I'm looking for advice on charging batteries at home. I have a few chargers that I want to connect to a multi socket extension lead, which will be plugged into a P110 Tapo smart plug. The extension lead is rated at 13A, and I've tested the chargers, which have a max output of 155W (but don't use that much). The P110 has a feature called "charge guard" that turns off the power when consumption drops below a certain threshold, which is great because I don't want the chargers to be on all night in my workshop.
My main concern is: is there any downside to leaving the batteries in the charger when the charger itself is unplugged? Will the batteries drain over time, or could there be any other issues with this setup?
2 Answers
I think you’re overthinking it a bit! Even if the chargers are plugged in, they draw almost no power when the batteries are fully charged. The worst case would be if you’re rigging something up to save a bit on electricity—there can be risks with that if it ends up being unsafe. Just ensure everything is properly rated and avoid any weird setups to cut costs.
I've been doing something similar for a while now, and honestly, there's really no downside to leaving the batteries in the chargers when they’re unplugged. If it was bad for the batteries, I'd definitely have noticed it by now! They usually hold onto their charge just fine when not connected.
What kind of risks are you talking about?