What to do with charger when fully charged
Ok, so I've been reading all about string chargers vs bank chargers, wiring diagrams and the like (and am getting super confused about it...but I digress...).
At some point i'll probably setup bank charging for my 2007 zapino, but for now I have a string charger (I think it's the standard one, but I bought the scooter used, so I'm not certain). In any case, I've read that I should charge it to full charge after every ride, but I'm only riding once a week for now (until I take the moto safety class...yes, I know I technically don't have to, but I ride bicycles a lot, and have a healthy respect for the multi-ton rapidly moving objects that will be occupying the same road as me, so I figured the added skills and info wouldn't hurt. But I digress again).
My question is: should I leave the string charger plugged in and turned on even after the light turns green (indicating full charge)? If I should leave it in and turned on, for how long? Hours? Days? Always?
Thanks.
...alex...
What kind of charger and batteries?
My ThunderSky "smart" charger (for the XM-5000Li) has a "charge" led that turns green when the Pack appears to be "full enough" (around 75 volts = 3.5 volts per cell, with 21 LiFePO4 cells).
Generally, I disconnect the charger within an hour after the "green". My charger continues to "pulse-charge" (about 1.4 amps for 2 minutes once every 20 minutes) for a long time, adding only 0.14 amp-hours to the cells each hour (10 hours to add 1.4 Ah to 60 Ah cells).
Not yet clear when it stops, but if the cells are not well balanced, the highest cell can go over 4.2 volts. I stopped my first (unbalanced) charge there. But, with well-balanced cells, the charger might "stop" automatically when the pack voltage gets near something like 79 volts. No real charger details available, as far as I know.
Take the charger off the power after battery fully charged. Otherwise and if you use lead-acid or silicone, it may swell your battery. But don't worry, no explosion.
I highly recommend bank charging in place of the string battery charger. But if you use the string charger, I would disconnect it from the scooter after the LED on the charger indicates that the batteries are fully charged.
Steve Tanner