Considering the price I’m happy with the Hypercharge by Provacell I brought from this thread, but the instructions could do with expanding a little, as it’s assumed the user knows what they are doing: https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/lithium-and-lead-acid-battery-charger-for-just-£34-95.101407/#post-2208119 Actually I’ve purchased two, as having up to 5 bikes in the garage over winter I’ll need more than 1. Note I’ve not posted in @TTBen ’s thread as I don’t want to give the impression I’m not happy with it, I just need some clarification to use it. I thought I was up to speed with battery charging, but would like a couple of points clarified by those who don’t have my age related lack of confidence in my memory. This is going to be a bit long winded to cover a couple of questions I have, but hopefully by explaining fully it will help others. The first point is probably an issue with the way I’m reading the instructions as it’s the same on both the chargers I’ve purchased. From the pdf instructions: 1) Connect the negative (black) battery clip or terminal to the negative (NEG. N, -) battery terminal. 2) Connect the positive (red) battery clip or terminal to the positive (POS, P, +) battery terminal. 3) When disconnecting the battery charger, rst disconnect the power plug, and then remove the negative and positive poles of the battery cable. Start charging: 1) Confirm the battery voltage and chemical properties. 2) Insert the AC power plug of the battery charger into a suitable power socket. 3) The charger will start in standby mode with a green LED indication. In this state, the charger does not provide any power. 4) Press and hold the mode button to switch to the charging mode suitable for the battery voltage and chemical properties. 3) and 4) doesn’t happen on either of the chargers I’ve had delivered. If I connect to a battery then turn the unit on at the mains the mode button will not function. I have to change the mode with no battery connected, turn the unit off, connect the battery, then turn it back on. They remember the last mode set without a battery connected. They start charging when turned back on. Question 1. Has anyone else who’s purchased one found the same? The charger has 7 modes of charging, and I’m particularly pleased it covers Lithium so my charging needs are future-proofed for a while. However, unlike the hugely more expensive CETEK I use to keep my Boat Leisure Batteries and occasionally Land Rover batteries topped up, the Hypercharge doesn’t automatically identify what type of battery technology you’ve connected, so the user needs to choose themselves. The first three are obvious, but knowing when to resort to ‘Repair’ might need some clarification: There are then two modes to charge at 3.5A And two at 2A: I think it would be really good to include in the instructions some more details of when to use the 2A and 3.5A modes. Unless you know what you are doing it could be easy to ruin a battery with the 3.5A mode. Question 2. I’ve always charged Bike batteries at lower currents, so for a typical say 10AH Bike battery I’d use the 2A Option. Am I being over cautious? Question 3 One on my bikes has a Gel battery which I’ve always treated as a normal Lead Acid type. Is that correct, should I be using the AGM mode? Thanks
Can't answer Q1. Q2, I too choose to use a low current charge for lead acid chemistry motorcycle batteries, I use the 3.5A charge rate for car/leisure batteries. Q3, as far as I understand it, an AGM battery is (marginally) less affected by sulphating so the charging doesn't need to address the problem as often. The repair mode is, I would guess, for recovering a discharged battery, showing 2 or 3 volts. My Noco does this automatically. Setting the mode on the Noco follows the instructions you have. If they don't work on yours, I'd go with what works. If the instructions are not native English, the translation has been probably done by a non English speaker. Andy
