Vehicle Mounted Battery Chargers

Background
Description
    Bren-Tronics BTC-70870-1
    Bren-Tronics PP-8481/U
Cables
Related
References
Links

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Background 

While the BA-5590 is a great primary battery with a shelf life maybe in the decades, a more economical battery is the current (2016) BB-2590 rechargeable type.  These require chargers near the troops using them hence the need for a vehicle mounted battery charger (VMBC).

Battery Chargers come in many types.  The chargers on this page are intended to be mounted in a vehicle, either civilian (12 VDC input), military (24 VDC input) or installed in a location where there is AC power like a building anywhere in the world or an aircraft with AC or DC power. 

These chargers use an adapter to allow different battery designs to be charged.  So the charger needs to be customized by installing the desired battery adapters.

Description

Input Power

There are three common sources of input power for chargers like this.
24 VDC from a military vehicle or solar panel
12 VDC from a civilian vehicle or solar panel
90 - 264 VAC from world wide AC power grid or an aircraft400 Hz AC power system.
These chargers are made in various versions to use one or more of these power sources.

Bren-Tronics BTC-70870-1

This is a 24VDC input only charger.  This one appears to be new.

Model	Inputs
BTC-70870	12VDC, 24VDC & world AC
BTC-70870-1	24VDC
BTC-70870-GC	24VDC & world AC
BTC-70870-3	12VDC

Fig 1 Notice provision for 3 input power connectors on left side and only the bottom (24VDC) connector is populated because this is the -1 version.

This charger is larger than the PP-8444A/U Universal Portable Charger (UPC) man portable (small suitcase) and smaller than the much larger PP-8481/U.
While a very convenient size the PP-8444/U can not charge smart military batteries like the BB-2590. 
The BTC-70870 family will charge the BB-2590 and at the same time enclose the battery in a metal box to the operator is protected if the battery explodes or catches fire, unlike the PP-8444/U.

Bren-Tronics PP-8481/U

This is a 24VDC input only charger.  This one has a missing spare fuse holder and sand inside with clear signs of heavy use. Will  charge the BB-2590.

Fig 10  There is no provision for another input voltage version on this charger, they are all 24 VDC only.

Cables

I expect that there is one input cable for 12 VDC, a different cable for 24 VDC and third cable for world AC input.  That way the cables can be interchanged between various Bren-Tronics charger versions.

12VDC Cable
p/n: BTA-70819-12AL
connector:  ?

Pin	Function
?

24VDC Cable

p/n:  BTA-70440-1 or CX-13554
Connector: MS 3106-18-11S & Clamp 97-282-18-11 (William Perry)

Pin	Function
A, C, E	nc
B	+24 VDC
D	gnd

World AC Cable

P/N BTA-70440-2
Connector:

Pin	Function
A	AC
B	AC
C	gnd

Related

Batteries
Battery Chargers
Battery Testing
Battery Patents
My Battery Adapter Products

References

Links

Bren-Tronics military batteries and related products

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