Charging ODYSSEY® batteries
A critical factor in the proper use of a rechargeable battery is charging. Inadequate or improper charging is a common cause of premature failure of rechargeable lead acid batteries.
To ensure proper charging of your premium ODYSSEY® battery, EnerSys has developed a special charge algorithm that is designed to rapidly and safely charge these batteries. Called the IUU profile (a constant current mode followed by two stages of constant voltage charge), the following diagram shows it in a graphical format. No manual intervention is necessary with chargers having this profile.
Idealized Schematic of IUU Profile at 25ºC (77ºF)
When using IUU profile chargers, we suggest the following charger ratings to get peak performance from your ODYSSEY® battery. Note charger current ratings – the current in the bulk charge mode has to be 0.4C10 or more.
As an alternative, small, portable automotive and powersport chargers may be used to charge your ODYSSEY® battery. These chargers are essentially designed to bring a discharged battery to a state of charge (SOC) that is high enough to crank an engine. Once this is successfully accomplished the engine alternator should fully charge the battery. It is important to keep this design philosophy in mind when using this type of charger.
There is another class of chargers that is designed specifically to maintain the battery in a high state of charge. Chargers such as the ¾ amp or 1¼ amp Battery Tender® from Deltran are not capable of charging a deeply discharged ODYSSEY® battery. This is because these chargers have very low power handling capability. They should only be used either to continuously compensate for parasitic losses or to maintain a trickle charge on a stored battery. It is very important, therefore, to ensure that the ODYSSEY® battery is fully charged before this type of charger is connected to it.
(A) Selecting the right charger for your battery
Although chargers using the IUU profile are recommended for use with ODYSSEY® batteries, small, portable automotive chargers can also be used, as long as certain suitability criteria are met. Qualifying these chargers for your ODYSSEY® battery is a simple two-step process.
Step 1 Charger output voltage
Determining the charger output voltage is the most important step in the charger qualification process. If the voltage output from the charger is less than 14.2V or more than 15V for a 12V battery do not use the charger. For 24V battery systems the charger output voltage should be between 28.4V and 30V. If the charger output voltage falls within these voltage limits when the battery approaches a fully charged state, proceed to Step 2; otherwise pick another charger.
Step 2 Charger type — automatic or manual
The two broad types of small, portable chargers available today are classified as either automatic or manual. Automatic chargers can be further classified as those that charge the battery up to a certain voltage and then shut off and those that charge the battery up to a certain voltage and then switch to a lower float (trickle) voltage.
An example of the first type of automatic charger is one that charges a battery up to 14.7V, then immediately shuts off. An example of the second type of automatic charger would bring the battery up to 14.7V then switch to a float (trickle) voltage of 13.6V; it will stay at that level indefinitely. The second type of automatic charger is preferred as the first type of charger is likely to undercharge the battery.
A manual charger typically puts out a single voltage or current level continuously and has to be manually switched off to prevent battery overcharge. Should you choose to use a manual charger with your ODYSSEY® battery, do not exceed charge times suggested in Table III below.
(B) Selecting battery type on your charger output
While it is not possible to cover every type of battery charger available today in a product guide such as this, this section will try to give the ODYSSEY® battery user some general charger usage guidelines to follow, after the charger has been qualified for use with this battery.
In general, do not use either the gel cell or maintenance free setting, if provided on your charger. Choose the deep cycle or AGM option, should there be one on your charger. Table III below provides suggestions on charge times based on charger currents. For maximum life from your ODYSSEY® battery, after completing the charge time in Table III, we recommend that you switch your charger to the 2A trickle charge position and leave the battery connected to the charger for an additional six to eight hours.
Table III: Suggested charge times for ODYSSEY® batteries
| Model | Charge time for 100% discharged battery 10A charger 20A charger | |
|---|---|---|
| PC 535 | 1½ hr. | 45 min. |
| PC 545 | 1½ hr. | 45 min. |
| PC 625 | 2 hr. | 1 hr. |
| PC 680 | 2 hr. | 1 hr. |
| PC 925 | 2½ hr. | 1¼ hr. |
| PC 1200 | 4 hr. | 2 hr. |
| PC 1700 | 7 hr. | 3½ hr. |
Note that the charge times recommended in Table III are based on an assumption that the ODYSSEY® battery is fully discharged and these charge times will only bring the battery to a 90% state of charge. If the battery is only partially discharged the charge times should be appropriately reduced. The graph on page 16, showing open circuit voltage and state of charge (SOC) should be used to determine the SOC of your battery. The battery should, however be trickle charged (2A setting) after high rate charging regardless of its initial SOC.
Rapid charging of ODYSSEY® batteries
All ODYSSEY® batteries can be quick charged. The graph below shows its exceptional fast charge characteristics when charged at a constant 14.7V, at three levels of inrush current. These current levels are similar to the output currents of
modern automotive alternators. Table IV and the following graph illustrate the capacity returned as a function of the magnitude of the inrush6 current.
Standard IC engine alternators with an output voltage of 14.2V can also charge these batteries. In these cases also no limit is required on the inrush current. However, since the alternator voltage is only 14.2V instead of 14.7V the charge times will be longer than those shown in Table IV.
6 The magnitude of the inrush is defined in terms of the rated capacity (C10) of the battery. Thus, a 0.8C10 inrush implies a current that is 80% of the rated capacity, or 80A for a 100Ah battery. Similarly, a 1.6C10 inrush on a 100Ah battery means that the charge current inrush is 160A (1.6 X 100).
Table IV
| Capacity returned 60% 80% | Inrush current magnitude 0.8C10 1.6C10 3.1C10 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 44 min. 57 min. | 20 min. 28 min. | 10 min. 14 min. | |
| 100% | 90 min. | 50 min. | 30 min. |
Table IV shows that with a 0.8C10 inrush current, a 100% discharged battery can have 80% of its capacity returned in 57 minutes; doubling the inrush to 1.6C10 cuts the time taken to reach 80% capacity to only 28 minutes.