battery eliminator vs battery charger

[proveitwithdata]

As you saw in my other thread, went down the rabbit hole of car chargers. While i was there, i stumbled upon a decades old battery eliminator capable of delivering 1 AMP at 12v. Its got some nice banana plugs and figured why leave it collect further dust.

Are these useful in car battery charging, as a dumb charger or leave it in the hobby device pile where it belongs?

 

[atikovi]

Doesn't a battery eliminator replace a battery in a home appliance so it can be powered by plugging it into a wall outlet? Has nothing to do with a battery charger.

 

[proveitwithdata]

Doesn't a battery eliminator replace a battery in a home appliance so it can be powered by plugging it into a wall outlet? Has nothing to do with a battery charger.

true. But can you explain the difference is between this 1amp/12v eliminator vs any 1amp 12v battery charger (besides the algorithims for charging)

 

[twX]

true. But can you explain the difference is between this 1amp/12v eliminator vs any 1amp 12v battery charger (besides the algorithims for charging)

A battery charger needs to operate at >13 V in order to charge a battery. If the eliminator is basically just a power supply that puts out around 12 V, it won't charge the battery.

 

[proveitwithdata]

the eliminator has a variable dc voltage selector, up to 15v if the changes the equation

 

[twX]

the eliminator has a variable dc voltage selector, up to 15v if the changes the equation

You could set it to 14 V and connect it to the battery. The voltage should slowly increase from the battery's resting voltage to 14 V. After some time at 14 V, the battery will be fully charged. Leaving it connected indefinitely would not be great for the battery. If the eliminator doesn't have good protection features, maybe it will start on fire. I think you should try it, for science.

 

[barryh]

Is this battery eliminator a regulated power supply i.e. does it maintain a fixed voltage regardless of load ? If not then it may damage the battery if left permanently connected.

Older battery eliminators which were a basic transformer and diode pack will have an unregulated output. It might be 12 volts at 1 amp but reduce the load and it might be 14 volts or more and therefore unsuitable for use as a float charger. It's all down to something called transformer regulation. The output voltage of a simple transformer increases as the load reduces. This used to be an issue with the old automotive unregulated battery chargers that might produce 15 volts or more once the battery reached full charge.

I wouldn't experiment with this battery eliminator without having a voltmeter hooked up so that you can see what's going on.

 

[bonjo]

your eliminator sounds like a very old style charger: constant current & volt.
Go to CTEK web site and look at their smart charger operation. You'll see modes it goes through while charging:
test, desulfation, constant current, constant voltage & maintenance.
I have never come across an "liminator" but if the DC volts & amps are clean & well regulated, you can try it for emergencies.