What is the difference between a 12 volt adaptor and a 12 volt charger?

Answer 1

First, what do we mean by the word adapter. To me it is a unit that allows some object to run at a voltage of 12vDC. such as a MP4 player. Another adaptor is onefound on some scooters that use two 12v batteries in series so that the motors run on 24v DC. Now a 12vDC charger is used to recharge mostly lead/acid batteries used in Motor Scooters for powering the motor, lights and horn. A charger is designed to do a few different tasks based on its design. Trickle chargers are used to keep a battery fully charged during a period of inactivity. Power chargers are designed to give a large amount of charge to the cells in a short period of time, but then they must be turned off or the battery will be destroyed by overcharging. These type of chargers may also be used as a 12 battery substitute so that a 12v appliance may be run from 110vAC. When it is in this mode we call it a converter. If we input 12vDC from a battery, some units may become "Inverters" by producing 110vAC so as to run home power tools or other low wattage items that are normally used in your home. A PS must be added by saying that chargers usually produce a voltage greater than 12 volts (15v) Mainly found on boats is a third type of charger called a solar cell that comes in all different sizes and wattage that recharge a battery while the sun is shining and you are not consuming more that it produces. They provided me with a degree of safety by knowing that my boats emergency bilge pump would work from fully charged batteries when the boat was unattended.