240V battery charger recommendations

[greg]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a 240V battery charger suitable for the Concorde batteries? My battery has discharged to about 22V due to lockdowns, winter, etc.

The BatteryMinder recommended by Concorde is only available in a 120V input version, and Concorde hasn't responded to my emails asking about alternatives. I've found a locally-available charger/maintainer, but the output voltages aren't quite the same as Concorde specifies in its documentation, so I'm a bit reluctant.

I guess this is mainly directed at the Europeans on the forum, but has anyone found a charger that works on 220/240V?

[Steve]

Aren't there some available 240 to 120 volt converters for travel? This would also solve the issue of the US - standard plug on the BatteryMinder. Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Voltage- ... 266&sr=8-3

[rwtucker]

I agree with Steve. You want the precise voltages designed for the Concorde battery. Within a certain range, the BatteryMinder is insensitive to input voltage and the current is low. Any converter that gets you between 108 and 130 volts input under load will work.

[rwtucker]

To update my comment above. I looked at my Concorde BatteryMinder specs and it accepts an input of from 90 to 140 VAC at a frequency ranging from 47 to 63 Hz. This means that you don't need to worry about the frequency difference. This said. something about the above product on Amazon bothers me. They are careful not to say that it is outputting AC, which you absolutely need. I would look for a transformer-based voltage step-down. I assume you are 220/240 VAC 50 Hz. If so, a simple 2:1 step-down transformer (only a few bucks) will do the job. It is going to draw less than one amp so pick a small unit that has that has a ~150 watt capacity to be safe. This one is overkill but gives an idea of the goal.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simran-THG-3 ... gn_id=9383

[Charles]

I would like to add that the BatteryMinder has worked miracles for us. It returned a 5-year old dying battery to like new condition, and the battery is now 10 years old and still going strong. One of the best investments we made.

[Rich]

They are careful not to say that it is outputting AC, which you absolutely need.

It does put out AC. Look at the printing on the side of the device: 110-120 VAC.

[greg]

Thanks for the comments. My concern with that Amazon converter is the "hairdryer only" limitation, which implies it needs a particular load factor. Regardless, I can get step down transformers locally that would do the job (though not at that price!).

At the time I was looking, the BatteryMinder was pretty much out of stock, and the landed cost plus transformer was going to be about the same as a new battery. In the end, since the open circuit voltage of the battery was still well above 24V, I got a constant voltage supply and followed the Concorde instructions to charge it.

Should I ever get access to a hangar, where I could use the maintenance functions, I'll be getting a BatteryMinder. But for a (hopefully) one-off charge, it's an overkill.

But I am disappointed that Concorde didn't reply to my email. The question was simple, and they should already know the answer (even if it is "we don't recommend anything else"). I can't be the first person outside North America to need to charge a battery...

[Rich]

Ah, I see. The admonition is against low wattage (25W inscribed on the side.). Of course most things that low, like power supplied for PCs, Macs, iPhone, other cellphones and even all-purpose ones like Anker natively handle both voltage and frequency levels, requiring only a simple adapter plug. It's curious the BatteryMinder folks didn't decide they need that capability.