# 25 AMP Battery Charger in a 15 AMP Outlet?



## gregski (Sep 6, 2011)

I am thinking of buying a 48 volt 25 AMP battery charger that has a standard 110 plug. What is going to happen when I plug it in to a standard 15 AMP household outlet? Will it only draw as many AMPs as it can ie 15 or will it trip my breaker every time?


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

look at the certificate on the charger, it should say how much it draws maximum. if that is less than say 1500 watts or 15 amps you will probably not pop the breaker/fuse or fry your extension cord. m BTW standard is 20 amp wiring, 15 amp lighting circuits, but go look to be certain.


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## frodus (Apr 12, 2008)

Gregski, answered you over on Electric Motorcycle Forum.

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=1791.0


> 48V and 25A is the DC output, not the AC input. Same issue you had with the controller. Don't think of these as "whatever amps go in, must come out" because they both convert power from one form into another. They're electrical transmissions. Talk about everything in power. On chargers you need to convert AC of a high voltage and low current to a lower voltage and different current of DC. With controllers you need to convert High voltage (pack) and low current to varying voltage (from 0-100%) to a varrying current that will either equal the pack, or be more than the pack current.
> 
> 48VDC x 20Amps DC = 1200Watts. The charger likely has a power factor of about .98 or higher, so we're at 1225VA. Then add maybe 5% for inefficiency. We're at ~1285VA
> 
> ...


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

You should be fine. That's 25 amps (@ 48V) at the charger, but only 11 amps (@ 110V) plus losses from the wall. That's why a car charger/starter can put out 55 amps from a standard socket no problem.


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## Sunking (Aug 10, 2009)

25 amps @ 48 volts translates to 10 amps on 120 VAC plus conversion losses. So in other words it is fine.


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