DigiTan
New Member
I'm working on a car battery recharging project. So far, I've already worked with the Unitrode-Texas Instruments UC3906 recharger to refill small lead-acid batteries (1.2 Amp-Hours and smaller). I want to expand my reach to automotive batteries.
Basically, to provide some background, the UC chip is a temperature-compensated recharger that goes handles all 3 stages of charging (from Bulk charge to Trickle) semi-autonomously.
I'm at loss here because it never occurred to me use this on car batteries so I'm unfamiliar with its capabilities in that area. Charging quickly isn't a major concern to me, I'm mostly worried about charging too quickly and having "hydrogen issues." And my main concern is keeping the battery in the float-charge state for weeks or months at a time without interruptions or constant re-calibration.
So this question is a two-parter:
1. Has anyone a car battery-recharging design they would personally recommend?
2. I know the max recommended charge rate for deep-cycle batteries is 10% of the capacity. IE: Don't give an 80 Amp-Hour battery more than 8 Amps. What's the rule-of-thumb for automotive batteries?
Basically, to provide some background, the UC chip is a temperature-compensated recharger that goes handles all 3 stages of charging (from Bulk charge to Trickle) semi-autonomously.
I'm at loss here because it never occurred to me use this on car batteries so I'm unfamiliar with its capabilities in that area. Charging quickly isn't a major concern to me, I'm mostly worried about charging too quickly and having "hydrogen issues." And my main concern is keeping the battery in the float-charge state for weeks or months at a time without interruptions or constant re-calibration.
So this question is a two-parter:
1. Has anyone a car battery-recharging design they would personally recommend?
2. I know the max recommended charge rate for deep-cycle batteries is 10% of the capacity. IE: Don't give an 80 Amp-Hour battery more than 8 Amps. What's the rule-of-thumb for automotive batteries?