"Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

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chris falk
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"Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

I'm converting my scooter to run on (5) 12 volt 10 ah SLA batteries (up from 3). What's the "best" way to charge a battery bank of this size/type? "Best" being defined as maximizing the life of the SLA batteries with a low cost investment in charging equipment and a simple process. I don't care about the speed of recharge. Overnight is fine. Since I can replace the entire battery bank for about $150, it doesn't seem to warrant dropping a huge amount of charger technology if it doesn't dramatically increase battery life or provide some other benefits. I didn't see any 60 volt chargers at any of the electric scooter parts sites that I could find, and from what I have gleaned from this forum and at battery university, it sounds like you can choose the wrong type of charger or wire things together in a way that could shorten the life of the batteries or even cause a fire/burst battery. Thoughts?

dogman
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Re: "Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

Well cheapest for you would be a 24v charger, and your existing 36v charger. Best is usually individual 12 v chargers.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

Craftkiller
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Re: "Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_mopeds/xm-2000/parts.html

the XM-2000 has a 60V charger for $99, but I'd recommend trying to get it from arctic fox because I believe his has lower prices (not sure about the XM-2000 parts though...)

probably not your cheapest option but it sounds like the easiest option

chris falk
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Re: "Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

What would be the ideal amp output for a charger being used for a pack of 10 ah batteries? The charger for the XM-2000 suggested above seems to be indicated as having a 4 amp output, but the amp hour rating on the XW-2000's batteries seems to be 34 ah. There's another 60 V charger that's rated as 1.8 amps that X-treme supplies with their 60 volt ATV which seems to use 18 ah batteries. It would seem this would be a closer match for a pack of 10 ah batteries, but I thought I read that .3C was a good rule of thumb for lead acid battery charging. Wouldn't that indicate 3 amps would be ideal? Would it be better to be 1 amp high or 1.2 amps low? Too much to know. Confusion setting in. Brain entering death spiral. Help.

Craftkiller
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Re: "Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

haha sorri, i'm no battery expert... i believe i read somewhere else that the charger amps should be 1/5th of the battery's amps
so like with 10ah batteries i think you want a charger at 2 amps
but I'm really just regurgitating something I read elsewhere

sparc5
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Re: "Best" way to charge bank of (5) 12 volt batteries?

Every battery should have factory specs with the ideal charging parameters. If you get gell cell lead acid it's critical that you follow their recommendations.

XM-3000...
-DC-DC converter replaced with a Dell D220P-01 power supply.
-72V mod
-Expensive bank charger until I come up with something better... Still trying.
-

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