Car Battery Charge Time Calculator

Estimate battery recharge time from amp-hour capacity, charge change and average charging current. Understand how tapering current affects the estimate.

Your inputs

Results update as you edit. The starting numbers are an example; replace them with your own data.

Amp-hours and charging current

Amp-hours describe electric charge, while amps describe its transfer rate. Multiply capacity by the charge-level increase, then divide by average current and charge acceptance efficiency. This efficiency concerns restored charge, not wall-to-battery energy conversion.

hours = Ah × (target% − start%) ÷ 100 ÷ average A ÷ efficiency fraction

Example with a 60 Ah battery

Charging a 60 Ah battery from 50% to 100% restores 30 Ah. At 5 A average current and 90% charge acceptance, estimated time is 6.67 hours. If tapering reduces average current to 3 A, the estimate rises to 11.11 hours.

What to confirm with the manufacturer

Use a charger and mode approved for the battery chemistry. The charger maximum is not necessarily the average for the session. Absorption and finishing stages, temperature and battery condition may increase time. Resting voltage alone does not give a precise charge percentage for every battery.

Sources and method

Frequently asked questions

Does this establish a charging method for any chemistry?

This is only a time estimate from supplied inputs. The battery manufacturer determines allowable current and voltage.

Why does my charger show a different time?

It may account for changing current and charging stages. This tool uses one average current value.

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