Charging Gel mobility scooter batteries

rach_k

50Twuncle wrote: »

Thanks but no help - she thinks that bags will burn !!!

That sounds like it would be quite easy to prove/disprove!

forgotmyname

50Twuncle wrote: »

Do you have any idea what it is like to have a genuine fear of fire ?

My stepdad wouldn't even allow electric alarm clocks in the house and always turned everything off at night. But the house was an older one with the round eletric sockets dating back to the dawn of time.

But over the years he updated the electrics to decent RCD's and resettable fuses etc and then left items plugged in.

Before mum met him the large house next door burnt down, i think that had an effect. But with modern electrics its as safe as it gets.

There are bigger fire risks than a battery charger.

Household cleaners stored in the same location as an aerosol?

were

50Twuncle, I feel for you. However happy wife, happy life.

Been in any houses (round plugs) where all the outlets have plugs push in them? Like a tap on a keg stops beer from flowing, plugs did the same to electricity. As a kid found it very confusing when visiting this house.

poppellerant

I'm not sure if this is possible, but what about using solar panels somewhere outside. For example, solar car battery charger in a covered outdoor brick barbecue - bricks and metal sheets have zero flammability and any fire would be outside and, more important, away from the house.

I know solar chargers won't give 24 hour charges, especially during winter. But maybe it'll be good enough to make them last.

50Twuncle

iammumtoone wrote: »

sounds like you either need to accept that your battery may not last as long as it should, meaning you may have to buy another one early or find a solution that doesn't upset your wife.

Do you have a neighbour/family nearby you could plug it in overnight or a garage/shed with an electrical supply?

How much are the batteries (no need to answer publicly) in situations like this sometimes it is better to accept its going to cost you more rather than cause your wife distress.

Exactiy- replacements are less than £100

Frozen_up_north

I use a CTEK battery charger with my AGM (absorbed glass mat) lead acid leisure battery. They are probably the best chargers around, the manufacturers web site has plenty of useful info:
http://www.ctek.com

CTEK chargers typically fully charge a battery in around 8 hours, if appropriately sized for the battery capacity.

forgotmyname

The batteries last longer with long slow charges, maybe a backup set?

Rodders53

This is worth reading.... http://www.batteryfaq.org/

I have personally ruined 2 sets of scooter SLA batteries in a few months of use by following the scooter maker's recommended charge regime (charge after every use and for at least 24 hours) rather than the later process I've adopted of disconnecting as soon as the charger shows green most of the time (occasional lapse of memory and leave it on).

Scooter batteries DO need replacing after a few years as the capacity and thereby scooter range will decrease, eventually rendering them useless. (The third set purchased, however, lasted about 5 years. Replacements are on 2 years already.).

It all depends on the smartness of the charger, though... So your mileage may (almost certainly will) vary depending on brand of Scooter and their charger makers.

CTEK 24V chargers as needed for the 2 x 12V in series scooter battery setups are an arm and 2 legs (and aimed at commercial vehicles).

Gloomendoom

Rodders53 wrote: »

CTEK 24V chargers as needed for the 2 x 12V in series scooter battery setups are an arm and 2 legs (and aimed at commercial vehicles).

How easy would it be to reconnect the batteries in parallel and charge with a cheaper 12v charger?

I have a bank of two 12v leisure and one 12v starter lead acid batteries that I keep alive between uses by using a single 1 amp maintenance charger. They are connected in parallel using a simple harness with lightweight crocodile clips.

The oldest battery in the group must be 12 years old now, at least. It's also the most travelled having been to Australia and back.