[Chaos-l] Where to buy 12V batteries?

[Michael Hrivnak]

There is one more interesting point to make.  Apparently AGM batteries can 
safely be charged much more quickly than other types.  Claims range from 
50-400% of capacity in an hour, depending on the quality of your particular 
battery.

Other types of deep-cycle batteries should be charged at no more than about 
20% of capacity per hour.  Some claim that gel cells should be charged at only 
5-10% per hour.

I can imagine that in our hobby, there may be situations on a multi-evening 
trip where power is not available on the field.  Being able to completely 
charge your battery during the day in only 1 or 2 hours is a very nice 
feature, especially if you have to share the AC access with other people.

Of course there are practical limits to how much power you should draw from 
your AC source.  My charger claims to draw 3.9A when putting out 15A to the 
battery.

For example, if you want to run a laptop, dewbuster, and GOTO mount all night, 
you might have a 100Ah battery.  If it's AGM, you can use a 30A charger to 
charge it completely in about 3 hours.  That would draw about 8A from your AC 
source, which is about half the current an average circuit can deliver before 
tripping a breaker or fuse.

Michael
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