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What is the difference between single-rate
battery chargers and two-rate chargers? Is
there a benefit to one over the other?
Generator set battery systems are very important for
many reasons. Their reliability is of much importance
when critical loads are a factor. While the battery and
charger work together to insure uninterrupted power,
the battery is ultimately responsible for reliable engine
starts. If the battery fails your generator might not
start resulting in lack of power to equipment and
facilities.
It is the battery charger's duty to maintain fully
charged batteries at all times to assure positive
engine starts under routine or emergency conditions.
The battery charger is designed to provide the
batteries with a charging current anytime the charge
level falls below acceptable limits. There are many
designs of battery chargers, but most operate under
one of the following two concepts:
1. Single-Rate Charger - Also known as "trickle
charger", this unit will produce its maximum
current for only a very short time, then begins
to taper off as the batteries' state of charge
increases. The only way to maintain a higher
current output into the battery would be to
increase the charger's output voltage. This,
however, would cause serious overcharging
problems as the battery becomes fully
charged. Thus, the voltage chosen for any
single-rate charger is a compromise between
fast charging and optimum battery
maintenance voltage. The most common
problem with the single-rate charger is the loss
of electrolyte in batteries caused by a "boiling"
effect as they are overcharged. This leads to
extensive labor hours replacing or servicing
batteries. It should also be noted that due to
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