Intelligent general purpose battery charger

[darcyh]

Greetings:

I am looking for a quality intelligent battery charger that will charge AGM, Gel and wet lead acid batteries as well as nicads like power tool packs. I'd like to be able to control the charge voltage as well as the current and go up to 18 volts. It would be great if the charger could tell me how much charge was applied to the cells like the Maha C9000. It would also go into a true float mode once charging is done. I am willing to spend some bucks to get a decent unit.

Does such a device exist? If so, I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks so much,

Dave

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Dave,

Welcome to CPF.

There are chargers dedicated to 12 volt lead acid batteries that differenciate the different voltages for AGM, Gel, and flooded batteries. They are pre-programed and I don't think they allow for 18 volt charging.

There are other chargers that charge most chemistries, but lump all lead acid batteries together. Some of them are capable of charging an 18 volt lead acid battery.

I am not aware of a charger that combines all of these together. You will probably have to purchase at least 2 chargers.

Tom

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Dave,

I just ran across this thread. You may want to check it out. It covers some of your needs.

Tom

 

[doktor_x]

Depending on which chemistries you'd be feeding 30V, the Super Brain 989 may be something to look into. I haven't used one, but a guy I used to work with was always foaming at the mouth about the greatness of his Super Brain charger.

 

[darcyh]

Thanks to everyone that offered suggestions. I went and checked out some recommended threads. I am leaning toward the Cellpro Power Lab 8. It's not released yet but it looks pretty promising. Anyone have any experience with similar units?

Thanks again. Man so many chargers available.

Dave

 

[Russel]

If you are interested in the Power Lab 8, you may want to read this thread on RCGroups.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1176112