Power Easy 25D BCDC Charge Characterisitcs

Charge Characteristics of the Power Easy 25D

BCDC1225D (A, B or C Profiles)

The Most popular recently of the Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System is the Power Easy 25D powered by the BCDC1225D and features REDARC’s proprietary three-stage charging algorithm. If you like a more in-depth explanation of the Power Easy Dual Battery Charge System then take a moment.

There is a lot to process in the requirements for a strong BCDC system and to be a true battery management system is not enough to simply supply charge from a 12-volt source. Some charges on the market have been known to either undercharge or overcharge a battery when confused by a load being present on the battery. Cyclic loads are common in most 4WD and Camper trailer applications due to 12-volt fridges cycling on and off to keep your beer cold.

We choose to run the Redarc BCDC range of chargers as they are specifically designed to run under these conditions. How Redarc achieves this is a closely guarded in-house secret as this is what makes the Redarc BCDC Charger truly unique. In a nutshell, the Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System uses a combination of current sensing, load sensing and timer back up to deliver the charge required at the time dure all stages of charge.

The three stages if the Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System are:

Boost:

In this stage, the LED is on solid and the BCDC is applying maximum current to the battery in the Power Easy Dual Battery System. It maintains a constant current until the battery voltage reaches its maximum voltage. The voltage will gradually rise in the battery as its state of charge increases.

Generally, Boost stage will deliver the first 70- 80% state of charge, depending on the battery type, some batteries such as Lithium accept higher rates of charge longer. The current in boost stage may vary during operation to maintain safe operating temperature, or to limit the difference between input and output voltages.

What you would expect to see on a multi-meter in BOOST stage:

  • Voltage: Between the battery resting voltage and absorption voltage, will increase gradually as battery charges.
  • Current: Full charger capability, will stay constant until the voltage rises to the maximum charge voltage.

The Stage LED will be on solid to indicate Boost when the full charge current is being applied.

Absorption:

Once the battery reaches 100mV less than the Maximum Charge Voltage (eg 14.5V for profile A selection), the charger will hold the absorption voltage for a predetermined period of time or until the current being drawn by the output battery drops to less than 4A for 30 seconds; after which the charger will enter Float stage. The battery is fully charged at this time.

What you would expect to see on a multi-meter in ABSORPTION stage:

  • Voltage: Will be stable at the Absorption voltage.
  • Current: Will be gradually falling. When it is below 4A for 30 seconds it will enter Float stage.

The Stage LED will flash once per second to indicate Absorption when the absorption voltage is being applied.
Note, the current may change in line with any load applied to the battery without the need for the BCDC to skip or revert stages.

Float:

The Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System BCDC will reduce the current to the battery to allow the voltage to fall to its Float voltage of 13.3V, where it will then maintain this voltage, keeping the battery topped up. This counteracts the battery’s self-discharging or loads applied to the battery. When the battery loses charge due to a load more than its maximum current is applied, the charger will move back into the Boost stage.

What you would expect to see on a multi-meter in FLOAT stage:

  • Voltage: Will be stable at the Float voltage.
  • Current: Will be relatively low, unless a load is applied at which time it will be slightly higher than the load current.

The Stage LED will flash once every 2 seconds to indicate Float when the battery is fully charged.
Note, the current may change in line with any load applied to the battery without the need for the BCDC to skip or revert stages.

LED current output indication:

LED Output on Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System

For an illustrated view of the Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System BCDC charge profile, see the diagram below:

 

3 stage charging process: Power Easy Portable Dual Battery System

 

Technical Article Source: https://www.redarc.com.au/Content/Images/uploaded/Handy%20Hints/What%20is%20my%20BCDC%E2%80%99s%20Charge%20Status%20LED%20telling%20me.pdf 

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