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Old 12-07-2010, 04:19 PM   #2 (permalink)
saand
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metrompg,
it might do what you want but there may be a few things you want to check or understand first.
the 0 - 80v may not be a steady voltage at 40v it may be a pulsed 80v at half duty cycle, this is a common method of achieving variable voltage, the best way to check this is with a oscilloscope
battery chargers typically have multiple stages or modes of charging which this power supply wont have. For example a normal battery charger would limit current if your battery charge is very low because very quick charging will heat up the battery and power supply and may cause damage. The power supply will inherently limit current somehow (because you cant get infinite current out of something) but the natural current limiting may be far higher than what you want and it may blow a internal fuse before it gets to the natural current limiting level.
regarding the diode, it will have to be a really really big one, batteries can take up to hundreds of amps (not sure what the power supply can supply) so you will need to size your diode appropriately. Note: you may not even need a diode.

hope that helps, good luck
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