JHZR2
Staff member
Yeah mine does that too. Gel is the most benign charging scheme, so while not 110% optimal, it doesn't bother me much.
HF float charger
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Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Todays GNB is Exide. Yesterdays GNB (pre 2000) was the king of industrial batteries.
A marriage made in heaven. I don't know what pre 2000, or post for that matter you lived/worked in, but with respect to quality, GNB has produced marginal(putting it glowingly)batteries since I came into the industry in 86. This is inclusive of the Saft chargers they private labeled as well.
As far as market share is concerned, they dominated the OEM forklift market because of price and sales incentives to the forklift dealerships, salesmen and manufactures. Exide was/is the same with respect to the same with regard to incentives.
With respect to quality, C&D(C-Line) and Deka were, BY FAR, the finest industrial batteries made. Their respective charger lines were superior as well although Deka(EPM) private labels Ametek(Formerly Hobart).
Edit: My dad swears they(GNB)produced a good battery back in the 60's.
Todays GNB is Exide. Yesterdays GNB (pre 2000) was the king of industrial batteries.
A marriage made in heaven. I don't know what pre 2000, or post for that matter you lived/worked in, but with respect to quality, GNB has produced marginal(putting it glowingly)batteries since I came into the industry in 86. This is inclusive of the Saft chargers they private labeled as well.
As far as market share is concerned, they dominated the OEM forklift market because of price and sales incentives to the forklift dealerships, salesmen and manufactures. Exide was/is the same with respect to the same with regard to incentives.
With respect to quality, C&D(C-Line) and Deka were, BY FAR, the finest industrial batteries made. Their respective charger lines were superior as well although Deka(EPM) private labels Ametek(Formerly Hobart).
Edit: My dad swears they(GNB)produced a good battery back in the 60's.
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I worked for Gould/GNB in the 80's through 2000. In 2000 Exide bought them out to get back into the US industrial market. Exide quality control was non existent back in the 60-s and 70s and had to close up their US industrial production. Went over to France.
When Exide bought GNB in 2000 all the sales reps complained they are now having to tell their old customers that they are now selling Exide after bashing them for 30 years. Exide then agreed to keep the GNB name for industrial. The big industrial money is in the AGM batteries for modular large scale backup. Which is what Exide wanted when they bought us out. Wet cell fork trucks batteries are bottom feeder products now.
After the sale, Exide quickly closed all of GNBs 7 autostart plants. They were already running under capacity in their own autostart plants.
In the 80s, Exide who made the Sears auto battery, was caught recycling returned warranty batteries back as new ones. They sent three executives to prison over it. Not like banking today.....
When Exide bought GNB in 2000 all the sales reps complained they are now having to tell their old customers that they are now selling Exide after bashing them for 30 years. Exide then agreed to keep the GNB name for industrial. The big industrial money is in the AGM batteries for modular large scale backup. Which is what Exide wanted when they bought us out. Wet cell fork trucks batteries are bottom feeder products now.
After the sale, Exide quickly closed all of GNBs 7 autostart plants. They were already running under capacity in their own autostart plants.
In the 80s, Exide who made the Sears auto battery, was caught recycling returned warranty batteries back as new ones. They sent three executives to prison over it. Not like banking today.....
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I worked for Gould/GNB in the 80's through 2000. In 2000 Exide bought them out to get back into the US industrial market. Exide quality control was non existent back in the 60-s and 70s and had to close up their US industrial production. Went over to France.
When Exide bought GNB in 2000 all the sales reps complained they are now having to tell their old customers that they are now selling Exide after bashing them for 30 years. Exide then agreed to keep the GNB name for industrial. The big industrial money is in the AGM batteries for modular large scale backup. Which is what Exide wanted when they bought us out. Wet cell fork trucks batteries are bottom feeder products now.
After the sale, Exide quickly closed all of GNBs 7 autostart plants. They were already running under capacity in their own autostart plants.
In the 80s, Exide who made the Sears auto battery, was caught recycling returned warranty batteries back as new ones. They sent three executives to prison over it. Not like banking today.....
I have lost track of the Exide, Exide/General, Yuasa/Exide, Exide/GNB, Enersys, Exide again etc.......
The industry certainly has gone trough some changes. I can't think of any for the good. I think industry has drifted (downward) towards a commoditization of the product. Some of this brought on by market forces, some of by rock bottom pricing and deceptive marketing. It's a shame that the handful of quality products out has suffered and that the manufactures did take a more patient/long term quality driven approach.
I agree stationary is where the profit is nowadays. Industrial has become a mid to low single digit profit margin business.
I worked for Gould/GNB in the 80's through 2000. In 2000 Exide bought them out to get back into the US industrial market. Exide quality control was non existent back in the 60-s and 70s and had to close up their US industrial production. Went over to France.
When Exide bought GNB in 2000 all the sales reps complained they are now having to tell their old customers that they are now selling Exide after bashing them for 30 years. Exide then agreed to keep the GNB name for industrial. The big industrial money is in the AGM batteries for modular large scale backup. Which is what Exide wanted when they bought us out. Wet cell fork trucks batteries are bottom feeder products now.
After the sale, Exide quickly closed all of GNBs 7 autostart plants. They were already running under capacity in their own autostart plants.
In the 80s, Exide who made the Sears auto battery, was caught recycling returned warranty batteries back as new ones. They sent three executives to prison over it. Not like banking today.....
I have lost track of the Exide, Exide/General, Yuasa/Exide, Exide/GNB, Enersys, Exide again etc.......
The industry certainly has gone trough some changes. I can't think of any for the good. I think industry has drifted (downward) towards a commoditization of the product. Some of this brought on by market forces, some of by rock bottom pricing and deceptive marketing. It's a shame that the handful of quality products out has suffered and that the manufactures did take a more patient/long term quality driven approach.
I agree stationary is where the profit is nowadays. Industrial has become a mid to low single digit profit margin business.
I think we are off the float charger track.
Sorry. Floating the batteries is the normal situation for stationary batteries. 2.25 a cell is the target. The higher the acid gravity or temperature the higher the voltage is with an equal amp input.
For a lawn mower or car battery that is not in use the best thing is to just disconnect it. Especially newer cars because of there is always the keep alive memory current draw.
The Odyssey battery is known for it's shelf life. It can go well over six moths without needing a charge if not connected to anything. On my car that I let sit over winter I just disconnect the battery with a switch. Then just reconnect and start it up.
Charging/ maintaining a battery is all about voltage control. The amps will follow along based on the resistance of the battery. Any gassing in the cell is too many amps.
As far as heat is concerned I've seen fork truck batteries get over 125F just in use. Usually pretty well dead for the day at that point. But they will get thrown on charge immediately. So temps under 130F I would consider normal. If it is a wet/vented cell you will loose H2O.
Again the temp will change the resistance of the cells and therefor the voltage control is critical so the amps stay in line.
For a lawn mower or car battery that is not in use the best thing is to just disconnect it. Especially newer cars because of there is always the keep alive memory current draw.
The Odyssey battery is known for it's shelf life. It can go well over six moths without needing a charge if not connected to anything. On my car that I let sit over winter I just disconnect the battery with a switch. Then just reconnect and start it up.
Charging/ maintaining a battery is all about voltage control. The amps will follow along based on the resistance of the battery. Any gassing in the cell is too many amps.
As far as heat is concerned I've seen fork truck batteries get over 125F just in use. Usually pretty well dead for the day at that point. But they will get thrown on charge immediately. So temps under 130F I would consider normal. If it is a wet/vented cell you will loose H2O.
Again the temp will change the resistance of the cells and therefor the voltage control is critical so the amps stay in line.
So the question comes back to how well a job does the HF float/maintainer do at controlling voltage?
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Originally Posted By: Donald
So the question comes back to how well a job does the HF float/maintainer do at controlling voltage?
Check it open ciruit. That will tell you the lid voltage. It was posted ealrier and I figured to be 2.27 vpc which would be fine. I think for the price the HF float charger is good buy and would serve you well.
So the question comes back to how well a job does the HF float/maintainer do at controlling voltage?
Check it open ciruit. That will tell you the lid voltage. It was posted ealrier and I figured to be 2.27 vpc which would be fine. I think for the price the HF float charger is good buy and would serve you well.
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Originally Posted By: 3311
Originally Posted By: Donald
So the question comes back to how well a job does the HF float/maintainer do at controlling voltage?
Check it open ciruit. That will tell you the lid voltage. It was posted ealrier and I figured to be 2.27 vpc which would be fine. I think for the price the HF float charger is good buy and would serve you well.
These sell for $5-6 with a magazine or flyer coupon, inexpensive. Still like my Battery Tender Jr., another reason it also has a quick connect for my motorcycle so seat doesn't have to be removed. If I didn't have the BTJ though I'd likely give the HF float charger a shot.
Originally Posted By: Donald
So the question comes back to how well a job does the HF float/maintainer do at controlling voltage?
Check it open ciruit. That will tell you the lid voltage. It was posted ealrier and I figured to be 2.27 vpc which would be fine. I think for the price the HF float charger is good buy and would serve you well.
These sell for $5-6 with a magazine or flyer coupon, inexpensive. Still like my Battery Tender Jr., another reason it also has a quick connect for my motorcycle so seat doesn't have to be removed. If I didn't have the BTJ though I'd likely give the HF float charger a shot.
JHZR2
Staff member
The battery tenders are all thermally controlled, IIRC, even if the thermistor is in the box. Still likely the better deal for real optimized charging.
Guess bottom line is they are very affordable, especially when on sale, and better than nothing.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
The battery tenders are all thermally controlled, IIRC, even if the thermistor is in the box. Still likely the better deal for real optimized charging.
The odd thing is that some companies use temp compensation for low temps and some for high and some for both.
The battery tenders are all thermally controlled, IIRC, even if the thermistor is in the box. Still likely the better deal for real optimized charging.
The odd thing is that some companies use temp compensation for low temps and some for high and some for both.
Came across this analysis on the HF Float Chargers while doing some research on charging AGMs. Seems they are not worth using or even modifying but he's still happy with it.
http://www.desert-home.com/2012/07/battery-charging-part-3-harbor-freight.html
"So, since I'm only using the wall wart, plastic enclosure, and heat sink of the original device, did I save any money? Yes. The wall wart alone is worth the price I paid for the original charger and the rest of it serves as a platform for the charger I ended up with. "
http://www.desert-home.com/2012/07/battery-charging-part-3-harbor-freight.html
"So, since I'm only using the wall wart, plastic enclosure, and heat sink of the original device, did I save any money? Yes. The wall wart alone is worth the price I paid for the original charger and the rest of it serves as a platform for the charger I ended up with. "
Originally Posted By: Donald
I have 2 of the good BatteryMinder float chargers, but need another. Has anyone used the HF float charger. Good/bad?
Some good and some really [censored] reviews on the HF website.
I see some BatteryTender ones on Amazon.
I'll reveive this thread and bring it back to topic.
I had my BMW battery on a five buck HF float charger for about four months.
I got the car out of the garage yesterday and drove it to work today.
I drove home with the top down.
80F+
Anyway, the battery seemed fully charged when I started the car after its winter slumber and the battery wasn't fried, so I'd say that the HF device was well worth the five dollars it cost.
I left the thing plugged in for the entire period, except for about ten days of vacation in Feb, since I didn't want any problems to occur undetected while we were away.
Anyway, the cheap HF float charger seems to work just fine for a car battery.
I checked battery health every so often during the winter using the very unscientific method of opening one of the doors to see whether the window would retract, which they should do when you open a door.
The car was not started between its placement in the garage and its removal therefrom.
I have 2 of the good BatteryMinder float chargers, but need another. Has anyone used the HF float charger. Good/bad?
Some good and some really [censored] reviews on the HF website.
I see some BatteryTender ones on Amazon.
I'll reveive this thread and bring it back to topic.
I had my BMW battery on a five buck HF float charger for about four months.
I got the car out of the garage yesterday and drove it to work today.
I drove home with the top down.
80F+
Anyway, the battery seemed fully charged when I started the car after its winter slumber and the battery wasn't fried, so I'd say that the HF device was well worth the five dollars it cost.
I left the thing plugged in for the entire period, except for about ten days of vacation in Feb, since I didn't want any problems to occur undetected while we were away.
Anyway, the cheap HF float charger seems to work just fine for a car battery.
I checked battery health every so often during the winter using the very unscientific method of opening one of the doors to see whether the window would retract, which they should do when you open a door.
The car was not started between its placement in the garage and its removal therefrom.
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Originally Posted By: Vikas
Wow, which fancy car do you have which automatically retracts the window when the door is opened?
LOL, I still haven't figured out all the function of my bloody key fob. One of them is to "ventilate" the car, by cracking all the windows by a certain percentage..... So I can only imagine what his car is doing
Wow, which fancy car do you have which automatically retracts the window when the door is opened?
LOL, I still haven't figured out all the function of my bloody key fob. One of them is to "ventilate" the car, by cracking all the windows by a certain percentage..... So I can only imagine what his car is doing
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