Trickle or Fast

[mikie333]

for the pelican big ed, other than the speed of charging, is there a major difference between the fast and trickle charger? doese either one increase overall battery life (not just instant use time, but its life cycle)...

thanks!!!

[mcaldwell]

All fast chargers heat the battery, and that is generally bad. A trickle charger does not generate the same type of heat, but has the obvious disadvantage of long recharge times.

You will likely see more long-term battery life with the trickle charger, but at the end of the day, it might not be more than a few dozen cycles, or 5-10% of the batteries recharge capacity. Not always enough to justify the downsides.

And IMHO, the most important thing is to splurge for a "smart" charger. The biggest killer of most batteries is overcharging. The best smart chargers either shut off when topped off and then monitor the battery in case it's voltage drops over time, or fast charge to 90%, then trickle charge to finish and maintain.

[mikie333]

the most important thing is to splurge for a "smart" charger..

maybe i am just confused, but does the trickle or fast have a 'smart' charge, or isit something else? thanks!!!

[mcaldwell]

They are not necessarily connected. Smart charger just means that the charger can measure the output voltage of the battery and react accordingly. Most commonly this means to turn itself off when finished so you don't overcharge and burn out your battery.

You can have dumb trickle chargers, and dumb fast chargers too. A dumb fast charger is the worst for items that are seldom used, as it heats and heats and heats until your batteries are slowly destroyed.

Any smart charger is going to give you just about the best performance regardless of whether or not it trickles or fast charges.

[mcaldwell]

And FYI, the Big Ed fast charger that I have is a smart charger/monitor.

[mikie333]

but is the bid ed trickle charger have a smart charge in it?

[mcaldwell]

but is the bid ed trickle charger have a smart charge in it?

I have not seen the trickle charger yet, but does it have a two-stage LED charge indicator light on the base? Red or yellow when charging, which turns green when done? If so, yes it must be a smart charger.

[ch6154]

i bought a standard rate charger for my kenwood radio and when it is charging there is a red light on and when i gets done the light goes off. Does this mean that it is like the smart charger for the flashlights your talking about

[traumawave]

I have a big ed rechargable. It is the trickle charge and according to the instructions you can leave the light in the charger and it will not harm the battery/light. You could say that it is a smart charger. The fast chargers will provide a charge in about 3 hours and I believe they then drop back to a trickle charge.

By the way I'm happy to say that I had a problem with my first big ed. The battery would only last about 25 minutes. I contacted pelican and they requested I ship it in. I had a new light and charger in 5 days. No questions asked. Excellent customer service is always worth the extra money.