American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 172 November 2013 | Page 33

'BC Duetto' universal smart charger for lead-acid and lithium applications BC Battery Controller has launched what it claims to be the world’s first ever universal charger for lead-acid and LiFePo4 batteries. Lithium batteries are gaining in popularity, but manufacturer Forelettronica say that it is neither efficient nor safe to charge and maintain them with traditional lead-acid chargers (traditional or smart), as they could damage the battery and endanger the user. However, the company says that its new BC Battery Controller brand 'BC Duetto' is an allin-one smart charger with two specific and separate altorithms for the differing needs of lead-acid and LiFeP04 12V batteries. The unit features two different charging programs, lead-acid mode and LiFePO4 mode. The program selection is easy and intuitive with an innovative ‘Easy Plug-in System’, which just requires the user to put the clamps together and to connect the device to the power supply to switch from lead-acid mode to LiFePO4 mode or vice versa. The active charging mode is shown on a LED bar, and the last selected option will always be held in memory for later usage. The lead-acid charging mode features an automatic eight-step charging and testing program, which allows it to recover deeply discharged batteries (starting from 1.5V), recharge, desulfate and maintain all kinds of lead-acid 12V batteries (including sealed, VRLA, AGM and gel batteries) and even to recognize defective batteries, which are no longer able to retain the charge. As a LiFePO4 charger, BC Duetto executes a seven-step algorithm which allows a fast and efficient charging of lithium-ironphosphate batteries, and charge balancing between the battery cells and maintenance of an optimum state of charge even for long periods. Batteries are monitored by the internal microprocessor during the whole charging process, allowing the user to keep the device always connected. FORELETTRONICA Tel: [phone] [email protected] www.batterycontroller.it www.AMDchampionship.com AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - NOVEMBER 2013 33