DH-200M 200/40/10/2 Amp Battery Charger

I was looking for a battery charger at walmart. Can someone tell me how many amps it takes to run it. I have looked at manuals and I can't find it. Thought maybe one of you feller had one?
 

I looked at my Craftsman with the same output; said 8/36.5 amps input, which makes no sense. I've had it for 35 years and it's never popped a breaker, either 15 or 20 amp. So if you have wiring from the last 50 years, it'll work.
 
If it really is capable of producing 200 amps at 12 volts, that calculates to 2400 watts.

So, 2400 watts at 120 volts, requires 20 amps.

Most residential wiring is rated for 15 amps, so you could easily trip a breaker if you were trying to boost start something with a dead battery. If your shop is wired for 20 amp outlets, it will be right up there close to tripping.

But for normal charging, there will be no problem using a 15 amp outlet. If you will be connecting this with an extension cord, and trying to boost start with it, you will need to invest in a heavy duty 12 gauge cord.

The Walmart price is a very good value for a charger that size!
 
On the Sears site that charger is rated at "200 Continuous Watts/400 Peak Watts". So despite its enthusiastic "200 amp" starting current rating, it will never draw over 4 amps.

I wouldn't try jumping a completely dead battery with one of these chargers, by the way. The diodes in cheap chargers won't hold up to that kind of abuse.
DH 200M at Sears
 
> 200 watts or 200 amps? A big difference.

Not really. 200 amps at one volt is 200 watts. Ya just gotta understand the games they play when manufacturers rate their products.
 
So is the OP using a 1 volt battery? Don't try to take this thread out of context. IN THE CASE OF A 12 VOLT BATTERY CHARGER (maybe even you can read it) 200 watts is a lot different than 200 amps.
 
Gambles, don't confuse the Real World and the way products are tested. Also don't confuse starting current with charging current. Maybe you didn't bother to read the description of this charger on the Sears site, so I'll repeat it here:

"200 Continuous Watts/400 Peak Watts/110V AC Outlet"

Is this a typo? I doubt it. There's no way that charger can put out 200 AMPS continuously. Even if the diodes could handle it, that would require around 20 amps input at 120 volts, and it doesn't appear to have a 20 amp plug. However, 200 WATTS is quite reasonable, and would only require a couple of amps in.

It should be obvious to anyone who has used a cheap charger that the current ratings are completely unrealistic. You simply can't get the rated current for one of these chargers across a partially-charged battery. The battery needs to be almost completely discharged to get the full current rating. Remember, chargers DO NOT produce DC! They produce [i:654c4848f0]full-wave rectified[/i:654c4848f0] AC. Consequently, as the battery voltage rises, the diodes are forward biased for shorter durations, so the charge current comes in pulses of decreasing duty cycle.

So how can they claim a 200 amp jump start current? Easy: When you first hit the starter switch, the starter is essentially a dead short because it is stopped. The voltage across the starter is NOT 12 volts or even 6 volts. It's ZERO VOLTS! It's no problem at all to get 200 amps out from 400 watts in if you're doing it across a short circuit. Of course, as soon as the starter starts to turn, back EMF rises and the current quickly drops. But the product testers grab that initial starting current with a storage oscilloscope and that becomes the published spec.
 
(quoted from post at 13:06:36 06/11/16) Gambles, don't confuse the Real World and the way products are tested. Also don't confuse starting current with charging current. Maybe you didn't bother to read the description of this charger on the Sears site, so I'll repeat it here:

"200 Continuous Watts/400 Peak Watts/110V AC Outlet"

Is this a typo? I doubt it. There's no way that charger can put out 200 AMPS continuously. Even if the diodes could handle it, that would require around 20 amps input at 120 volts, and it doesn't appear to have a 20 amp plug. However, 200 WATTS is quite reasonable, and would only require a couple of amps in.

It should be obvious to anyone who has used a cheap charger that the current ratings are completely unrealistic. You simply can't get the rated current for one of these chargers across a partially-charged battery. The battery needs to be almost completely discharged to get the full current rating. Remember, chargers DO NOT produce DC! They produce [i:3c285ad483]full-wave rectified[/i:3c285ad483] AC. Consequently, as the battery voltage rises, the diodes are forward biased for shorter durations, so the charge current comes in pulses of decreasing duty cycle.

So how can they claim a 200 amp jump start current? Easy: When you first hit the starter switch, the starter is essentially a dead short because it is stopped. The voltage across the starter is NOT 12 volts or even 6 volts. It's ZERO VOLTS! It's no problem at all to get 200 amps out from 400 watts in if you're doing it across a short circuit. Of course, as soon as the starter starts to turn, back EMF rises and the current quickly drops. But the product testers grab that initial starting current with a storage oscilloscope and that becomes the published spec.
little sanity check: are the cables ought size or 8gauge?
 
I took a look at my Schumacher SE-3010, a similar unit to the Diehard. (Although the DH is a big cart charger, I'm sure it's mostly air inside.) Here are the specs on the front of the SE-3010:

INPUT: 120V AC 60 Hz 5.6 AMP CONTINUOUS, 31 AMP INTERMITTENT
OUTPUT: 13.1 AMP DC AT 10 AMP, 6.6/13.5 V DC AT 30 AMP CONTINUOUS;
7.2V DC AT 200 AMP 5 SEC MAXIMUM ON, 240 SEC MINIMUM OFF

So...
The normal power requirement is a whopping 672 watts. Less than a blow dryer. (Not that I have enough hair to need a blow dryer.)
It may MOMENTARILY pull double the current of a 15 amp circuit. But probably not long enough to trip a 15 amp breaker.
The starting current is rated at 7.2 volts. True, it's not rated a zero volts as I suspected, but it ain't 12 either.

Is the "200/400 watt" rating listed for the DH-200M correct? I suspect it is. Personally, I would not buy that unit and buy an SE-3010 instead. It's smaller and probably better.
 
The picture and title are for a battery charger (amps) BUT, the description is for an invertor (watts). Typical of Sears, anymore.
 
Thanks MarkB_MI I really want to thank you for looking for me. No wonder I couldn't find anything.Ever if it does pull that much current briefly they wouldn't want to post it.
 
> The picture and title are for a battery charger (amps) BUT, the description is for an invertor (watts). Typical of Sears, anymore.

Good catch. Yes, if I'd looked closer at the rest of the description, it's obvious they pasted in the wrong description.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top