will fully charge the battery, but may overheat the electrolyte, shortening the life of the battery. A constant voltage charger, in turn, eliminates the risk of electrolyte overheating, but will not fully charge the battery, since the current will drop at the end of the charge cycle. But do not rush to be upset. There are also so-called combined-cycle chargers, which first charge the battery at constant current, and then the voltage stabilizes and the current drops. The whole process is automatic and does not require any attention to itself. Naturally, such chargers are the most expensive.

Note!
When choosing the power of the charger, you need to take into account the fact that the maximum recommended current for charging the battery corresponds to 10% of its capacity. For example, with a capacity of 65 Ah, it is 6.5 A.

The next selection criterion is a pulse or transformer charger. Transformer is considered very reliable, but is unlikely to please with its dimensions and weight. Pulse is more compact and lighter, while reliability is very dependent on the manufacturer.

Well, the third criterion for choosing a charger is the power supply method. There are two options here. The first, classic, in which the charger itself is connected to the network, and the current to the battery is transmitted through the "crocodiles". The second one is more sophisticated, but not always applicable, since a lot depends on the features specific vehicle. We are talking about the so-called charging and starting devices that charge the battery through the cigarette lighter. The main thing is that the cigarette lighter is powered directly from the battery, and not through the generator. Moreover, the charging and starting devices themselves are divided into several more categories - those that operate from a 220V network, those that can work from the cigarette lighter of another car, and also have their own batteries, that is, an autonomous power source.

How to charge?

The process of charging a car battery is simple. If there is a power outlet nearby, the battery does not even need to be removed from the vehicle. The main thing is to disconnect from it both positive and negative wire. If you cannot do without removing the battery, then this should not be a problem either. Usually the battery mount is very simple. However, you should be careful - protect the battery from shock and avoid contact of the battery with clothing so that the acid does not burn holes in it. All work on the installation and dismantling of the battery must be done with gloves.

By the way, if for some reason you decide that before charging cold battery be sure to warm it up, do not lower it into hot water. Because of sharp drop temperatures, this will lead to partial shedding of the active mass of the plates.

Another one big mistake some motorists - an attempt to remove or install the battery while the engine is running. The voltage fluctuations associated with this onboard network can damage the vehicle's electrical system.

Note!
Wipe the battery with a clean, soft cloth dampened with ammonia or soda ash solution. You need to be very careful to ensure that dirt, even just a little bit, does not get into the electrolyte, otherwise the battery is doomed.

When the battery is safely removed, it is almost ready to be charged. Almost, because in the case of serviced batteries, something else needs to be done. Depending on the design of a particular battery, you need to remove it top cover or unscrew the protective plugs (by the way, they can be hidden under a sticker) so that the battery “breathes” during charging, does not boil and does not explode from excessive internal gas pressure. After that, it is very desirable to check the electrolyte level in the battery plates. If the liquid level is lower than required (as a rule, there are min-max marks on the side of the battery case), it must be replenished with distilled (!) Water. If this is not done, you can “burn” the plates, forever losing a significant part of the battery capacity, or even the entire battery.

Did you add water? Now you can throw wires with “crocodiles” from the charger to the battery terminals. Just do not confuse “+” and “-”! And still very important point- before throwing "crocodiles" on the battery, make sure that the mains cable of the charger is not connected to the network. It is equally important at the end of the charging process to first disconnect the charger from the mains, and only then remove the “crocodiles” from the battery terminals.

Do not be alarmed if the liquid inside the battery makes sounds similar to boiling during the charging process. This is fine. However, it is important to ensure that the battery does not get too hot. If this happens, unplug the charger, let the battery cool down, then continue the charge cycle.

How much to charge?

There is no exact answer to this question, since a lot depends on how deeply the battery is discharged. The most correct decision in this regard would be to focus on the charge indicator built into the battery itself. battery, or on the charger indicator or ammeter.

As a rule, in the battery itself, the indicator is elementary for understanding: green - charged, red - discharged. There are, of course, options, but their values ​​\u200b\u200bare usually indicated on the sticker. On the charger, in turn, there may be several LEDs that light up or go out as they charge. IN this case refer to the operating instructions for the device. But the most clear and reliable indicator is an ammeter, if there is one in the memory. The deeper the battery is discharged, the higher its charge current. When the ammeter needle drops to zero (well, or almost to zero), this will be a signal that the battery is fully charged. Naturally, this does not apply to memory with a constant charge current.

By the way, to calculate the battery charge time, experts use a simple formula: divide the battery capacity by the charge current and multiply by a factor of 1.2. True, such a formula only works with direct current. If the charger operates on the principle of maintaining a constant voltage value, calculate exact time Not sure it's going to happen.

Note!
Even new battery it is advisable to recharge, because before you bought it, it could lie in the warehouse for more than one month and lose part of the charge. It can and should be replenished with a small current. One or two hours will be enough.

Where to charge?

This aspect of the car battery charging process is overlooked by many. And in vain, because in no case should you charge the battery in a poorly ventilated area, especially when it comes to an apartment. The fact is that in the process of charging, the battery emits sulfur dioxide, arsenic hydrogen (arsine), antimony hydrogen (stibine), hydrogen chloride and other toxic substances. Their high concentration is harmful to humans, causes headache, cough and other symptoms of deterioration of health. Moreover, everything that emits the battery settles on furniture, clothes, carpets. Consequently, these poisons will have a negative impact on humans for a long time to come.

Do you think this is nonsense? In order to prove the opposite, we conducted a visual experiment, forgive us Green Peace. Next to the battery being charged in an unventilated room, we placed a small indoor tree. Lively, green and very pretty. After only a few hours, its leaves began to dry and turn yellow, and after another two hours, only the trunk and branches remained from the tree. All the leaves have fallen. Draw your own conclusions.

However, that's not all. The hydrogen released by the battery, when combined with the oxygen contained in the air, becomes explosive. It is enough, sometimes, only a small spark, a lit match or a cigarette. Therefore, the most safe place charging a car battery is a street or a room, but well ventilated, preferably with a draft.

In conclusion, we want to wish that the battery in your car never runs out.

Chargers for cars come in 3 different types: working from direct current, constant voltage or combined. The best option choice - combined solutions, they are automated as much as possible, and therefore they are the easiest to charge. You are only required to turn on the equipment according to the instructions, while the first two types of charging require knowledge of some subtleties.

The procedure is best done outdoors or in a garage, away from any flammable materials. Explosive gases may be released during the charging process, so there should be nothing nearby that can spark a spark.

Preparation

Charging batteries requires simple preparations:

1. What type of charging equipment do you use? The charger-prestarter does not require disconnecting the battery from electrical system auto. That is, you do not need to remove the batteries, just turn off all the electronics while charging. If you are using a jump starter, then the battery should be brought home (see also which battery charger to choose).
2. A frozen battery must be thawed before charging. After that, it should be cleaned of dirt.
3. Next, you need an ariometer - a device that measures the density of the electrolyte in the battery. The electrolyte must completely cover lead plates, so it is possible that it will need to be topped up. But the readings of the ariometer should be in the range of 1.25-1.27 g / cm3. Only after making sure that the electrolytes are normal, you can start charging.

Charger

On this preparatory stage ends and starts directly charging the batteries.

1. Remove the lids from the jars and connect the charging terminals to the battery terminals. Everything is extremely simple here: plus is connected to plus, minus to minus, it is impossible to confuse. But the sequence is important: first the pluses are connected. Only the charger is plugged in.
2. Now let's deal with important issue: what current to charge the battery? After turning on the device, you will have to set its value. A simple rule applies here, which should also be in the manual for using the charger: charging current \u003d 1/10 * battery capacity. In general, the smaller the charging current, the better, thus, having a day left, you can use the following formula: charging current \u003d 1/24 * battery capacity. For example, 60A / hours (standard battery VAZ 2110) / 24 hours = 2.5A (charging current).
3. How much to charge a car battery? If the charging current is 1/10 of the battery capacity, then the approximate charging time will be 10-12 hours.
4. When the battery starts charging, pay attention to the movement of the arrow on the device. It should gradually decline towards zero.
5. Chargers powered by direct current. Watch the temperature of the electrolytes, if they get very hot, then in order to avoid boiling, you need to reduce the battery charging current by about half.
6. The combo charger will shut itself off after the battery is fully charged and will protect the electrolytes from overheating.

The photo shows a typical charger instruction:


How to make sure that you did everything right and charging was successful? If within 2 hours after switching off the devices, the voltage of the batteries does not change and the density of electrolytes remains stable, you have coped with the task perfectly.

In conclusion, I would like to note that in the summer it is better not to leave the battery charging unattended, but from time to time to check the level and heating of electrolytes. The fact is that in the hot season, electrolytes boil much faster, and the plates can deteriorate in the fresh air.
By the way, if the battery life is already over, then it may not make sense to charge it, but it is better to buy a new one (see below).

For every car owner, it is very important that the power supply of his car is reliable. This is intended for special device- A battery that needs periodic recharging. For those who do not know how to charge the battery on their own, you need to heed the advice of professionals. If you visit a battery store, you will get expert advice. You will learn the principle of operation of this unit, whether its capacity is sufficient for your machine, whether it has a long service life.

The main features of the charging process

Would you like to learn how to charge your battery without help? Then you need to observe some parameters, the implementation of which is mandatory.

First determine the rated energy capacity of the device. Optimal Strength current should be no more than 10% of the nominal value. On the charging terminals allowable level voltage is a value of + 10% of the nominal value of the battery.

If you want to charge the battery at an accelerated pace, discard this solution, as the device is subject to damage. This process is carried out by currents high values 20-30 A.

Gel batteries should be charged without exceeding the critical voltage for this type of battery - 14.2 V.

These criteria are essential for efficient car battery charging.

Cycle of preparatory actions

First, make sure the battery is really dead. Discharging may occur due to errors in operation or damage to the case. If the integrity of the device is violated, the electrolyte will leak out, and the chemical reaction will not occur. A damaged battery must not be used. Therefore, before charging the battery, it is removed from the niche, cleaned, and carefully inspected.

A color indicator is installed on the cover. It determines whether the resource is actually depleted. Next to this identifier there is a sticker explaining what the colors in the picture mean.

The condition of the battery can also be checked by measuring the voltage at the terminals with a conventional tester. The discharge of the battery will be indicated by a voltage indicator with a value below the nominal value.

It is also necessary to check the state of the electrolyte, its quantity. The liquid must be clean and clear. Its level should be slightly above the plates. If it is lower, you need to top up the distillate.

The vent hole on the battery cover must be kept clean, otherwise the fumes cannot escape.

We charge correctly

Be aware of harmful electrolyte fumes before charging the battery. It is not recommended to carry out these works in a residential area.

First, the charging is connected to the battery, and then to the network. This must be done correctly, otherwise the memory fuses will fail.

The charging procedure is performed in 2 ways. At the first work, work is carried out at a constant rate of 14-16 V. But since the current strength is a variable value, then at the beginning of the process it can be at around 25-30 V, and then gradually decrease.

The second option is a little more difficult. It is performed with a changing voltage with constant force current, a device that operates according to the method of constant voltage.

The current strength of 10% of the energy capacity of the battery is set by the regulator. a signal about full recovery battery will be the arrow on the ammeter in position "0". This operation will take about 13 hours.

The method of recharging such a device requires special attention: with the given parameters, the battery should be charged to a value of 14 V, then the current strength is reduced by 2 times. After that, the charge level should be 15 V, and the current is reduced by another half. Holding the pointer on the indicator scale at the same level for about 1 hour indicates the completion of the process.

Having mastered the information on how to charge the battery, you must also understand that the full charge of the battery can be checked load fork on the terminals. If this device is not available, install the battery on the car. The starter should vigorously start the power plant.

Each battery store in Minsk, which is easy to find with the TAM.BY catalog, will be glad to offer you wide choose batteries and chargers.