maintain a battery with a battery

[zingarofunkart]

Duracell DRPP600 Powerpack 600 Jump Starter and Emergency Power Source  is the battery I want to use

SCHUMACHER #1562A 6/12 VOLT SPEED CHARGER/MAINTAINER #1562A   Iwant to connect to the pp. and I want to maintain a battery in a hybrid car.

Im wondering if I should hook it up to an off on timer or would that require more resources than im already using.

Any idea of how long it would work before discharging the duracel PP

thx zingaro

[dnix71]

The jumpstarter you have has a 12v 26ah sealed battery. That size is about 3/4 of a UB1, the standard battery in an electric wheelchair (wheelchairs use 2 UB1's in series to make 24v).

You shouldn't connect the sealed battery to an automobile power port. The voltage may get too high when the car is running and dry out the sealed battery. If you just want to carry it around as a jumpstart spare, plug it in at home once a week overnight.

[zingarofunkart]

Let me restate my problem. I want to maintain the battery in my hybrid car with a SCHUMACHER #1562A 6/12 VOLT SPEED CHARGER/MAINTAINER #1562A.
I do not have a source of power so I want to run the Schumacher with the  Duracell 600 powerpack.
How long will it last?
Will it last longer if I was to run the Schumacher on a timer ( the typical on off light timer) or will this use more of the powerpack resources than the actual Schumacher running full time?
thanks again ...z

[dnix71]

What hybrid car do you own? Is this the main pack or a separate battery for starting the car? If the car is to be left unused for a long time, the starter battery could be maintained with a float charger. A fast charger like the Shumaker isn't made to do that. It's made to recharge a dead battery.

If you do not have a source of mains power, then there are solar panels like this one made by Shumaker
http://www.tooltopia.com/schumacher-sp-200.aspx?

The Duracell powerpack you have wouldn't run the Shumaker maintainer you have for more than a few minutes. The total energy in the Duracell pack is only 12.6v x 26 ah = 1/3 of a KWH. If you actually used all of that and ran the PowerPack dead it wouldn't work again. The SLA inside isn't made to be discharged all the way. You only have about 1/6 KWH of usable capacity in it without doing immediate damage.

The main battery pack in a Prius has about 1.2 KWH stored in a 200 volt array. You cannot recharge those kind of packs with a 12v battery charger. The battery pack in Tesla has over 50 KWH. If you have a Chevy Volt you must have mains power available or a large generator because the battery pack is not recharged by running the engine. The Chevy Volt main pack is 16 KWH.

[zingarofunkart]

Heres a blurb on the Schumacher :
Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Automotive Battery Maintainer and Charger:•1.5-amp charger and maintainer
•For both 6- and 12-volt batteries
•Microprocessor controlled/ fully automatic switches to float-mode monitoring when battery is at full charge
•LED indicator lights show charging, charged and trouble Quick-disconnect harness snap either connector into place in seconds
Im not wanting to charge the 144v IMA battery (Honda crz) but just the 12 v that operates the "chip"
I don't think ive got access to the 144v.

I did think of solar but with the auto in a regular storage facility the panel would be easy prey and then you have the chance of a dead short when the panel gets ripped off the roof.

So far ive got 2 day run on a different 400 w xantrex powerpack just running a 40w cfl w/ a 24 hr on off timer set for 3 hr on and 21 off. ( completely different as ive not purchased the 600w or the Schumacher yet)

UNRELATED::: with more and more hybrid cars on the market im wondering  if some of those larger batteries could be incorporated in off grid, or power arrays seen on this forum....

and finally unrelated :: best run on my crz over a 5oomile run on multi days is 57 mpg ...... z

[Bruce S]

I have read and re-read your post. I'm not totally sure what you're wanting to do other than maintain a battery with another battery.
Can you post more information with just how you're going to be maintaining the first battery?
What kinds of loads you're looking to power the 2nd battery with?
As they say, the devil is in the details  .
The more we have the more we can better assist.
I think I understand what you're wanting to do, but would like more detailed information first.

[dnix71]

With your car in long term storage you could put the Shumaker solar panel on the dash. That's the way car come from China, S. Korea and Japan. Once they are unloaded in San Diego cars sit in the bright California sun with a solar maintainer on them until they ship to a dealer. A bigger issue is the self-discharge rate of the main pack, keeping the fuel from going sour and keeping the tires from going flat.

Power steering, engine and transmission seals will dry rot if the engine isn't run once in a while, too.

Long term storage is rough on a car.

[Nothing40]

Typically,in previous Honda Hybrids,the 12V battery is only used to power the ECU/BCM/ignition,etc,and the engine was actually started from the big 3-phase IMA motor/generator. Unless the IMA battery is dead,in which case it defaults back to the 12V starter.

If the car has been sitting for any length of time,the IMA battery is probably drained also. If you can get the car started,rev the engine a little,and you should notice it charging the big IMA battery on the dash gauge.

Also,I suggest you check out insightcentral.net for more info on the Honda hybrids/IMA system.

[zingarofunkart]

thanks for all the reply but it sounds like I cannot accomplish this for over a long period of time. Looks like plan B ..