Another Newbie/Battery Killer

[Grant Wallace <grantwal@bellsouth.net>]

I'm playing with a treadmill speed control as a battery charger on my
ET. So far it'll run about 15 minutes before anything heats up.

The configuration as I have it now is with the control board (PWM) wired
in series with the included inductor, with the batteries in the circuit
where the motor was. The inductor gets too hot to hold your hand on in
about 15 minutes, but the heat sink on the board only gets very warm. I
believe the current limit is working to protect the silicon against self
destruction and was wandering if it would be safe to remove the inductor
from the circuit. Since "Bad Boys" don't have inductors this is an
option, but I wanted to get some feedback from Lee or someone else on
the list first.

I may also try adjusting the current and other parameters on the board,
to lower the current through the inductor. Before anyone asks No I don't
know how much current I'm getting because so far I don't have an amp
meter on the setup. I may try to rig up a crude shunt just for kicks.

This jury rigged charger is only a temp as I plan to check out a used
appliance store near my work ( they have some old golf cars so I might
can get an old Lester for cheap ).

--
Grant Wallace
Chattanooga, TN  USA
grantwal@bellsouth.net

Shadetree Mechanic
Bootstrap Engineer
and "Daddy"