Did the battery from your camera, flashlight, children's toy or other necessary device suddenly run out? Such an eventuality cannot be foreseen. Unless you use special batteries with indicators. Or be careful not to carry a replacement with you. How to charge batteries at home? We will share with you useful instructions and recommendations.

What batteries can be charged?

Not every AA battery can be filled with energy using a homemade method. What batteries can be charged? Only finger alkaline (alkaline). But under no circumstances should you eat salt! The possibility of leakage or explosion of the product cannot be ruled out.

Method 1: Charger

We figured out whether the battery can be charged. If you constantly use such AA batteries, then the easiest way for you is to buy a special Charger for them. Such a device will help to “breathe life” into the battery without unnecessary hassle.

However, the method also has significant drawbacks. Each charge reduces battery life by one third. In addition, the procedure may cause leakage of its composition.

Method 2: Power Supply

Let's look at how to charge batteries at home. For this method, you will need a power supply and wires to connect to it. Everything is in place? Here are the instructions for action:

When receiving a rechargeable AA battery using this method, pay attention to these recommendations:

• The process will not work if you reverse the polarity when connecting the wires. Moreover, in this way you will destroy the remaining charge in the element.
• Using the described method, the battery can be charged 1-2 times.
• The method is only suitable for finger-type alkaline cells!
• The procedure can be performed in any environmental conditions (with the exception of the freezer stage).

Method 3: Heating

You can also restore the battery charge by regular heating. But be careful - this method can cause the product to explode!

The simplest thing is this:

Method 4: Volume reduction

The method is quite incomprehensible and exotic at first glance. We need to reduce the size of the battery so that the charge in it is restored on its own.

What should you do for this? Mechanically reduce and make the body volume thinner. To do this, the battery is hit against something hard - asphalt, wall, stone, brick, etc. Or they simply trample on it with thick shoes. You can try to flatten it with a handy tool - for example, pliers.

This method will charge everything AA batteries. It must be said that such a “barbaric” method helps restore the charge in some cases even to 100%!

Method 5: exposure to solutions

We continue to look at how to charge batteries at home. Within this method, two methods can be distinguished.

Instructions for the first:

How to charge batteries at home in another way:

1. Use an awl or similar tool to make holes in the battery caps next to the carbon rod. The depth of each should be within 3/4 of the height of the entire battery.
2. Pour liquid into the hole. You can take not ordinary water, but a solution of double vinegar or hydrochloric acid (no more than 8-10%).
3. To sufficiently saturate the base, you need to repeat the pouring procedure several times, maintaining time intervals so that the composition has time to be absorbed.
4. Finally, be sure to seal the holes. For these purposes, it is best to use resin or plasticine.
5. Now you can use the battery - its charge should be restored to 70-80%.

Now you know how to charge a AA alkaline battery. Choose any method convenient for you. And, most importantly, be extremely careful! Careless actions may cause the battery to explode!

Despite the fact that we are all accustomed to considering AA batteries as disposable, the question has at least once occurred to us: is it possible to charge the batteries. It is especially relevant in unforeseen situations, when we urgently need it, but sat down at the most inopportune moment. So, it turns out that you can return life to a dead one if you know some secrets.

How to properly charge batteries?

The main thing you need to know is that when you charge regular batteries, you run the risk of them exploding. It is strictly forbidden to charge salt batteries. But you can try alkaline (alkaline) ones.

Here are a few ways to charge batteries at home:

1. Through the power supply. We connect it to the network and connect the battery with the connection wires, observing the polarity. It is important to prevent the battery from heating above 40-50 degrees. After this, turn off the power supply and let the battery cool. When it becomes warm, reconnect the power supply to the electricity for about 2 minutes, then place the battery in the freezer for 10 minutes. You can use it 2-3 minutes after removing it from the cold. A battery charged in this way can last for some time.
2. By heating method. You can place the batteries in hot water for 20 seconds. This is no longer possible, as this will lead to complete failure of the battery.
3. Reduce the volume of an element. All of us, at least once in our lives, have desperately bitten and smashed a battery on the ground, thereby returning some of its charge.

How to charge rechargeable batteries?

It's a completely different matter to charge batteries that are designed for reusable use. And for their long and successful operation, you need to acquire a high-quality charger that will automatically stop the current supply when fully charged.

If the charger is not equipped with an indication function, you need to independently calculate how long to charge rechargeable batteries. This calculation is made using the formula: time = Y(mA*h)/ Z(mA)*1.4. Where 1.4 is a coefficient that is used due to the fact that not all of the current goes into the battery charge, but part of it comes out in the form of heat.

As an example, let’s look at how long it takes to charge rechargeable batteries with a capacity of 2400 mAh and a charging current of 150 mA. 2400/150*1.4=22.4 hours.

Charger car battery made using special chargers. To properly implement this process You need to know the type of car battery, its characteristics, and also choose the right type of charger.

Car battery device

Most cars have lead acid batteries. The design consists of six jars, which are placed in an insulating housing made of material. A special plastic that is resistant to sulfuric acid is selected for the housing.

The jars are connected in series. They contain positive and negative electrodes, which are designed as lead grids coated with an active mass. The electrodes are placed in an electrolyte. Over time, during operation, the plates fail, which leads to a decrease in battery capacity. The smaller the capacity, the faster the battery discharges.

Battery types

There are two types of batteries.

1. Serviced.
2. Maintenance free.

The serviceable batteries have caps on the jars that you can unscrew yourself. In such batteries it is possible to check the electrolyte level, its quality and, if necessary, it is possible to top it up. But it is not recommended to do this on your own, without experience in this procedure. All operations to check the quality of the electrolyte, its level and topping up should be entrusted to a specialist. This work is not expensive, but in some cases it can revive the battery.

The maintenance-free battery has no caps and is completely solid. Its repair and resuscitation are not possible.

Also, motorists often add distilled water to the battery, thereby diluting the electrolyte. This can be done, but only if necessary. If you unscrew the caps on the jars, the electrolyte level will be visible; if it is below the electrodes, then topping up is necessary. The level should be the same in all six jars.

Do not add water or electrolyte to the battery yourself. Before doing this, you should measure the quality of the electrolyte with a special device. But if you still decide to add water, then add only distilled water and in small portions.

Types of chargers

Based on the type of charge, devices are divided into:

1. Charger with constant voltage. In these chargers, the charging voltage is constant, and the current can be adjusted using a regulator.
2. Charger with constant current. In such devices, the current is constant, and the voltage is changed by the regulator. Using this type of charging, you can fully charge the battery, but you need to carefully monitor the process. With prolonged use, the electrolyte may boil, and this can cause the battery to short-circuit and even catch fire.
3. Automatic (combined). These modern chargers first charge the battery unchanged DC when the voltage changes, but then, with gradual charging of the battery, the voltage is fixed and the current gradually decreases. When the battery is fully charged, the device turns off automatically.

There are several ways to check the condition of the battery.

1. Using a regular tester. The tester is set to voltmeter mode and the voltage is measured with the car turned off. If this procedure is done with the engine running, you will find out whether the generator is charging. The voltage when the car is turned off should be close to 12 V.
2. Load coil. By design, it represents a resistance of 0.018 - 0.020 Ohms with a voltmeter connected in parallel. This unit is connected for 5 - 7 seconds and then readings are taken from the voltmeter.
3. According to the indicator on the battery. Some types of batteries have a hydrometric indicator, which is a small peephole. In this eye, the colors of the indicator change. If the color is green, then the battery is charged. If it is white, the battery needs to be charged, and if it is dark, the charge is at a minimum and the electrolyte may need to be topped up.

You can find out how the car works in the detailed material of our specialist.

When is battery charging necessary?

Since a car generator is not able to fully charge the battery, but only 60%, it is recommended to charge the battery at least once a season, before the cold weather. You should also monitor the readings of the hydrometric indicator, if there is one.

The first sign that the battery needs charging is when the car starts. If the starter spins quickly, then everything is fine. If it is slow and the rotation speed seems to be fading, this indicates a low charge.

What to pay attention to and precautions

Since the battery uses sulfuric acid, you need to be careful and follow safety precautions. Charging should be done in a ventilated non-residential area at an ambient temperature of +10 degrees Celsius.

The question is often asked: is it possible to charge the battery without removing it? Yes, you can. But at above-zero temperatures. If you charge at negative temperatures, the charging efficiency decreases. In addition, when the battery for a long time is in the cold, the electrolyte may freeze. That is why the battery should be brought into a warm room, where it will “defrost” and only then should charging begin.

Preparing the battery for charging, removing it from the car

Before charging, it is advisable to wipe the battery with a soda solution, this will make it possible to remove acid residues from the surface. The solution is simple to prepare: one tablespoon of baking soda per glass of water. If the solution begins to hiss when rubbed, then acid residues are present.

After removing the battery from the car, you need to unscrew the caps from the jars and put them on top. This will allow the electrolyte to evaporate when heated and not splash out of the jars. You should also check the electrolyte level.

It can be determined by eye. If all the plates are completely immersed in the electrolyte by 0.5 cm, then the level is normal. It is also worth paying attention to the levels in neighboring jars, they should be the same everywhere. If the level is less than required, you can add distilled water.

If the battery is maintenance-free (that is, there are no caps), we ignore this procedure.

Connecting the charger

When connecting the charger, observe the correct polarity. The positive terminal of the charger must be connected to the positive terminal (“+”) on the battery. To the negative (“-”) we connect exactly the negative of the charger. Reversing the polarity will result in short circuit and failure of the charger and battery. Therefore, you should be careful. The terminals are marked on both the battery and the charger.

On most chargers, the positive terminal is painted red and the negative terminal black.

Charging duration, process control

It is recommended to charge the battery with low currents; this will allow all plates to distribute the charge evenly and prevent the electrolyte from overheating. You should use no more than 1/10 of the battery capacity. It is indicated on the body and designated “A/hour”.

If the charger is automatic and does not have control levers, then it is impossible to make your own settings. Typically, such devices are equipped with indicator lamps indicating at what stage the battery is charging. And when fully charged, the green light comes on.

If the charger has a built-in ammeter, then charging will be considered completed when the device's needle reaches zero.

The time directly depends on the charging current. If the battery needs to be charged urgently, the process can be carried out using high currents, but this reduces the battery's operating reserve. If there is no rush, then charge with low currents. With such charging, the process usually does not take more than 8 hours.

Monitor the electrolyte; if it begins to boil, reduce the current.

Completion of charging, installation of the battery on the car

After charging is complete, disconnect the charging wires, screw on the caps on the jars and wipe the battery with soda solution again. When charging, droplets of electrolyte evaporate from the jars and settle on the body. If you do not remove the electrolyte from the surface, current may leak through the case and the battery will quickly discharge. This problem is very common, since 80% of car enthusiasts simply do not know this. The electrolyte on the body is not particularly visible; it lies in a thin film, but this is enough for the current to pass through the body of the device.

When connecting, pay attention to the condition of the terminals and their tight press to the battery terminals. They should not be oxidized and should fit tightly.

How to charge a car battery when there is no charge

If the charger is missing and you urgently need to charge it, you can use the following methods:

1. Using a portable jump starter. It resembles a small battery, the charge of which is enough to start the engine.
2. Assemble a homemade charger if you have the necessary elements on hand. This requires a diode bridge, a resistor, a multimeter and a light bulb, as well as some knowledge of electrical engineering and skill with a soldering iron.
3. If the battery does not show signs of life in the cold, it should be removed and placed in a warm room for 30 minutes. The electrolyte will warm up and you can start the car.
4. Use the device to charge your laptop. At the output it produces 18 V. You need to insert a light bulb from the headlight in series into the circuit, it will act as a resistor. Then the current will not exceed 2 A, but it will take about 20 hours to fully charge the battery in this way.

Conclusion

When charging the battery, use all the tips given above and do not forget about safety precautions. Protect your eyes from getting acid from the battery, wash your hands thoroughly after contact with battery caps and jars. Charging should be done in a warm room with good ventilation, away from children. Choose a charger only from trusted brands based on the characteristics of your battery, and then it will serve you faithfully for a long time.

(25 ratings, average: 4,12 out of 5)

When operating a car with working electrical equipment, problems associated with the battery of this car usually do not arise. Of course, if you do not leave powerful consumers of electricity on for a long time when the car engine is not running. But as soon as the fuse protecting the generator excitation circuit blows, the next attempt to start the car engine will not be successful. After which the car owner will be faced with a previously irrelevant question: “how to charge the battery correctly?” If a charger is available, properly charging a car battery at home is not difficult. Charging a car battery with an automatic charger is the simplest and does not require control over the process.

A car battery is used to start the car engine and as an auxiliary source of electricity when the car engine is not running.

Battery health assessment

The fact that a car's starter turns "sluggishly" is not necessarily a consequence of the car's chemical source of electricity being depleted. Therefore, before taking the car battery to charge, it is recommended to check it.

Measurements are taken when the car engine is not running. A fully charged car battery has an electrolyte density of 1.27 to 1.29 g/cm 3 and a terminal voltage of 12.3 to 12.9 V. When 70% of the charge remains in it, the density of its electrolyte will be from 1.23 to 12.9 V. 1.25 g/cm 3 and the voltage is from 12.0 to 12.1 V. A half-discharged current source will have an electrolyte density of 1.16 to 1.18 g/cm 3 and show a voltage from 11.8 to 12, 0 V. When completely discharged, it will have a density of 1.11 to 1.13 g/cm3, and the voltage will drop below 11 V.

Preparing the battery for charging

In order to properly charge the battery at home, follow this sequence:

Charge methods

There are three ways to properly charge the battery:

The first two methods of charging the battery have both their pros and cons. The first method is to connect the battery to a source of electricity with a constant current voltage of no higher than 16.2 V. The current strength when charging for 20 hours can be calculated if the battery capacity is divided by 20 hours. For example, your car has a battery with a capacity of 50 Ah, then 50 Ah / 20 h = 2.5A. With a 10-hour charge, to determine the battery charging current, the capacity is divided by 10 hours. That is, to properly charge the same battery in 10 hours, you need a charging current of 5 A. One of the most important advantages of this method is that the battery is fully charged. Disadvantages include the need to stabilize the current, significant release of gases, and heating of the electrolyte.

It is recommended to charge using this method in two stages - first make the charging current equal to 1/10 of the nominal capacity, and after the voltage of one bank reaches 2.4 V, reduce it by 2 times. The end of charging is determined by the appearance of intense gas formation - “boiling” of the electrolyte.

Alternative

The second method is to stabilize the charging voltage, while the current varies depending on the battery resistance. This technique allows you to charge the battery to 85–90%. Advantages of the method:

• quickly bringing the battery into working condition;
• Most of the energy consumed at the beginning of the process is spent on restoring the active mass of the plates.

The main disadvantage is the strong heating of the electrolyte due to the high current strength at the beginning of charging. Equalizing charging is designed to eliminate the consequences of deep discharges. It eliminates the increasing sulfation of electrodes very well.

The forced technique is used for quick recovery operating state of the source after a deep discharge. Allows the current to increase at the beginning of charging up to 70% of the rated capacity, but not longer than half an hour. Over the next 45 minutes, the charging current is reduced to half the rated capacity. Another 1.5 hours the charge is coming current equal to 30% of the rated capacity. This charging requires mandatory monitoring of the electrolyte temperature. If the temperature rises to 45 ◦ C, charging should be stopped.

I should use the forced battery charging method as rarely as possible, since it regular use significantly reduces its service life.

About battery capacity

There is an opinion among car owners that it is inadmissible to install a battery with a higher capacity on a car, since with a larger capacity the car battery allegedly will not have time to charge. However, the amount of energy spent on starting a car engine does not depend on the battery capacity. Therefore, with a working generator, it will be replenished in batteries of larger and smaller capacity at the same time. This means that installing a battery with a capacity greater than recommended in a car will not cause harm.

Charging device

The charger (charger) is used to charge electric batteries from the network alternating current. The charger consists of a voltage converter (transformer or pulse rectifier), a voltage stabilizer, a controller that regulates the charging current and sometimes an indication unit consisting of dial or LED ampere-voltmeters. Chargers differ in the type of batteries being charged, their operating voltage and capacity.

Charger designation for car batteries: X B/C, where X is the name of the charger, B is the maximum capacity of the battery being charged in Amp-hours, C is the maximum operating voltage of the battery being charged in volts. If the charger has a B value exceeding 170 Ah, then it can be used not only for charging, but also to help when starting the car engine.

It doesn’t matter how the battery died: whether you forgot to turn off the lights, were too carried away listening to music in the parking lot, or went on vacation for the whole summer. To charge the battery, you need to have an understanding of the theory and follow a few simple rules.

A little theory

Cars mostly use lead-acid batteries (WET). Their operating principle is based on the chemical reaction of lead plates with an electrolyte, which results in the generation of electricity. Over time, sulfation and destruction of the plates inevitably occur, as well as boiling away of the electrolyte, which reduces the capacity of the battery. And the battery can run out at the most inopportune moment.

How to check the battery

The easiest way is to use the built-in charge indicator, which is found on most batteries. This is the same “light bulb”, which in reality is not a light bulb at all, but a green float ball moving in a transparent flask. When the level and density of the electrolyte is sufficient, the ball rises and we see a green indicator. If the float is not visible, you need to check the electrolyte and recharge the battery.

Another option is a multimeter. With its help, you can measure the voltage at the terminals and understand whether the battery is discharged or not. A fully charged battery should have 12.6 V or more. A voltage of 12.42 V corresponds to 80% charge, 12.2 V - 60%, 11.9 V - 40%, 11.58 V - 20%, 10.5 V - 0%.

The most reliable way is to check with a load fork. It can show the voltage drop under load, that is, the real charge level and, accordingly, the capacity. Any auto electrician or a store that sells batteries has such a device. And most likely they won’t even take money from you for this check.

Having determined that the battery is valid, you can start charging, but first you need to prepare.

1. It is advisable to remove the battery from the car. If you don’t have time for this, disconnect it from the on-board network by disconnecting the negative wire.
2. After this, you need to clean the terminals from grease and oxide for good contact.
3. It doesn’t hurt to wipe the surface of the battery with a dry cloth, or better yet, one moistened with a 10% solution of ammonia or soda ash.
4. Also, do not forget to unscrew the plugs on each of the battery cans or remove the plug to ensure the free release of electrolyte vapors and to prevent excess pressure inside.
5. If the electrolyte level in any of the jars is insufficient, you need to add distilled water so that it completely covers the plates.

The charging principle itself is simple: you just need to connect the wires from the charger to the battery terminals in accordance with the polarity and plug the plug into the socket. However, first you need to decide on the charging method. There are two main methods: constant current charging and constant voltage charging.

The first is more effective, but takes place in several stages and requires control. The second is simpler, but only charges the battery up to 80%.

There is also a so-called combined method, in which participation on the part of the car owner is minimized. The disadvantage of this method is the need for a special charger with a fairly high cost.

DC charging

1. We set the current to 10% of the nominal capacity of the battery and charge until the voltage at the battery terminals rises to 14.3-14.4 V. For example, a battery with a capacity of 60 Ah should be charged with a current of no more than 6 A.
2. Next, we reduce the current by half (to 3 A) to reduce the intensity of boiling, and continue charging.
3. As soon as the voltage rises to 15 V, you need to halve the current again and charge the battery until the voltage and current values ​​stop changing.

Constant voltage charging

Everything is much simpler here. You just need to set the voltage within 14.4–14.5 V and wait. Unlike the first method, with which you can fully charge the battery in a few hours (about 10), constant voltage charging lasts about a day and allows you to replenish the battery capacity only up to 80%.

Precautionary measures

Since charging a battery is a chemical process that releases an explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, you need to be very careful and follow the rules:

1. Charge the battery in a well-ventilated area.
2. Do not use open flames or carry out any work that produces sparks.
3. If it is not possible to remove the battery from the car, disconnect the negative cable, or better yet, both.