In article ,
Commander Kinsey wrote:
Bull****. I've got a very basic 4A battery charger. Just a transformer
and rectifier. If the battery is flat, it'll give out 4A. Once the
battery gets full, it drops to a fraction of an amp. Basically it just
gives out 13.8V maximum - the trickle charge for a lead acid.

The output of a basic battery charger will vary a lot due to the
transformer regulation and so on. A basic one is very unlikely to produce
a constant voltage - unless specifically for SLA gel types.



The battery itself prevents overcharge by taking far less current once
it's full. Lead acids are very easy to charge without complicated
circuitry. You only need complicated circuitry if you want to charge
them really fast. How do you think a car alternator works? It just
feeds 14.4V to the battery continuously. Probably a bad idea 24/7,
but the car ain't running 24/7.

No alternator I've ever seen stays at 14.4v when the battery is charged.
It would very soon fry the battery. And modern batteries are semi sealed
and don't like gassing.

I have a very accurate voltmeter fitted to one car, and the volts do go up
to over 14 when the battery is low, but the normal figure is not
surprisingly 13.8v. It can be a little lower with heavy loads at low
engine speeds.

--
*Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

Dave Plowman London SW
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