MicroPower MTM - Charging; Connecting a Battery; Disconnecting a Battery; Display and Keyboard

8 (30)
Document no.
99-99-111
Version
6
Date
2003-10-16
Sign.
ToNo
2.3 Solution to sulphation
If a battery is subject to repeated incomplete charges, the lead sulphate crystals
remaining will gradually form larger crystals, which are more difficult to dissolve and
do not have time to dissolve during normal charging.
Demands for faster charging, lower energy consumption, reduced water usage and gas
production also enhance the risk of sulphation.
A heavily sulphated battery is best charged using a low average current over a longer
time. The easiest, most common method is to charge at a current of approx. 0.5-1% of
the battery’s rated capacity for two days up to several weeks, depending on the degree of
sulphation.
Resetting trickle charging on an MTM can allow good results to be attained without you
having to invest in new equipment. This is what you have to do:
Select charge curve 10-5. Reset voltage U3 to 2.8 V/c. Set current I3 to 2%. Leave these
settings as they are for up to four weeks if you suspect heavy sulphation. Measure the
density at regular intervals after full charging. You can continue for as long as the
density goes on increasing in any of the cells. Once the cells are equalised or the density
is no longer falling, return voltage U3 and current I3 to their normal values.
2.4 Delayed start
To be able to use off-peak electricity, the real-time clock in the MTM can be used to
start charging at a time when power is cheap.
If a battery is connected for charging between 13:00 and 23:59, charging will commence
only at the time programmed in “Delayed charging”. If a battery is connected for
charging between 00:00 and 12:59, charging will commence immediately, irrespective
of “Delayed charging”. This permits lunchtime charging.
The delay is interrupted and charging begins immediately if any of the keys 0-9 is
depressed. The * and # keys have no effect on the function for permitting data to be
read.
Check that the available charging time is sufficient to charge the battery fully.
If a start time of 0 is programmed, this function is terminated.
2.5 Extra charging
One effective way of rectifying problems with batteries suffering from “that Monday
afternoon feeling” is to carry out extra charging, beginning approx. 2 hours before the
battery is used.
The time and day are programmed in the “Extra charging” menu displays.
If a start time of 0 is programmed, this function is terminated.