Zig x7

It's spec says it's a Battery Charger and Power Supply. By power supply they mean it can be used stand alone to supply Nominal 12 volt power directly without having a battery in the loop.

It can charge a battery but it doesn't cut back in it's charge voltage when the battery is fully charged. Probably unwise to use it connected all the time because it doesn't sense the battery voltage level and is as mentioned above just a power supply.

Is this the unit you are talking about - http://www.freewebs.com/12voltsdc/Zig%20X7.pdf - When asking for advice you really should give a link to it to make sure people give their reply on the correct item.

To call it a battery charger is a bit of a euphemism. It is just a straight out power supply set to 13.8 V output. This voltage is too low to charge a battery, that voltage is only a float or maintenance charging voltage. Do not use the unit to charge a battery, however if you have charged batteries you can use it to maintain their charge.

OK folks looks like its time to upset some people.

From what I information I can see this unit is a straight forward 13.8 volt regulated power supply that will deliver 12 ish amps.

This WILL charge your battery ..... pretty much any lead acid family battery ...... it may not charge it super fast and you may have issues with some calcium lead batteries have become deeply discharged ( calcium charge resistance). Higher voltages may be needed to overcome calcium charge resistance.

We have been charging all sorts of lead acid family batteries with 13.8 volts for many decades ..... including the various calcium/lead types, VRSLA and AGM.

Prior to the common use of sealed batteries in cars and ECU control of alternators most factory standard alternators and generators in cars had their nominal charge voltage set at 13.8 volts.

You can leave most lead acid family batteries on a 13.8 volt charge indefinitely ...... I know this because we do this in pretty much all 12 volt battery back up supply situations large and small ...... there is less trouble with this than so called smart chargers.

In answer to your original question Rebecca.

It is a regulated power supply
It IS a battery charger
Technically it is a converter

If you want to buy into the multi-stage hokus pokus ...... it is a two stage charger ...... pretty much all battery chargers are two stage chargers ...... stage one operating on the current limiter a battery charger must have and stage two operating as a constant voltage charger at its regulated voltage.

Some people will try to tell you you can't "fully charge" a battery with 13.8 volts ...... that is in my opinion rubbish ( supported by experience and manufacturer documentation) ..... however 13.8 volts will not bring the battery up to full charge ( however you define that) as fast as higher voltages .... particularly the completing the later part of the charge.


there are a lot of these around working fine, and plenty of similar units available to replace it.

cheers

cheers