huldah
Well-Known Member
There was, fairly recently, a thread on charging SLA battery torches: should torches be left on charge continuously?
A number replied that they left their torches on continuous charge without problems. This was my experience until now.
I have had excellent service from my 2 torches for over 5 years. One has the charge control curcuit built in, so that it can be charged from any 12volt supply. The other was supplied with an excellent 6 volt charger with a useful charge indicator light and was about £30-00. I bought some more of the latter, when they were on offer at under six pounds + VAT, from CPC. Part number LA01133.
I soon ran into difficulties as the torches were often not fully charged, and would fail just when needed the most. Checking the charging circuit, I found the 6 volt batteries were being charged by a 12 volt charger, with a current limiting 12 ohm resistor in series with the battery. So, unless you know how much charge was required, there was a serious risk of overcharging. At the same time, charging was very slow.
I have removed the resistor and put it in the car charge plug, and purchased a quality 6/12 volt charger from CPC that slowly ramps up the voltage. Problem solved.
It appears that the drop in price was accompanied by a drop in quality,
Philip
A number replied that they left their torches on continuous charge without problems. This was my experience until now.
I have had excellent service from my 2 torches for over 5 years. One has the charge control curcuit built in, so that it can be charged from any 12volt supply. The other was supplied with an excellent 6 volt charger with a useful charge indicator light and was about £30-00. I bought some more of the latter, when they were on offer at under six pounds + VAT, from CPC. Part number LA01133.
I soon ran into difficulties as the torches were often not fully charged, and would fail just when needed the most. Checking the charging circuit, I found the 6 volt batteries were being charged by a 12 volt charger, with a current limiting 12 ohm resistor in series with the battery. So, unless you know how much charge was required, there was a serious risk of overcharging. At the same time, charging was very slow.
I have removed the resistor and put it in the car charge plug, and purchased a quality 6/12 volt charger from CPC that slowly ramps up the voltage. Problem solved.
It appears that the drop in price was accompanied by a drop in quality,
Philip
