I just got ahold of a like new Schumacher speed charge ssc-1500A charger, almost new for a great price, the problem is Odyssey says any voltage over 15 volts charging will open the emergency vents on the battery and ruin it. This charger puts out around 16 volts charging, If you've ever looked at any of the chargers on Odysseys approved list, you'll see they are extremely expensive, this is a great charger, I was just wondering if anyone has ever figured out a way to adjust charging voltage on one of these, it's a microprocessor controlled charger, but I figured there has to be a potentiometer or something to initially set the voltage output. If anyone has ever hacked the board on one of these let me know.
I just had an Odyssey battery give up and leak after my one wire alternator started dumping 16+ volts in. They replaced the battery but told me to buy an Odyssey approved charger strictly for AGM batteries off their list. Found one at Summit Racing for $69 and it works well. As stated above most high end chargers have the ability to be dialed down on charging amps.
I just bought a Schumacher 75/20/10/2 AMP charger for my optomia battery (Gel Cell) the unit has a specific setting for the charging of gel cell battery. It brough mine up to full charge in three hours . Picked it up at AutoZone for 79.99
I have had an Odyssey battery for about 3 or 4 years.I have been using a plain ole battery charger from Sears that I bought years ago for 40 bucks.I put it on a 2 or 6 amp setting and have had 0 problems with it. I keep the Odyssey on a trickle charger when not in use to keep it up.When I bought the battery, I received no information about a special charger needed so I have not treated it any different from the acid cell batteries I have.This is the first I have heard about using an "approved" charger.
If you don't have a AGM style charger, an alternative method is to use jumper cables and hook the AGM battery and a conventional acid battery together and then hook your charger on it's slowest amp charge, 2-5 amps, works well and will bring the battery closer to its intended rating as opposed to the conventional charger. We do it all the time, untill the old unit breaks anyways.........
I've heard this elsewhere. It will even 'bring back' a stone dead AGM battery if you charge it in parallel with a conventional battery.
the problem on the AGM batteries is you can dump all the amps into them that the charger will put out, but if the charging voltage is too high the emergency vent will open and this ruins the battery. It's a strange quirk of this brand battery. thats probably the same one i've got, I paid 35 bucks for it nearly new from ebay, still in the box, books, papers, not a mark on it, still had the tie wraps on the cords. box was beat up a bit. all the charging information is on their site FAQ page, they are really adamant about the charging voltage going above 15. a 2 amp charger will trickle charge it, but it can't bring it back from dead. they will come back 100 percent from totally dead, but they need the proper charger to do so, a regular charger will only bring it back about 80-90 percent. Lots of times a regular charger won't charge one totally dead, the charger thinks the battery has a short because the voltage is so low, there's nothing really wrong with it, they have a much lower threshold voltage then a standard battery. the charger sees that voltage and says, there's something wrong with this battery and shuts off. the trick with the regular battery in parallel will solve this problem. you charge it until the voltage is closer to a normal battery then finish charging it by itself. I'm not sure of the mechanics but anything above 15 volts causes the emergency vents to open and out gas and the battery is ruined. I'm hoping there is a way to internally adjust the voltage on this charger
The Jalopy Journal
