Having four bikes (3 runners, 1 donor) means that some don't get used for long periods and I like to keep their batteries charged. A lead acid
battery will self-discharge and I've had a flat battery freeze. (although it's
rarely that cold here)
I use an old battery charger or a cheap battery tender that
can be permanently attached. These don't give much indication of what is going
on charging-wise. I can check the voltage being applied across the battery and
the current flowing into it using a multimeter. But it's awkward doing this and
it's easy to blow up cheapo meters by shorting them out across the battery on the current setting.
I thought that it would be good to have a device to
measure voltage & current between the charger and the battery. A quick look
on eBay found that such a device was available at a low price.
Now I'll say right here I not good with electronics. They
are a bit of a mystery to me so I might start talking a load of rubbish.
The digital voltmeters/ammeters come in different ranges but
I got a 100V/10A model.
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It didn't come with instructions but I
found a diagram on the internet.
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| The meter arrived from China yesterday and I made a unit to hold the meter, battery etc. |
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| I tested it out using a fan..... |
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| .....and it worked! |
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| I hesitated attaching it to a battery. I was worried that
if the charger was switched off the battery would discharge back into the meter
and blow it up. The charger is protected by diodes so I fitted one to the
meter. (a 3A Schottky Barrier Recifier if that means anything to you - 50p from Maplins) |
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| The final arrangement with a battery being charged and the meter
working. |
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