Charger Rejuvenates Drained Batteries

Charger Rejuvenates Drained Batteries FARM SHOP Maintenance 32-6-39 Living off battery power is simpler with the patent-pending portable charger invented by Rafael Ruiz. Powered by gas or biodiesel, the charger runs for a couple of hours to charge a large bank of lead acid batteries that can run a household for a week. The design came out of need 10 years ago when Ruiz was using solar panels and wind turbines to generate power for his Poteet, Texas, home. A big storm hit and caused a lot of damage, cutting off his power. Insurance covered the roof, but not the solar panels or turbines. Needing to find a way to restore power, he applied his experience building alternators for wind turbines. He rigged up a setup with a generator, alternator and geared up old drill press and fully charged his batteries. "From there I decided to make it convenient and use a biodiesel engine," Ruiz says. He filters used cooking oil from a local restaurant, uses a trap to remove water, and blends 1 gal. of diesel per 4 gal. of cleaned oil to fuel the 1-cyl. diesel engine battery rejuvenator charger. Ruiz charges 10 Trojan T105 batteries (common in electric golf carts) in two to three hours with about a gallon of fuel. His system is designed for auto, truck, marine and deep cycle lead acid batteries. He's used the same batteries for 11 years. "We've used this charger to rejuvenate batteries that people were going to throw out," he says. The charger meets California safety and EPA regulations and is on a handy cart, making it compact and portable for independently-powered home, farms, cabins, marine, camping, hunting, RVs and any uses. It gained international attention last year, when it won a silver medallion at an invention show in Taipei, Taiwan. "It's great for underdeveloped countries and off-grid in the U.S.," Ruiz says. His company is committed to educate the public on the benefits and simplicity of a greener lifestyle. The gas model starts at $1,600 and the biodiesel model at $2,700. Electric start and recoil options are available. "It's a quality product even for an emergency backup system," Ruiz says. "The small gas model is equal to 15 solar panels. And with this, you don't have to wait for sun or wind." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rafael Ruiz, Impact Renewable Energy, 4122 W Fm 476, Poteet, Texas 78065 (ph 830 742-3200; www.impactrenewableenergy.com).

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