New manual battery charger.

C

CraigA.

Active member
Just purchased a new charger for my E-tank. It has settings for 6, 25, and 150 amps.
Two questions.
The amp gauge goes from 0-60 amps but shows zero at all times. I Have run on the 25 amp and the 150 amp settings with no change in the reading.
Does this indicate a problem with my set up or maybe the amp gauge?
And should I use the 150 amp setting at all?

More info...The surface of the water is foamy with occasional larger bubbles.
The cables are not getting hot so I assume my connections are fine.
My anode piece is about 6 inches wide and two feet tall (top to bottom of my tank).
Brushed clean before use. And as close to the griddle as possible.
The water in the tank is not heating up. I've been told that happens at higher amperage.

maybe there's nothing to worry about but it seems like I had this good of results with my 50 year old 10 amp charger.
 
I would consider 150 amps overkill and unnecessary. 10 amps always works fine for me, but if I had 25 amps available, I would certainly use it. Seems like if connections were all good and current flowing (evidenced by a halo of fine bubbles fizzing around the object) that the clamps should be barely warm and the amp gauge reading close to the amp setting you're using.
 
I'll do some more checking but I'll say that it has done the job.
No rust on this griddle but a hard ring of burnt carbon that a week in the lye bath wouldn't touch.
Wiped right off after a little more than an hour in the E-tank.
 
Might take the two clamps from the charger and quickly brush them together and see if the amp needle jumps. If it does the gauge is working. If not probably a faulty gauge.
 
That's what I always did with my old unit but for some reason I didn't want to treat this one like that. No idea why not.
 
I thought that the newer battery chargers wouldn't work in an e-tank? I hunted up an old one a while back because what I read was that there was some safety measure on the newer chargers that rendered them useless in an e-tank. Was I getting bad info?
 
The key word (in the title) here is "manual" charger. Most chargers sold these days are automatic, and shut off when the battery reaches a charged state. Those chargers will not function with an e-tank because they will see it as a charged battery. A manual charger will work.
 
Mine is working great now.
I upgraded my anode to a sheet of stainless that goes from top to bottom and half way around the inside of the tank.
Timer goes to 135 minutes and so far that seems like enough. With a rusty 1800's bean pot in there I had a half inch of foam on top of the water with large bubbles forming from time to time. 25 amp setting is more than plenty to get the job done.
 
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