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Battery Management

The Clansman system, being heavily dependent on rechargeable Ni-Cad batteries (unlike Larkspur which used mostly dry batteries or vehicle supplies) had a number of charging equipments. These were:

DCCU
DCCU 		DCCU Direct Current Charging Unit Available in 12/14 and 24/28V input versions. Suitable for 24V 4AH, 24V 1AH and 14V 4AH batteries Optional 2x24V or 6xRT349 battery slow charger plates. Internally the DCCU comprises a regulator, a transformer isolated inverter, and a constant current charger. 24V 1AH
24V 4AH
2 x 24V on slow charger plate
6 x 12V RT340 on adapter
2 x 14V RT350 on slow charger plate
IBMS
IBMS 		IBMU intelligent Battery Management Unit This unit by Widney Aish Ltd. provides fast charge, slow charge and reconditioning for all Clansman batteries except the 24V 1AH. It is of similar size to an RT353 or RT321 and can be mounted alongside them. With standard tray:
1 x 24V 4AH and
1 x 14V 4AH RT350 and
6 x 12V RT349
An alternative tray for 3 x 24V 4AH was available.
ACCU ACCU AC Charging Unit
A mains powered charger for 16 of the 24V 1AH or 4AH batteries only.
24V 1AH x 16
24V 4AH x 16
Hand Generator
Clansman Hand Generator 		A Hand Charger for 24V 1AH batteries. The charger comprises a generator and an electronic voltage regulator. When the handle is turned but too slowly the indicator lamp (under a sliding cover) glows but extinguishes once a speed sufficient to maintain charging voltage (about 30V) is reached.

Reputedly it takes about 4 hours to fully charge a 24V 1AH battery. The charger will also operate a 24V Manpack set (RT320 or RT351/2 on RX only without a fully charged battery. 		Strictly 24V 1AH only



Clansman 24V Charging Control

The ACCU and DCCU use a 4 wire charging cable to connect to the 24V batteries. 2 pins on the battery charger input connector are the actual positive and negative battery connections. The other two each connect to a series string of two silicon diodes which are mounted one in the core of the battery and one next to the case. The chargers operate at a relatively high constant current - about 600mA I believe - and shut down when the temperature difference as indicated by difference in the forward voltage of the 'inside' and 'case' diode strings reaches that consistent with a full charge (since fully charged NiCads heat up). There are some safety issues with this since open circuits in the charging cable may lead to non-stop charging and serious overheating. I always use an IBMU or a DCCU with a slow charger plate if I can. between
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Last Updated 17-July-2009 by G0OZS