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From: raoul@eplunix.UUCP (Nico Garcia)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: When is the battery fully charged?
Message-ID: <1079@eplunix.UUCP>
Date: 9 May 91 17:43:25 GMT
References: <1991May9.041604.24787@crash.cts.com>
Organization: Eaton-Peabody Lab, Boston, MA
Lines: 16

Depends on the battery type. Charged to 12 Volts is fine for a 12 Volt
battery: you can get away with up to 14.5 on a Yuasa lead-acid, for example.
This also gives you a somewhat larger charge.

Recharging them depends on the battery type. For lead-acids, a
constant-voltage constant-current circuit is best. Basically, run an LM317
as a current source (no more than 1/10 the battery capacity), and use a
voltage supply no higher than your maximum voltage to supply voltage to that
(another LM317 works just fine). I use 15 Volt supplies, so use an LM317
with a diode on the output to bring the voltage down to 14.4 volts maximum.
Then I leave that on for trickle charging. Works just fine....

-- 
			Nico Garcia
			Designs by Geniuses for use by Idiots
			eplunix!cirl!raoul@eddie.mit.edu