I got couple of emails asking how long should one
charge the batteries and how would one know if they are fully
charged? So here you have it. First get hold of electronic
multimeter that can measure electrical voltage in the 0 to 15 V
range. Wal-Mart sells very nice handy multimeter for about 13 $
worth every penny. It is in the automotive section and it is yellow
just in case you go looking for it. Once you have it measure the
voltage on the charging connector. It can be anywhere from 0 to
about 13.5 V. If it is 0 it may be because your fuse is blown.
Replace it with 10 Amp fast acting fuse and re-measure. Got
anything? If not, your batteries are completely dead which I doubt
or you have a bigger problem such as broken wire inside the battery
box. In most cases you will measure anywhere from 10 - 13.5 V
So if you are below 13 V put your battery pack on charger. What you
want to do is check periodically as the voltage rise to find a point
where the voltage will not increase anymore. It should be anywhere
between 13 and 13.5 V. Once you see that voltage is not increasing
anymore stop charging as overcharging batteries is not so good. Also
remember that even with fully charged batteries the paramotor will
not turn over unless the prop is mounted especially on the Simonini
based units. The starter needs the inertia of prop to crank over the
compression point.
Charge with 300 mA max. I use adapter from
Canadian Tire. It has the ability to set different voltage 3, 6, 9,
12 V. With max current 300 mA. It is abou $ 13 Cad. I keep it
set at 12 V. If not loaded it provides about 21 V but under load it
goes down to about 14 V.
Once your
battery pack is charged you must remove the charging connector from
the battery pack it self. If you just pull out the adapter from the
wall outlet and the charging connector will not be removed it will
slowly drain your batteries.