Charge rates

[colin-yorkshire]

hi guys, I have put this in Technical rather than Chit Chat as it is of a technical nature but not related to caravans "sorry"

I have changed the batteries on the wife's mobility scooter because of late the range seems to be reduced somewhat, I presume because the 3year old batteries are past their best, and have replaced them with ones of a higher AMP rating, from 12amp to 15amp,

so Question, would it be better to change the charger for one with a higher rating now to reduce the charge time and give the batteries more boost or just leave it and let them charge longer !! they have been on charge 20hrs but are still not fully charged, I dont think the present 1.2amp one is big enough. what would be the best size,
I cannot use the smart charger because they run @ 24v and there is no way of charging them separately at 12v once the are in the box,with a common charge point.
thanks.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Colin

Last year MIL's scooter appeared to have a failing battery even though we had just bought it. Testing by the Mobility shop showed the charger to be faulty. The charger in her case is specific to the scooter. We bought a new one and have had no problems since.
I know this doesn't answer your question in full.
However on our MX-5 a Gel battery is used. That needs a very long slow charge to reach its maximum out put. Are your wife's lead acid or gel?

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi Dusty. they are sealed lead acid batteries same as the old ones 15amp was the largest ones available with the same dimensions, now been on 26hrs and still no green light, suppose it could be a faulty charger.but at 24v there nothing I have to check it with,

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Colin,

I to have to deal with my wife's mobility scooter which uses two 12v 12Ah sealed lead acid batteries connected in series. The scooter came with a 24V/2A model HB1202 B charger.

Like you I have become disappointed with batteries charge retention, and I also question the chargers real ability.

Just a couple of weeks ago I decided to try and do something about it. I bought a CTEK MXT 4.0, 24v, 4A, 8 stage charger - not cheap (circa £100) but it does seem to give at bit more longevity on the batteries, and an older pair seem to have been regenerated a bit.

I found this web site which has some useful information

http://www.powerstream.com/SLA.htm#Fast