How to: a Homemade SLA Charger
Lead-acid battery chargers that work efficiently are expensive. The cheaper ones do provide a steady 7.5 volts and 300 mA to the battery, but the problem is, at that current level, it will take so long to charge fully that the voltage will harm the battery. However, it is possible to make a charger for either 6V or 12V SLA (sealed lead-acid) batteries that will provide a full charge without compromising the batteries with voltage. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- L200 chip
- Strip board
- Wire
- Resistors
- Variable resistor
- Capacitors
- AC/DC converter
- Screws
- Connection from the battery to the converter
- Container
- Multimeter or voltmeter
- Drill
- Soldering iron
- Screwdrivers
- Wrench set
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Instructions
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Run your positive line in to pin 1 on your L200 chip, and run your negative line in to pin 3. Place a 220 nanofarad capacitor on a wire connecting the positive and negative in lines, and a 100 nanofarad capacitor on a wire connecting the positive and negative out lines.
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Connect a wire from the negative line in to pin 4 on the chip, running it through an 820-ohm resistor. Just before that wire hits pin 4, though, add a wire that goes through a variable resistor, through another variable resistor, and around to pin 5. Run a wire from a point between the two resistors to pin 2, and another wire from a point between those two resistors to the positive out connection.
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Hook up an AC/DC converter that can send at least two more volts than you want coming out of the charger, to the positive and negative "in" lines. Turn on the converter after you've plugged it into the wall, and use the multimeter to test the incoming line. Adjust the resistor between pins 2 and 4 until you're getting the proper "out" voltage for charging. Connect the SLA battery you want to charge to the "out" lines.
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References
Resources
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