[Fork]

There's a lot of talk on this board about adding SLA power to gear, but not a lot about how to do it.  Hopefully Vinny will eventually market his SMART technology as a separate module or another company will offer a similar product, but until then, it looks like it's DIY.

For those of you who already have yours set up, give some details about where you got your components and what the setup looks like.



Any suggestions for making the charging and disconnecting more convenient?


How about how to choose the right battery size?  My component uses an adapter with the specs below, so which specs should you be mindful of when using SLA?

Power Adapter - 12-14V, 25W, 100-240VAC worldwide voltages (another adapter is 40w)


Here's a link to a DIY charging circuit:
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/BatteryCharger-12vSLA/BatteryCharger-12vSLA.html

[JDUBS]

Might want to post this in the Lab as its not related to Red Wine Audio.

-Jim

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Fork,

I have moved this topic to the lab forum because this is probably the best place for discussion on DIY'ing (moderators, if this is not the correct place for this post, please move it to a circle that best fits the topic).

Thank you for your understanding,

Vinnie

[Gordy]

Any suggestions for making the charging and disconnecting more convenient?

Yes!  Don't.  Instead, use a dpdt toggle switch to flip between charging and power to component.  The NKK switch is an excellent choice...   link here

   sorry about the picture size.

[SET Man]

   sorry about the picture size.

Hey!

   Gordy, is the picture show the actual size of the toggle switch?

Take care,
Buddy

[tanchiro58]

For the Non-electronic skill's people (please do not be offensive) I recommend this battery charger (but it is only for 12VDC!!!) which is best match for any kinds of battery.

Here is the link:

http://www.autopn.com/products/20384_battery_sentinel_car_battery_automatic_charger.html

[Gordy]

   Gordy, is the picture show the actual size of the toggle switch?

Almost Buddy!  They do require the new .75" quik connects.... 

[Fork]

Thank you everyone for the tips.

Can someone suggest how I can tell from the power specs on the component which size battery to go with?

[whubbard]

From the specs, 12v.

[JoshK]

The amp hour spec of a battery is for telling how long it'll last.  I looked it up once on google, but I don't remember now.  9AH meant something like it will provide an amp at ~12V for 9 hours.  Somehow that doesn't seem quite right, but it was like that.

[whubbard]

Amp Hours

The Amp Hour rating tells you how much amperage is available when discharged evenly over a 20 hour period. The amp hour rating is cumulative, so in order to know how many constant amps the battery will output for 20 hours, you have to divide the amp hour rating by 20. Example: If a battery has an amp hour rating of 75, dividing by 20 = 3.75. Such a battery can carry a 3.75 amp load for 20 hours before dropping to 10.5 volts. (10.5 volts is the fully discharged level, at which point the battery needs to be recharged.) A battery with an amp hour rating of 55 will carry a 2.75 amp load for 20 hours before dropping to 10.5 volts.

http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/amp_hours.asp

-West

[Gordy]

10.5 volts is the fully discharged level, at which point the battery needs to be recharged.

This is true of the larger car type batteries, not so for the smaller SLA's though.  An SLA's ability to maintain a charge will be seriously affected once the voltage is allowed to drop below 12v.   Also, with SLA's, it's very important to keep them "topped up", fully charging them after every use.  Only using them in their "power band" of ~13.4v to 12v and always recharging them immediately after use will extend their useful life span to 2+ years.  I have three year old batteries that still behave virtually new!