Technical notes of interest to Marine

Engineers
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

their nature, most single-rate chargers sold as

"5 amp" never reach full current output and
therefore may offer the performance of a 2 amp
charger!
2. Two-Rate Charger - Also known as "float
chargers", the two-rate charger automatically
operates at a "boost" charging voltage that
allows the battery to draw the charger's
maximum output until is almost fully charged.
When the battery reaches a high rate of
charge, the charger shifts to the optimum float
voltage to minimize battery electrolyte
consumption. Since the charger monitors the
battery 100% of the time, the optimum charge
is provided without adjustments. The correct
two-rate battery charger will offer faster
charging performance and will reduce the
requirement for maintenance. No compromise
is made.
The benefits of the two-rate battery charger make for
a much more reliable battery system. However,
attention must be given to the various designs out in
the marketplace. The minimum requirements should
include: (a) temperature compensation which insures
correct charging in most conditions, (b) output voltage
regulation to maintain rated output regardless of input
volts and frequency variations, (c) current limiting and
(d) overload protection.
Calculation of battery charger size with automatic
two-rate charger - Engine Starting Application
The following formula can be used to determine the
required charger ampere rating to recharge a battery
used in an engine-starting application. This formula
assumes that there is little or no continuous current
drain on the charger and it is useful only in calulating
ampere rating of two-rate chargers. It is also assumed
that the charger will replenish only the ampere-hours
withdrawn by the engine-cranking event. The voltage
of the battery system is immaterial to this calculation.

Calculation Steps

Determine the current that the starter draws for the

entire starting cycle. Assume, for example, that:
The starter draws 900 amps rolling current,
worst case
The maximum cranking time per start attempt
is 15 seconds, which equals 0.0042 of an hour
The maximum number of start attempts will be
5
Ampere-hours (AH) drawn by the starter for this
example is (900) (0.0042) (5), or 18.9 AH
Decide how quickly you wish the battery to be
recharged. Assume, for example, that you wish to
recharge this battery in 5 hours
Plug variables into this formula to find the charger
ampere rating (use 1.4 for lead acid and 1.8 for
nickel-cadmium when asked for inefficiency constan):
Total AH drawn by starter X recharge inefficiency
constant / desired recharge hours

Answer (for above example): 18.9 x 1.4 / 5 = 5.29

amp charger