Modified my energizer 15 min charger

I mod cars
I mod computers
I mod flash lights
why not chargers...


Simple mod, I didn't like the plastic covers on the energizer charger
too restrictive for air flow
so i just opened up the case, and broke off some of the plastic

first unplug the charger ( duh)
to open the case, there are 3 small phillips head screws on the back ( circled in red)



then there are two foam pads, that hold the fan in place (circled in red)



the finished product

I don't have one of these so I can't tell what your mod was?

:/ I didn't take a before shot

here is a pic i found online

Ahhh... direct airflow on the batts. Nice mod!

Nice mod Dan_GSR, I may do the same to mine. Has there been a noticeable decrease in the temperature of the cells? I've wondered why Energizer had such tiny vents on the charger. I also think Energizer should have designed the charger with the cells a little higher to allow the air to flow up easily from underneath

Just a thought. These high current chargers usually use a combination of delta voltage change and cell temperature sensing. Could increasing the cooling air-flow over the cells also inadvertantly skew the temperature sensors and cause changes in the end of charge point? The airflow may me designed more for cooling the circuitry - the charging current is high (should be aroud 8-10 amps for a 15 min charger). If so, there could be some issues with overcharging the cells.

Paul

I haven't noticed that the charge times are any longer

chimo said:

The airflow may me designed more for cooling the circuitry - the charging current is high (should be aroud 8-10 amps for a 15 min charger).

Click to expand...

I had this thought as well, but there are no heatsinks in the fan's airflow, only the batteries see the cooling effect. I did this as well as an additional mod to mine, well not to the charger itself exactly. I build a little raised platform for it to sit on so the fan's intake sits higher. Instead of @3/8" clearance under the fan, there is now 1".

I thought I'd share a little observation of mine - I always placed my energizer charger on little blocks so that the bottom of the unit has at least an inch of clearance to optimize airflow. I realized today that the unit will stand vertically on an even, flat surface which gives the fan a lot of clearance .
Angling the power cable from the AC adapter to just the right angle helps to keep things stable.

Wow! Interesting. . .I'll have to try that somehow.

Hello Dan,

The first thing that came to mind when I read about your modification was that you must not have any small children around...

The improved air flow is a nice plus, but I can think of two reasons for the small slits. One is to keep small items from contacting the fan during operations, and the other is to keep electrolyte from splashing into the air flow and corroding the internal components and surrounding area should a cell vent while charging.

I have only had 3 cells vent in this charger. One was a CBP 1650 that was defective, the other two were Energizer 2300 cells that had developed high internal resistance. While this is a remote occurrence, I am glad the extra slats were there.

Proper air flow is important to the operation of this charger. This mod looks tempting, but since I tend to push things a bit, I will leave mine stock. I do prop up on one end to give a bit more room underneath, have it on a corrugated silicon hot pad, and it is positioned out of direct sunlight and away from heater ducts.

It is too bad that you did not measure the battery temperature prior to the mod. I would be interested to see how much it helped.

Tom

I did the same thing but I did not take it apart first so it looks like I went at it with a pocket knife and some small sidecut pliers. Oh, I guess I did do that.

My calibrated finger sensor thinks the temperature is a little lower. If I recall correctly the inner two cells get a little hotter in comparision due to the central fan hub eliminating the flow so the opened up vents help there some.

A side fan helps keep them cooler better.

Remember the before and after... :huh2: Good mod...