>Lee, I can't begin tell you how great a help this is to me. Below you >wrote "50v on a 48v battery is 2.08v per cell. That's too low to ever >reach full charge. You could use such a voltage for charging, as long as >you connect a higher-voltage low-current charger to finish up the charge >cycle." I located a Lorain 55V rectifier that has 30 amp output; this is >far lower current than what the manufacturer calls for (it's only about >1/3 to 1/4) but if I'm using *after* charging as far as I can go with >50V (or whatever I can wring out) from the DC generator -- which would >be operating at about 80 amps -- do you think this rectifier might do >the trick? Thanks again,
55V is ok as a float voltage for standby usage. For cyclic use you need to get the voltage up to about 58 to 59V (62V for equalization). Note: Standby usage is normally considered once a month or less. The current at terminal voltage (end of charge) is usually about 1 to 2% of the batteries rated capacity. If the current ends up being significantly lower than the rectifier can source, then the rectifiers voltage 'might' climb some (depends on how well regulated it is). This 'might' be enough for a finish charge under cyclic use. Now for the good news, the voltage of DC power supplies can often be adjust up slightly to overcome wiring losses, it's quite possible that this Lorain rectifier can be adjusted up the 3 or 4 volts needed for cyclic use.
