So far, so good....
I hooked the whole mess up just to see if the charger would run through POST. It did.
Next step was to actually charge a battery. I chose a battery that was till @ 70% capacity so the Boost Converter wouldn't have to work so hard. A voltage drop of more than a volt told me that the Boost Converter WAS working hard.
I monitored the Boost Converter's temperature by touching it occasionally (forgot my IR Temp gun). It got pretty warm right away. Since it's 48° outside, I thought I'd move the whole mess outdoors into a shady area. I used the concrete as a sort of heat sink. This seems to be working well. After 5 minutes, no fire.
After 10 minutes, nothing has blown up.
Because this is a serial charger, I can fully populate it without adding more strain to the Boost Converter.
Next I will try charging a more depleted battery. If the Boost Converter doesn't burn up, I'll come up with some kind of forced air cooling solution. Other than adhesive, I don't see any way of mounting it to a heat sink. I have a whole pile of heat sinks so I may go that direction. I guess we'll see.
D
I hooked the whole mess up just to see if the charger would run through POST. It did.
Next step was to actually charge a battery. I chose a battery that was till @ 70% capacity so the Boost Converter wouldn't have to work so hard. A voltage drop of more than a volt told me that the Boost Converter WAS working hard.
I monitored the Boost Converter's temperature by touching it occasionally (forgot my IR Temp gun). It got pretty warm right away. Since it's 48° outside, I thought I'd move the whole mess outdoors into a shady area. I used the concrete as a sort of heat sink. This seems to be working well. After 5 minutes, no fire.
After 10 minutes, nothing has blown up.
Because this is a serial charger, I can fully populate it without adding more strain to the Boost Converter.
Next I will try charging a more depleted battery. If the Boost Converter doesn't burn up, I'll come up with some kind of forced air cooling solution. Other than adhesive, I don't see any way of mounting it to a heat sink. I have a whole pile of heat sinks so I may go that direction. I guess we'll see.
D