You may have seen compass while shopping or you may have been told about it as being very practical for batteries: the famous smart charger.
But what does it eat and what exactly is it for?
As its name suggests, it is a device that allows you to recharge your batteries, but also to keep them in tension when they reach their full charging potential. 2 key factors to the good health of this type of device.
If we say that they are intelligent, it is because today, chargers are equipped with a microprocessor which allow them to detect the level of charge of the batteries in order to adjust the voltage of their current.
The voltage distributed to the batteries is deployed in 3 types of loads:
- Bulk charge
- Absorb charge
- Float charge
These types of charges, which could as well be called steps, are determined by the charger according to the level of charge of the battery (s). (depending on the device, only one charger can recharge several at a time).
0-80% Bulk charge:
Bulk charge that could be translated by bulk recharging or volume recharging, is the type of load that the device will select when the battery's energy reserve is less than 80% of its capacity.
The goal here is to quickly give the plus the possible plus of load to the battery to prevent it from being damaged.
80-95% - Absorb charge:
We have just reached the bulk of the load, the charger slows down the cadence and falls into "absorption" mode. This step is often considered to be the period of return to rest (cool-down) of the battery which allows it to avoid overload.
95%-100% - Float charge:
The flotation load, or maintenance charge, is the step where the charger will reduce the voltage sent to the battery as much as possible until it reaches 100%. Following the complete recharge of the battery, the charger will make sure to keep the cells active.
Since it is normal for the batteries to lose a little load even when they are inactive, the charger will ensure that the level is maintained. A convenient option for those who leave for long periods.
