AC DC Adaptor fail

[DiyNutJob]

A little hop in the capacity today. It's wet and raining. So, I suspect a link between atmospheric pressure and the stored charge. Humidity is a possibility also, but seems unlikely because the battery is relatively well sealed.

Battery state
12.83v stand alone
8.29 m-Ohm internal resistance
70% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
313 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

 

[DiyNutJob]

With the weather clear and dry today, the little capacity elevation subsides.

Battery state
12.82v stand alone
8.35 m-Ohm internal resistance
69% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
310 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

 

[DiyNutJob]

The self discharge is steady and inevitable. The rate of decline is sharpest when the capacity is at the maximum. Nothing surprising there. I am getting bored and this ends the self discharge watch.

The capacity reading today is slightly depressed owing to good weather.

Battery state
12.82v stand alone
8.5 m-Ohm internal resistance
66% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
304 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old


Next, I will try something new. Since 14.2V is not really desirable, it seems like a good idea to use a charge voltage below that. Then 14.2V will never be reached. Also, resting seems like an important part of charging, hence I got myself a timer socket to automate the resting.

The battery has been put back on charge to reattain the maximum capacity of around 340 CCA. Let's see how it does with the new charging configuration.

Charger state
14v open circuit
900mA open circuit
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 30 minutes, repeat

 

[DiyNutJob]

Battery state
13.54v stand alone
13.98v connected to charger
8.24 m-Ohm internal resistance
71% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
315 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

Charger state
40mA effective charge current
0.56w effective charge power
3.3w - 3.6w mains draw
14.02v open circuit
895mA open circuit
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 30 minutes, repeat


Going by the charge power, charging using low voltage looks less efficient than when high voltage is used.

 

[DiyNutJob]

Charging at low voltage is self-regulating in terms of the amperage. This slows charging right down.

Battery state
13.51v stand alone
13.98v connected to charger
7.96 m-Ohm internal resistance
76% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
326 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

Charger state
35mA effective charge current
0.49w effective charge power
3.6 mains draw
14.03v open circuit
899mA open circuit
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 30 minutes, repeat

 

[DiyNutJob]

Charging at low voltage (as used by the car) is expected to not allow the maximum capacity to be attained. This is what causes the sulfation to build up over time, eventually renders the battery useless.

Battery state
13.57v stand alone
7.91 m-Ohm internal resistance
76% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
327 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

Charger state
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 15 minutes, repeat
Other stats not read

 

[DiyNutJob]

Battery state
13.6v stand alone
Minimal gassing
7.86 m-Ohm internal resistance
77% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
329 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

Charger state
effective charge current: self-regulating, as low as 16mA
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 15 minutes, repeat
Other stats not read

 

[robinbanks]

171 posts/12 pages/countless total man hours for yourself and various other DIYn contributors, of nonsense merry-go-round, for the sake of 5 quids worth of adapter..

Do you perhaps have some sort of attention deficit seeker disorder that needs this constant input? Is there no part of you that feels slightly guilty at being the orchestrator of such an extensive waste of so many people's time with your various inane threads, when there are others who have actual, real problems?

 

[DiyNutJob]

for the sake of 5 quids worth of adapter..

Should read the thread. You are lacking attention.

I didn't realise there's a following. I deposit research data here largely for myself and for other interested.

 

[robinbanks]

Should read the thread

Sounds like a decision for the reader, not the writer

I deposit

True that

 

[DiyNutJob]

Sounds like a decision for the reader, not the writer

The reader should report the thread if he sees a problem. It's kinda obvious. Is your inclination to do some part time forum DIY-moderation? I see no problem with that, so feel free. I am not possessive of threads, and people are welcome to contribute, criticise, or argue.

I find it amusing that from time to time people come in this thread to have a shout at something. It's not apparent to me what that will accomplish. I will continue my posts until the research project is done or thread deleted.

 

[DiyNutJob]

Battery state
13.62v stand alone
13.99v connected to charger
Minimal gassing
7.92 m-Ohm internal resistance
76% wear life (based on 340EN 374CCA)
327 CCA
Spec: Lion 063 40Ah EN 340CCA, very old

Charger state
Effective charge current: self regulating as low as 31mA
0.43w effective charge power
3.3 - 3.6W mains draw
14v open circuit
887mA open circuit
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 15 minutes, repeat

The CCA stagnated. That ends the low voltage charging. If high voltage charging lifts the CCA noticeably beyond the current level, that will prove there is a material difference between high and low voltage charging.

Next, we'll do a maintenance style high voltage charging that is suitable for unattended use. I expect the CCA to rise, ideally to 340 CCA. It may be a bit slow given the low amperage.

Charger state
25mA effective charge current
32.48v open circuit
Charge 15 minutes, no charge 15 minutes, repeat

 

[DiyNutJob]

The following are daily battery readings with the charging process in place. I have stopped reading the charger stats because those are largely predictable.

328cca, 77% life, 7.9mOhm, 13.47v

Charger amperage doubled to 50mA with the thinking that 50mA with 50% rest is equivalent to 25mA with 0% rest. This will be proven wrong. Start charging using high voltage causes the CCA to dip then recover. So long as the dip isn't caused by excessive gassing, then the recover is inevitable.

323cca, 74% life, 8.03mOhm, 13.57v
324cca, 75% life, 8mOhm, 13.61v
327cca, 76% life, 7.91mOhm, 13.61v
329cca, 77% life, 7.87mOhm, 13.62v
328cca, 77% life, 7.9mOhm, 13.62v, connected 14.05v, some gassing
327cca, 76% life, 7.91mOhm, 13.55v
327cca, 76% life, 7.92mOhm, 13.61v
329cca, 77% life, 7.88mOhm, 13.57v
330cca, 78% life, 7.85mOhm, 13.56v
327cca, 76% life, 7.94mOhm, 13.54v
325cca, 75% life, 7.98mOhm, 13.59v
324cca, 75% life, 8.01mOhm, 13.65v
320cca, 73% life, 8.09mOhm, 13.65v, connected 14.28v

The declining CCA is caused by gassing while the connected voltage went beyond 14.2v. This proves 50mA high voltage charging with 50% rest is not suitable for unattended maintenance. 75% rest might work but not yet proven. The reason the excessive connected voltage is not picked up sooner is to do with resting producing additional complication. At the end of the rest, the connected voltage would start close to the stand alone voltage. Then it would rise and peak before the next rest. My readings did not coincide with the peak and the peak voltage wasn't noticed except by accident. The declining CCA did give a clue.

Since 50mA with 50% rest didn't work, the resting was removed. The charging resumed at 25mA with no rest. With the gassing eliminated, the CCA recovered the following day.

332cca, 79% life, 7.8mOhm, 13.55v, connected 13.67v, mains 1.5 - 1.8w
333cca, 79% life, 7.78mOhm, 13.64v, connected 13.8v, mains 1.5 - 1.8w

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I find it amusing that from time to time people come in this thread to have a shout at something. It's not apparent to me what that will accomplish. I will continue my posts until the research project is done or thread deleted.

Have you thought, what a terrific waste of bandwidth and server space this is, plus a complete waste of your time posting it here? If this really interests you, as you seem to imagine, all you need to do, is feed the data into a spreadsheet, or send it in an email addressed to yourself.

For information - I make a point of recording my E, G, and water consumption weekly. I could easily do as you do, post the data on here, but I would not dream of wasting the bandwidth doing that - I enter it into a spreadsheet, where it makes more sense.

 

[DiyNutJob]

Have you thought, what a terrific waste of bandwidth and server space this is, plus a complete waste of your time posting it here? If this really interests you, as you seem to imagine, all you need to do, is feed the data into a spreadsheet, or send it in an email addressed to yourself.

For information - I make a point of recording my E, G, and water consumption weekly. I could easily do as you do, post the data on here, but I would not dream of wasting the bandwidth doing that - I enter it into a spreadsheet, where it makes more sense.

Shame you didn't enter into spreadsheet what I said last time why I am doing it on the internet, or it would have saved you some bandwidth.

Why are you concerned with bandwidth? Is it coming out of your tax money? I suggest best to let the mods do the mod'ing. If you find it interesting, just run your own forum, or ask for a job/role. Often forums are open to more mods.

You can absolutely do your water consumption monitoring on the internet. You may well find like minded people to compare notes. But, it won't be me. I don't have a leak and the subject doesn't appeal. I do have a drip on the bath tap, though. It hasn't yet hit my wallet for me to care.

I am curious, why are you reading this thread? Do you find battery charging interesting?