Battery Chargers

[slijin]

So it's that time of year again - we're coming up to kickoff and we're frantically scrambling to make sure our labs are ready for the onslaught of activity. One of the things we're doing for this time-honored tradition is getting some new battery chargers.

So before I start discussing my options, I just want to make sure that I understand the recommended specs for FRC battery chargers. My understanding from experience and the spec sheets for the ES17-12 and NP18-12 tells me that battery chargers should (must) meet the following specs:

• Nominal output voltage between 14.4V and 15.0V
• Nominal output current between 4A and 6A, despite specified max charge currents
• Capable of charging 12V sealed lead acid AGM/gel batteries

Do correct me if I'm wrong.

That being said, there are the two obvious options: the Schumacher SC-600A and AM's AM-0026. I believe I've also seen CTEKs around.

While doing some browsing, I also came across this option, which says that it can support up to 6 batteries at once, and the spec sheet says that they have to be charged in parallel from the charger's single output - can anyone offer some insight into how exactly this works and whether it's a viable/safe option for us?

Alternatively, does anyone else have any other recommendations? (besides FIRST Choice).

Thanks!