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14. Pb (lead-acid) programs
This program is designed for charging and discharging lead / sulphuric acid and lead / gel
batteries with nominal voltages of
exactly
2, 4, 6 and 12 V (1, 2, 3 and 6 cells).
Caution
: the charger will not recognize lead-acid batteries with other nominal voltages, and
such batteries must not be connected to it.
Lead-acid batteries behave entirely differently to Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries. Lead-acid batteries
can only deliver relatively low currents relative to their capacity, and similar restrictions very
definitely apply to charging. Manufacturers usually state
14 to 16 hours
for achieving nominal
capacity when recharging at the normal charge current. The „normal“ charge current is defined
as one tenth of the battery’s nominal capacity. Example: battery capacity =
12
Ah —> normal
charge current =
1.2 A
. In contrast to Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries, lead-acid chargers generally
monitor the battery’s voltage in order to determine when it is fully charged.
Caution: lead-acid batteries cannot and must not be fast-charged! Always select the
charge current which the battery manufacturer recommends.
Please also bear in mind that
the nominal capacity (i.e. useful life) of a lead-acid battery is very quickly compromised by
incorrect handling, including overcharging, repeated 100% discharges and, in particular, deep
discharging. The magnitude of the charge / discharge currents is also crucial to the actual
battery capacity which can be exploited, i.e. the higher the current, the lower the capacity which
the battery can deliver.
The values selected in the user settings for charge termination delay and safety timer have no
effect in the Pb charge programs.
Lithium type select program
This is actually the
most important
set-up program for
Lithium batteries. In the Select program you enter the
battery type and battery capacity. It is vital to enter this
information with the greatest care. Check it very thoroughly,
as the charger derives all the other charge parameters from
the settings you enter here.The battery type you select
(LiPo, LiIo or LiFe) affects the charge termination voltage. If
you find that a Lithium battery has unexpectedly been
charged only to the 2/3 full mark, you have probably set the
incorrect battery type at this point.
Caution
: if you set an
incorrect value at this point, the battery may be damaged
irreparably, and could even explode!
At charging/discharging the battery types will be displayed
as followed:
LiPo (LiMn) = LP
LiIo = LI
LiFe = LF
Pb
MANUAL-
program
Pb
discharge
program
MODE
MODE
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
L i t h i u m
t y p e
L i P o
INC
+
-
DEC
