Phil Allison wrote in
:

Bennett wrote:


Since the cells in each battery are in series, it seems logical, to
me at least, that charging a bunch of batteries in series is
appropriate. Or am I missing something?


** The cells in a particular battery have a great deal in common - eg
same origin, age, capacity, number and level of charges and
discharges.

Various 12 batteries likely have none of the above in common so
charging in series will not suit more a than one of them.

In the OP's case, with all new and unused batteries of the same type,
parallel charging with a fixed maximum voltage of 13.8 is the most
practical method as one can use a standard charger.

Each battery will initially draw the current it needs until all are
fully charged, then the current will taper off to a trickle in each.

Gel and SLA cells behave very differently to NiCd and NiMh cells.

*EXACTLY*
The charger should be rated for the maximum total AH capacity to be
connected to it and needs to be set for SLA batterys and to have a
constant float mode.

A 12V 10W bulb in series with each battery will prevent excessive current
flow allowing discharged batteries to be recharged safely and also
provides visual indication of any shorts.




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