Tony B Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Getting fed up with dead batteries, and needing a charger, I went looking round the details and talking to people who know. Eventually I have settled on a Ring Smart Charge 8. This has a battery check, desulphating setting, charges to 100% then floats. There is also a rapid charge setting. There is a larger 16 amp version, but looking at the specs for the battrey size I'm likley to play with it wasn't worth it. The main thing that decided me on the Ring is that it has a manual recondition button. So far I've left two dead battries a 65amphr and an 85 amphr on it. Both took about two days to get fully charged but they are now holding charge and uasable. Instructions supplied are as clear as mud, the only bitch I have with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 E mailed Ring for clarification on restoration mode. The reply: Generally you do not need to touch the recondition button. When the Smartcharger is in use it will automatically go into recondition mode if it finds it necessary. This may happen if charger finds high resistance in the battery. It will go into recondition mode to try break down the high resistance. After charging the Smartcharger will monitor the voltage and if it drops too quickly the charger will again go into recondition mode to try stabilise the voltage. The recondition cycle can take between 4 and 6 hours to complete. If the voltage is still not stable after this cycle it may repeat it up to 5 times. When the charger is in recondition mode the display will show a series of horizontal lines. On completion of the recondition mode the charger reverts to a normal charge cycle. The recondition button give the operator the option to put a battery into the recondition mode upon commencement of charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolman Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Thanks for that Tony. I bought a similar smart charger the other day from B+Q. It's their own "cheapie" brand TorQ It's a 12 Amp smart charger with again a Battery Reconditioning Mode and float mode (although the instructions states that the charger also shuts itself off after an hour?) I only really bought it because it was really cheap, I think about £20 odd, on half price special.... Unfortunately this does not have a manual button to enable reconditioning mode, it states that it will enter this mode if the charger detects that it is required. I'll get it tried out and see how it fares and report back. http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=11377570&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372016}/categories%3C{9372052}/categories%3C{9742017}/specificationsProductType=battery_chargers As I say, I'm sure it was half price when I bought it... about £25.... MT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 They are very similar in style. Halford's do their own version, but it is more expensive than the Ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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