trickle charger

plural trickle chargers

1. A device for charging a battery slowly, using a very small current.

   She hooked the truck battery up to the trickle charger and left it.

   1993, Dana Stabenow, A Fatal Thaw, →ISBN, page 6

   2 more examples

   Attempts by Waterloo signalmen to clear the points by power operation eventually exhausted point motor batteries, which are fed by trickle chargers, and a blown fuse accentuated the problem; thus, even when the points had been cleared of ice, no power was available to operate them until the batteries were sufficiently recharged.

   1962 March, “The New Year Freeze-up on British Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 159

   A trickle charger is particularly useful for batteries which have to be kept out of use temporarily or for standby batteries which are used only in emergencies.

   2003, Sharma, Basic Radio & Television, 2/E, →ISBN, page 49