How to choose a car battery charger

Most often, car battery problems occur during the cold season, when low temperatures lead to its discharge. However, this can also happen due to the dimensions left on, the radio, interior lighting. To replenish the capacity of the battery, you will need an appropriate charger. We will talk about how to choose it in the article below.

Content

1 Types of chargers for charging batteries
- 1.1 transformer
- 1.2 Pulse
2 How to choose a good charger?
3 Maintenance free batteries

Types of chargers for charging batteries

According to the design and equipment used, chargers are divided into two types: transformer and inverter.Let's take a closer look at these technologies.

transformer

This type of charger (charger) is considered obsolete. The principle of their operation is based on a transformer, which supplies a stable current with a voltage of 12V through a diode rectifier bridge. Such chargers have to be controlled manually, constantly monitoring the process of replenishing the capacity. Also among the minuses is bulkiness and decent weight.

The positive aspects include the reliability of the equipment - for many car owners, such models have been preserved since Soviet times and still continue to function properly.

Pulse

The main difference between a pulsed memory is the supply of current by pulses, and not by constant voltage. The design is based on a board or a microprocessor that controls the process of replenishing the capacity: a higher current is supplied at the start, and decreases as it charges. Also, such devices are capable of charging deeply discharged batteries with ultra-low current, which cannot be done with a transformer charger.

Pulse chargers are small in size and light in weight. Every year their quality improves, therefore, in terms of reliability, they are not inferior to the outdated type of equipment.

When choosing a battery charger, preference should be given to a pulsed variety.

How to choose a good charger?

Having decided on the main types of memory, you can begin to deal with additional characteristics and special functions. This will allow you to understand what kind of charger is required and whether it is worth overpaying for models with additional options.

Battery voltage 6/12/24V

Understanding the battery voltage is quite simple:

6V is used on batteries for motorcycles, ATVs, motor boats and other small equipment;
12V is used on cars - this option is suitable for most car owners;
24V applies to large vehicles: buses, trucks, tractors, etc.

Accordingly, when choosing a memory, you should make sure that it has a 12V marking.

Reference. Some models are equipped with a mode switch: 6-12V or 12-24V. They can be used for batteries with different voltages.

Battery type

There are quite a few types of batteries:

Antimony - an outdated type of battery that was used in old cars. The composition of the plates includes 5% antimony, which adds wear resistance. The main disadvantage is the need for constant monitoring of the electrolyte level.
Low antimony - the next stage in the development of batteries, is characterized by a lower content of antimony.
Calcium - are labeled Ca, they use less water in their design. Positive and negative electrodes are used on the gratings, which reduces the resistance.
Hybrid - marking Ca + or Ca / Sb. They differ in that antimony is applied to the positive lattices, and calcium is applied to the negative ones. Hybrid batteries combine the advantages of the three previous types, are resistant to strong charges and power surges.
AGM - the electrolyte is used in a bound form. In the people, this type of battery is called helium. To replenish the capacity, special memory devices are used that supply a small current.
Alkaline - alkali is used as an electrolyte. They are rarely installed on cars.
Lead acid is the most popular type of battery.They give out more current and have increased power in comparison with those listed above.

For antimony and low antimony batteries, any chargers are suitable, incl. old-style, built on the basis of a transformer.

For calcium, hybrid and lead-acid, pulse chargers with automatic or manual voltage adjustment are used. This is the most common type of batteries and chargers. In the technical description of the equipment, three types of batteries are combined into one - acid.

AGM batteries are charged by separate devices or by those equipped with a microprocessor capable of delivering the correct voltage.

Battery capacity

When choosing a charger, you should pay attention to such a technical specification item as "Battery capacity". It must necessarily exceed the capacity of the battery that is planned to be charged using this equipment.

It’s a good idea to stock up on the device so that when you change cars that use a larger battery, you don’t have to buy a new charger.

Charge level control

The charge level control function must be present in the device if the car owner does not want to be constantly near the battery during the charging process and regulate the voltage supplied to it. Indeed, at the very beginning of the charging cycle, the voltage is maximum, then, as the capacity is replenished, it decreases. If you constantly apply the same voltage, you will not be able to fully charge the battery.

The option of automatic charge level control allows you to connect the battery to the charger and forget about it until the end of the procedure.The system will independently reduce the current, and when the capacity is completely replenished, it will turn off the power, preventing overcharging.

Desulfation function

A useful option that will extend battery life. Sulfation is the process by which lead sulfate is deposited on the inner plates of the battery. It may occur for the following reasons:

long breaks in the use of the car;
storing the battery in a state of discharge;
trips for short distances with frequent starting of the engine (usually occurs in the urban driving cycle);
deep discharge of the battery;
the absence of a periodic battery charge by a network device (the capacity is replenished only from the auto generator).

Reference. Sulfation leads to a decrease in the density of the electrolyte and, as a result, a loss of battery capacity in the range of 70-80%. With such indicators, the driver will not be able to start the engine.

With the help of the desulfation function, it will be possible to break up sulfates, clean the surface of the plates and restore the capacity of the battery. The principle of its operation is the pulsed supply of current. The device delivers low current, pauses, then gives regular voltage, then pauses again. After that, the cycle repeats.

Ability to charge a cold battery

It will be possible to replenish the battery capacity only at a positive electrolyte temperature - more than 5 degrees. You can start the process at a lower temperature, but the battery will only start receiving a charge when it warms up.

In order not to wait until the battery brought from the cold warms up, they came up with a temperature compensation function or a “cold weather” (“winter”) mode. The option is often marked with a snowflake.

Fast charge mode

The function is useful when you need to quickly replenish the battery capacity and there is no time to wait 8-12 hours, as required by the standard procedure. It is not recommended to constantly use the mode, but it will help out in an emergency.

Memorizing settings

"Smart" pulse chargers have many settings that allow you to carry out the charging procedure as the battery owner sees fit. In order not to enter the parameters again each time, there is an option to remember the settings. Thanks to a battery or a built-in accumulator, the device saves the last entered parameters and offers to use them the next time you turn it on.

Important. The function will be useful only in case of replenishing the capacity on one battery - when connecting another, the parameters will have to be changed.

Indication

Display of the current operating mode of the charger is realized by means of LED lights or by installing an LCD display. This allows you to understand at what stage of charge the battery is. The cheapest models may have only one LED indicating power on.

It is also recommended to choose a charger equipped with a built-in ammeter. The measuring device is important for setting the initial current strength and tracking its decrease.

Wrong connection protection

This option is available in almost all devices. It does not allow you to harm the battery if the positive wire from the charger to the battery was connected to the negative terminal and vice versa.

Attention! Whether there is a protection function or not, it is important to remember that the red wire of the charger is connected to the positive contact of the battery, and the black wire to the negative one.

Charging deeply discharged batteries

Very badly on the state of the battery is reflected in its discharge to zero. In most cases, the battery cannot be restored. If there is a deep decrease in capacity, you should use a charger with the appropriate function. These are pulse models that prepare the battery for subsequent charging by supplying a low current (about 5% of the rated capacity).

If you do not prepare, the battery simply will not accept a charge. Moreover, some devices not equipped with this option will not even see the battery connected to them. If the model has manual current adjustment, then you can try to simulate the mode by setting the minimum possible value and gradually increasing it.

Which company to choose

Devices of such companies are popular in the market:

Stack;
Hyundai;
Bosch;
Autowell;
Forte;
vitals;
Orion.

However, you should not rely heavily on the company when choosing a memory. In the line of one manufacturer, you can find both successful and very unreliable models. It is best to read the video reviews before buying, read the reviews of the owners.

Maintenance free batteries

The main difference between maintenance-free batteries is the lack of access to banks. The decision to remove the holes came along with the start of the production of calcium batteries, where water consumption is minimized. Therefore, the car owner does not need to look into the battery to check the electrolyte level and replenish it.

Lack of access to banks causes a number of inconveniences. First of all, there is no way to check the state of charge of the battery by measuring the density of the electrolyte.The voltage at the terminals gives only an approximate value, which depends on many factors and cannot be considered objective. And the built-in hydrometer measures only one bank and often gives incorrect readings.

The second inconvenience is associated with the periodic need to add distilled water.

When choosing a maintenance-free battery, it is important to consider that for normal operation it will be necessary to exclude voltage drops on the on-board network (it should produce 13.9-14.4V) and current leakage, monitor the operation of the generator and regulator.

We hope that the recommendations presented in the article will help with the choice of a battery charger. When choosing a model, it is important to pay attention to its type, what voltage and battery capacity it is suitable for, and whether there is a charge level control. The remaining functions simplify the process, but are not the main ones - even if they are absent, it will be possible to replenish the battery capacity without any problems.