battery question
Thread Starter
Dangers My Middle Name!
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
battery question
how can you find out the charge rating on a battery?
i got a few neverstarts 12v 550cca batterys laying around a 100watt solar panel and some motors and stuff to play with.
i got tuns of crazy ideas, but i wanna know how can you find the charge rating on a 12v battery? as in ampreage on the recharge....
of course 100watts wouldnt be it, but i was wondering...
i got a few neverstarts 12v 550cca batterys laying around a 100watt solar panel and some motors and stuff to play with.
i got tuns of crazy ideas, but i wanna know how can you find the charge rating on a 12v battery? as in ampreage on the recharge....
of course 100watts wouldnt be it, but i was wondering...
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,824
Likes: 0
I don't have an answer to your question, but welcome to the forum.
I'll take a wag and say that for a car battery, the maximum charging rate won't be much more than the typical car alternator output, maybe 80-100 amps. A typical home garage car battery charger usually puts out 6-10 amps. Pro garage charger, maybe 50 amps.
I'm sure one of the guys who's playing with electric car conversions will have a better answer.
I'll take a wag and say that for a car battery, the maximum charging rate won't be much more than the typical car alternator output, maybe 80-100 amps. A typical home garage car battery charger usually puts out 6-10 amps. Pro garage charger, maybe 50 amps.
I'm sure one of the guys who's playing with electric car conversions will have a better answer.
__________________
Thread Starter
Dangers My Middle Name!
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
well its really for a electric ranger conversion.
i got an old diesel generator that put out about 400amps continiously and thought if i ran 12 12v batterys on a warp9 motor would 400 amps regulated to x amount of amps to the batterys so they didnt explode be enough to recharge them somewhat so that the range would be extended somewhat?
which is why i asked how much ams does it usually take to charge a auto 12v battery...
any confusion ill explain in much more detial
i got an old diesel generator that put out about 400amps continiously and thought if i ran 12 12v batterys on a warp9 motor would 400 amps regulated to x amount of amps to the batterys so they didnt explode be enough to recharge them somewhat so that the range would be extended somewhat?
which is why i asked how much ams does it usually take to charge a auto 12v battery...
any confusion ill explain in much more detial
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
400 amps will destroy these batteries instantly.
At what voltage does the generator create 400 amps? I have never seen a portable generator capable of 400 amps, this is huge current. Unless its 400 amps at only 12V, which is not going to help in electric car, since you need much higher voltage.
These batteries are not very good for EV since they are not deep cycle and will not last long and will provide very little range. It all depends on your expectations from this conversion.
Let me know if you need any help with EV conversion...
At what voltage does the generator create 400 amps? I have never seen a portable generator capable of 400 amps, this is huge current. Unless its 400 amps at only 12V, which is not going to help in electric car, since you need much higher voltage.
These batteries are not very good for EV since they are not deep cycle and will not last long and will provide very little range. It all depends on your expectations from this conversion.
Let me know if you need any help with EV conversion...
__________________
Electric Mazda Protege5
Electric Mazda Protege5
Thread Starter
Dangers My Middle Name!
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
400 amps will destroy these batteries instantly.
At what voltage does the generator create 400 amps? I have never seen a portable generator capable of 400 amps, this is huge current. Unless its 400 amps at only 12V, which is not going to help in electric car, since you need much higher voltage.
These batteries are not very good for EV since they are not deep cycle and will not last long and will provide very little range. It all depends on your expectations from this conversion.
Let me know if you need any help with EV conversion...
At what voltage does the generator create 400 amps? I have never seen a portable generator capable of 400 amps, this is huge current. Unless its 400 amps at only 12V, which is not going to help in electric car, since you need much higher voltage.
These batteries are not very good for EV since they are not deep cycle and will not last long and will provide very little range. It all depends on your expectations from this conversion.
Let me know if you need any help with EV conversion...
i dont know the average amp i could put into a battery before it would explode, i know 400 is wayy!!! to much... i was thinking maybe 30ams or 40ish with a cutoff per battery so it wont overcharge??
reason being of that, i know you can get better batterys but im getting these really super super cheap and even if my range isnt good i just wanna get it working a mess with the bugs.
I have a feeling though 30amps or 40 continiously on each battery should hold the charge on them.
maybe im wrong.... who knows but its sure as hell tempting!!
if this makes sence cool, if not ill explain more
as for voltage i dont know, i just read amps.... figured thats all you need to know for charging 12v batterys...
average household car battery chargers charge batterys at around what amp?
cliffnotes is i have 400amps constant to play with, 10 batterys for the motor 2 for the lights stereo and other things in the cabin.
if i put 40amp regulators that wouldnt overcharge the deep cycle batterys on all 10 and used all 400amps on all 10 batterys using a warp9 motor and a LogiSystems Controller 120 Volt 550 Amps controller am i gonna extend my range by charging the batterys while i drive?
or am i just wasting energy and should just go with the plug me in every night method on better batterys?
Last edited by Danger Sullivan; Aug 21, 2009 at 10:12 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,824
Likes: 0
I don't see how your idea wouldn't extend your range. You're adding power to the batteries, that's going to extend their range. You're essentially building a "series hybrid" (one that uses ICE to charge the batteries that run the electric motor) rather than a "parallel hybrid" (that uses the ICE to supplement the electric motor as a source for propulsion).
The question is, when running in "extended range" mode, will your car burn less diesel fuel than if you just did a diesel engine conversion on it?
Still sounds like a fun project to play with. Once you've got the conversion done, if you don't like how the generator setup performs, you can always add more batteries and/or modify it in different ways.
The question is, when running in "extended range" mode, will your car burn less diesel fuel than if you just did a diesel engine conversion on it?
Still sounds like a fun project to play with. Once you've got the conversion done, if you don't like how the generator setup performs, you can always add more batteries and/or modify it in different ways.
__________________
Thread Starter
Dangers My Middle Name!
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
I don't see how your idea wouldn't extend your range. You're adding power to the batteries, that's going to extend their range. You're essentially building a "series hybrid" (one that uses ICE to charge the batteries that run the electric motor) rather than a "parallel hybrid" (that uses the ICE to supplement the electric motor as a source for propulsion).
The question is, when running in "extended range" mode, will your car burn less diesel fuel than if you just did a diesel engine conversion on it?
Still sounds like a fun project to play with. Once you've got the conversion done, if you don't like how the generator setup performs, you can always add more batteries and/or modify it in different ways.
The question is, when running in "extended range" mode, will your car burn less diesel fuel than if you just did a diesel engine conversion on it?
Still sounds like a fun project to play with. Once you've got the conversion done, if you don't like how the generator setup performs, you can always add more batteries and/or modify it in different ways.
i just figure average truck or cars run off of 80 amp or less alternators, you can charge a almost dead battery at 1500 rpms to full within seconds, if i put half of what that usually takes to charge while drawing a load hmmm.... my head hurts im pondering this too much right now...
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
I don't know your background in electrics, but you seem to confuse a few things. Voltage is critical, you can't talk amps without volts. Maybe you can share the name and model of that generator, I can look it up. Also, typical generators output AC current, which cannot be used directly in EV.
When batteries connect in series you add voltage, not amps, so you can't give each battery a portion of amps, doesn't work like that. You have total voltage of the battery string and you have to supply exactly correct voltage to charge them. Voltage is more important than amps.
If you really want electric drivetrain you need to design battery/controller/motor part first. Then you add charging circuit to it. You seem to pile it all up, but maybe its just the way it comes out in your posts, I don't know.
Again, I am assuming its a typical AC generator, in which case you also need a charger to convert AC to DC, which usually is not big enough to charge while driving. Real series hybrid needs a DC generator big enough to generate same amount of energy as the car uses to drive.
Most generators are rated by power level, like 3000 Watts or 5000 Watts or whatever. Does your generator have such rating? You can't design an EV not knowing Watts, Volts and Amps and how they relate to each other.
When batteries connect in series you add voltage, not amps, so you can't give each battery a portion of amps, doesn't work like that. You have total voltage of the battery string and you have to supply exactly correct voltage to charge them. Voltage is more important than amps.
If you really want electric drivetrain you need to design battery/controller/motor part first. Then you add charging circuit to it. You seem to pile it all up, but maybe its just the way it comes out in your posts, I don't know.
Again, I am assuming its a typical AC generator, in which case you also need a charger to convert AC to DC, which usually is not big enough to charge while driving. Real series hybrid needs a DC generator big enough to generate same amount of energy as the car uses to drive.
Most generators are rated by power level, like 3000 Watts or 5000 Watts or whatever. Does your generator have such rating? You can't design an EV not knowing Watts, Volts and Amps and how they relate to each other.
__________________
Electric Mazda Protege5
Electric Mazda Protege5
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 184
Likes: 0
check this
http://www.solarnavigator.net/battery_charging.htm
or
my 2 cent
50 amps output per battery is what i gussed
so i would say 25 amps charge per battery would be kinda safe as a general figure i think it could take more or less when your stopped or WFO
your amperage draw will be determined by voltage any way
if you have crappy current\voltage control i would not use a pwm controller id would use a bunch of contactors
i hope you run WVO that would be nice
if your close to my house bring beer and we will B.S. about your ideas
http://www.solarnavigator.net/battery_charging.htm
or
my 2 cent
50 amps output per battery is what i gussed
so i would say 25 amps charge per battery would be kinda safe as a general figure i think it could take more or less when your stopped or WFO
your amperage draw will be determined by voltage any way
if you have crappy current\voltage control i would not use a pwm controller id would use a bunch of contactors
i hope you run WVO that would be nice
if your close to my house bring beer and we will B.S. about your ideas
