Portable 12V Battery question (Recharge)

[robert n]

I have one of those small 12 rechargeable battery (approx size of a brick) that is used to run my UV Lamp. I have the AC charge adapter (that came with the battery) to recharge the battery when at home and it has the standard 12V cigarette plug that goes into the socket on the battery. My question: Can I wire up a "male to male cable" with 12V cigarette plug end(s), plug it into the car's 12V outlets and recharge my battery while I am driving from job to job? Is there some inverter I need to install to allow the voltage to go only one way (away from the car's battery to my little battery).

Anyone know the answer or if this is going to be a safety issue?

[Mr Bill]

I recharge my Deltakits WSR battery using a car battery charger. It has a cigarette lighter type plug. Never had any problems.
I only recharge it about every 10 days.

[Brent Deines]

Battery manufacturers do not recommend charging your portable battery with a car battery because the amps can fluctuate greatly, possibly causing damage to your portable battery. It's much safer to hook up a power inverter to your car battery and plug an appropriate battery charger into that.

[Mr Bill]

Battery manufacturers do not recommend charging your portable battery with a car battery because the amps can fluctuate greatly, possibly causing damage to your portable battery. It's much safer to hook up a power inverter to your car battery and plug an appropriate battery charger into that.

Ok Thanks.

[the big welshman]

Hi there, I use a 12 volt battery in my VP5000 machine I use a trickle charger 12volt--6volt purchased from sears to charge up my battery some times ,you must run the battery down flat before charging??

[Mr Bill]

Hi there, I use a 12 volt battery in my VP5000 machine I use a trickle charger 12volt--6volt purchased from sears to charge up my battery some times ,you must run the battery down flat before charging??

Thats exactly what I was using, but Brent says "no can do ".
I quit using that method.

[Brent Deines]

No, you misunderstood me. I was answering the original question about charging a portable battery from a car battery. Charging directly from a car battery to a smaller battery such as a motorcycle battery can cause damage and is not recommended by manufacturers. Chargers are fine as long as you get a good one. Keeping your batteries on a smart charger whenever not in use will greatly extend their usable life. If you don't have a smart charger you should only leave the battery connected to the charger until it has a full charge and then remove it.

Some of the new smart chargers actually have a discharge cycle so you don't have to worry about letting the battery completely discharge before charging. Takes all the guess work out of it.

[Mr Bill]

No, you misunderstood me. I was answering the original question about charging a portable battery from a car battery. Charging directly from a car battery to a smaller battery such as a motorcycle battery can cause damage and is not recommended by manufacturers. Chargers are fine as long as you get a good one. Keeping your batteries on a smart charger whenever not in use will greatly extend their usable life. If you don't have a smart charger you should only leave the battery connected to the charger until it has a full charge and then remove it.

Some of the new smart chargers actually have a discharge cycle so you don't have to worry about letting the battery completely discharge before charging. Takes all the guess work out of it.

Ok . Thank you.

[the big welshman]

With ref to the above ,I also use a cable male/female outlet from the cig lighter or electrical out let in the vehicle to my vp5000 when vacuming the repair This is also a good way of charging the battery???????????

[Brent Deines]

With ref to the above ,I also use a cable male/female outlet from the cig lighter or electrical out let in the vehicle to my vp5000 when vacuming the repair This is also a good way of charging the battery???????????

I'm really not sure if you are asking a question or making a statement. If you want to get optimal battery life and performance you need to know how to properly maintain your battery, and how to do that depends on the size and type of battery you have. Keep in mind that the portable batteries Delta Kits and other vendors sell for windshield repair are smaller than the average motorcycle battery so you have to be even more careful about proper charging procedures. In my opinion a smart charger is the only way to go.

The cheapest trickle chargers will work, but can still damage your battery if you leave them plugged in for longer than a few hours, and more powerful battery chargers can cause even more damage. Charging faster than 2.02.5 amps causes overheating. You may have seen a battery case that is warped or melted due to overheating. Charging at too high of a rate can also cause internal corrosion which can permanently short out the battery. Too high of a charging rate can also cause a battery to lose a charge quickly because the rapid transformation of lead sulfate may actually trap sulfate under a surface coating of rejuvenated lead, producing a battery that can test okay but discharge very quickly. Small batteries may only last a year or two when properly maintained, but may only last a few months if charged at too high of a rate.

A good smart charger is inexpensive and produces a low output of around 1.2 amps or less. The smart chargers we use incorporate a solid state feedback circuit that is fully automatic. At the end of the regular charger cycle, the charger automatically switches its output voltage to a safe storage, or float level, that eliminates the need to constantly check the condition of the battery. These chargers use algorithms suitable for all lead-acid, flooded or sealed maintenance free batteries (AGM and gel cell). They use a 4-step charging program (Initialization, Bulk Charge, Absorption Mode, Float Mode), and automatically switch to float voltage after fully charging the battery. If the battery voltage drops too far under load, full charger output power resumes. Leave them plugged in whenever your battery is not in use for best battery performance and life.

Can you charge a small 12v battery from a car battery? If you buy your batteries from Delta Kits, please do not! If you buy your batteries from someone else you can do whatever you want, but at best you will reduce the life of your battery. The vast majority of warranty issues we have with batteries is because of improper storage and charging.








They often incorporate a solid-state feedback circuit that will taper the charge down to even lower levels as the battery voltage comes back up, preventing overcharging.

Both the taper-rate and trickle charger supply only a fixed voltage. However, the lead-antimony battery should be charged at 1415 volts, but the lead-calcium type needs l516 volts to reach full charge. What's the voltage of your charger? Does it match your battery type?

Constant current chargers like the Optimate or Battery Tender brands are called smart chargers because they can vary the charging voltage to keep current constant and charge a battery much more quickly. We'll cover their other advantages in a future article."

You can read the full article here. http://www.mcnews.com/mcnews/articles/battery.htm