Specifications

Australia New Zealand
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Fast or Rapid Charger
As the name suggests this type of charger is quicker than the standard trickle charger. Rapid chargers work by
providing a high rate of constant energy into the battery until a reference voltage is reached. Although the green
ready LED illuminates the battery is usually only charged to 80% of its capacity. The charge is then dropped to a
trickle rate that is approximately one tenth of the battery capacity. It is then up to the user to guess when the
battery is charged to full capacity.
Many manufacturers stipulate that the battery should be left on the charger for between 1 and 2 hours after the
green light comes on. With no termination the rapid charger has a tendency to quickly overcharge and damage
batteries.
Benefits
Drawbacks
 Shorter charge times
 Can be multi-chemistry
 Poor battery life
 Inaccurate charge indication
 No conditioning process
 Long formation times
 Requires user discipline
 Detrimental to the battery
Charge profile for rapid charger showing high current rate then trickle charge at 90%