Charging an Odyssey battery

[hcccs]

When charging an Odyssey battery which is an AGM type battery it's important to use a charger for that type of battery, they say. OK. I have one so that's not a problem. When that battery is installed in an airplane it's being charged by the alternator and relay. Does that combination charge the battery in the same way as the AGM charger? The alternator doesn't know it's charging an AGM battery so how does it work?

 

[BillL]

Simply

When charging an Odyssey battery which is an AGM type battery it's important to use a charger for that type of battery, they say. OK. I have one so that's not a problem. When that battery is installed in an airplane it's being charged by the alternator and relay. Does that combination charge the battery in the same way as the AGM charger? The alternator doesn't know it's charging an AGM battery so how does it work?

The voltage and amps are managed differently when the Odyssey charger is attached. To get the amps, chargers may run up to 17 volts. The alternator is a dumb device made to operate at "float" voltage and operate all the system loads.

 

[BobTurner]

The voltage and amps are managed differently when the Odyssey charger is attached. To get the amps, chargers may run up to 17 volts. The alternator is a dumb device made to operate at "float" voltage and operate all the system loads.

I think you answered the question correctly, except my Odyssey-approved charger is limited to 15, not 17, volts, iaw Odyssey’s instructions iirc.

 

[mike newall]

The alternator sends out around 14, to 14.5v. They can also chuck out a lot of amps which the PC-680 likes.

A normal battery charger puts out 2 - 3 amps which is where they fall down when charging AGM batteries.

The Optimate chargers designed for AGM batteries put out 10 amps.

In a water analogy, electrical current (amps) is equivalent to the flow rate or amount of water flowing through the hose.

In a water analogy, voltage is equivalent to water pressure. Pressure is the force that moves the water through the hose

 

[rowsley]

I set my voltage regulator to 14.7 volts which is what the constant voltage portion of the charge program uses on the Odyssey charger.

Odyssey told me that this is the correct voltage for best battery performance and the manufacturers for the using units (Garmin, B&C, FlyLED, etc.) said this is fine.

When I was set at 14.2 V, the battery always showed partially charged when re-connected to the Odyssey charger.

 

[CATPart]

I have been using the same cheap 3 amp charger from walmart, not a special AGM charger, on all of my odyssey batteries, and one has lasted 9 years so far. I would conclude that a regular charger is just fine.

 

[Ruready]

I have been using the same cheap 3 amp charger from walmart, not a special AGM charger, on all of my odyssey batteries, and one has lasted 9 years so far. I would conclude that a regular charger is just fine.

Exactly like a regular denso alternator set at 14.2 volts has charged my Mighty Max AGM battery for 7 years and never put a battery charger on it. The denso keeps it charged fine