I need to charge a 12V, 18Ah, AGM battery (WKA12-18NB). I have a copy of the data sheet but cannot find one online. All the data sheet says about charging is:
Recommended Charging:
Float use 2.28V/Cell, <3.0A
Cycle use 2.45V/Cell, <5.0A
I plan to use it to run some LED lights that draw about 2.1 Amps @ 12V. So I figure at 6 cells the cycle use charge at 2.45 x 6 cells = 14.7V.
My understanding is that a 3 stage charge scheme is best for SLA/AGM batteries. Where in the bulk charge stage you bring the battery up to the 14.7V for a certain amount of time (preferably until charge current drops below a certain amount if you know the charge current). Next you hold the battery at a lower float voltage until it's ready for use.
I'm using a 60 watt solar panel to charge it. I don't have a current sensing circuit available for this project and planned on just holding the battery at the high voltage for a certain amount of time (5-10 minutes?).
My question is, why isn't the charge current provided? How long should I keep the battery at the 14.7 voltage? If I knew the charge current to look for I could test using the expected charge amperage from the panel and get a pretty good idea of how many minutes that might take. Thanks!
Recommended Charging:
Float use 2.28V/Cell, <3.0A
Cycle use 2.45V/Cell, <5.0A
I plan to use it to run some LED lights that draw about 2.1 Amps @ 12V. So I figure at 6 cells the cycle use charge at 2.45 x 6 cells = 14.7V.
My understanding is that a 3 stage charge scheme is best for SLA/AGM batteries. Where in the bulk charge stage you bring the battery up to the 14.7V for a certain amount of time (preferably until charge current drops below a certain amount if you know the charge current). Next you hold the battery at a lower float voltage until it's ready for use.
I'm using a 60 watt solar panel to charge it. I don't have a current sensing circuit available for this project and planned on just holding the battery at the high voltage for a certain amount of time (5-10 minutes?).
My question is, why isn't the charge current provided? How long should I keep the battery at the 14.7 voltage? If I knew the charge current to look for I could test using the expected charge amperage from the panel and get a pretty good idea of how many minutes that might take. Thanks!