Can I leave the battery on this charger?

[ba229]

I have a car battery that is a little on the tired side but being a tight wad I want to keep using it.

I am going away for 4/5 days and wondered if it would be ok to connect the battery to a charger for this amount of time.

I have attached a photo of my charger if it helps.

On the box it says "input 240V, output 12VDC, 50Hz 0.2amps, 2200mA cont"

Nowhere on the box does it say NOT to leave it connected but I am not sure.

Regards

Alex

[phewy]

Not being an auto one I wouldn't think so Alex. Would guess it would keep charging until it damages battery or blows charger?. But I'm no expert either so someone else might know for sure.

[camsharkman]

I am guessing that you want to charge the battery so when you come back you won't have a flat batt - right. Should be ok. Just make sure that it is topped up with demineralized water before you go. The battery charger should regulate as the battery charges.
On the other hand if the battery is tired because it has dropped a cell then charging won't do a lot to it. Or you could go and buy one of those plug in timers for your charger and set it for 2 hours everyday until you come back. That would be the better way to go.

[Morlers]

Does not appear to be a 'maintenance' charger so I would not be inclined to leave it for that length of time. I would assume that when it reaches the all green then it's fully charged and needs to be disconnected to avoid damage to battery. Camsharksman idea of two hours per day sounds like a feasible solution.

Any auto electricians out there with the good oil on this?



Morlers

[Maxw]

no

[blaze]

chargeing a 100 amp/h battery it would take 20 days to fully charge a flat battery at 0.2 amps
cheers
blaze
I would plug it in and forget about it, I would also remove the battery from the vehicle

[Manjilad]

Blaze is correct, HOWEVER I would make sure your insurance is full cover and up to date. Leaving anything electrical on UNNECESSARILY is risking that "what will never happen to me" FIRE!
ALSO batteries generate gases, hydrogen to be specific = explosive mix in unventilated areas.
I would never leave a battery charging as you suggest .... but then again maybe I am way too conservative :-) ..... by the way I enjoyed returning thru Bribie on last monday's public holiday, just on dark, surfing those 5-6m inside swells after loading up with Cobia on the dead calm caloundra offshore reefs in my 6.3m glass rig ... heheheh!!!! would have hated coming back and ma favourite fish cooking hotplate toi find it had been melted by a "flat battery" FLASH!!!!
Cheers

[adriancorrea]

Alex if your insurance is up to date make sure you delete this post lol
Plug it in and forget about it in the back garden shed just in case lol

Tight Lines
Adrian

[noluck]

NO

[Angla]

No.

I do have a similar unit that is fully electronic.
Specs
PROJECTA Fully Automatic Onboard or wall mounted Battery Charger
Model No AC-250B
It charges the battery at 1.6 amps then goes in to 0.2 amp mode. When fully charged it turns off and senses if a drop occurs in voltage and brings on the 0.2 amp charge to top up. Can be left on indefinitely. I used this outside for several years on the old boat to keep the batteries in primed charge. The whole thing is weather proof except the plug. Found it to be great.
It does stress to be used in a ventilated area as with all battery chargers (Lead acid that is)

Angla

[finga64]

mate, buy a new battery and use the boat often.
I am a sparky (retired ) and when a battery gets to that condition it's time for a new one. Fair enough to use the topper-upperer if the battery is in good nick and you don't use the boat often but when a battery is a bit sus to start with you have to consider when is it going to fail big time and for good.
You might be lucky to have this happen at home but that bloke Murphy (a-hole he is ) says it will happen in the middle of the ocean when nobody is within cooey.
Let the moths out
PS just mucking around with the last comment, no offense intended or implied

[ba229]

lol

Some definate yes' and no's came out of this one :-)

I left it on charge all last night and think i will leave it at that. The battery is out of my 2nd car (the bomb) and i try and spend as little as possible on it because of economic rationalisation (ie the car may no last much longer)

Can anyone provide definitive proof or theory on why you beleive the answer to be either yes or no?

What happens if we do overcharge a battery? Is a charger like this able to overcharge a battery?

Regards

Alex

[finga64]

If your charger does not have a regulator in it (or the regulator doesn't work) and the battery charger still pumps current into the battery when it is fully charged then the battery will boil dry or explode and then the battery is really RS.
An example is an egg in the microwave. After 30 seconds it's cooked, after 3 minutes it explodes.
The only way to tell if your charger has a regulator is to look at the specifications and, to be really safe, do some testing.
As some have already said make sure the insurance is paid up.

[Angla]

Are you using this car battery as a marine battery or just in the car

Angla

[Maxw]

proof of theory? well maybe the egperts would like to reconsider some responses if this charger was a manual 4 amp charger (which it is by the way). so the answer is a definite no. M