battery charging

[Guest]

I just got a new battery, sealed battery. You put the fluids in, charge and go. I was told to charge it on a 1 or 2 amp charger for 4 hrs then go to trickle charger. Ok, good advice. The charger I have says it puts out at 6 amps, do I have to find a motorcycle specific charger or will the car charger drop down to 2 amps based on the size of the battery. I have the battery tender but am being cautious for the initial charge.

[cowboyup3371]

I have a separate battery charger but I would think you could do it with that one just really watch it. Course, I'm not that smart on it though.

[Nessism]

1 amp to charge a motorcycle battery is about right. 2 amps might be okay but 6 is bad for sure.

Edit: Was reading about battery charging and the maximum charge current recommendation is roughly 1/10 of the amp-hour rating off the battery. For the typical GS battery with a 14 AH rating, that works out to 1.4 amps max. I wouldn't be afraid to use 1.5 amps but I wouldn't go over this level.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

You might look into something like a "smart" dual-purpose tender/charger like this one...

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/brands/battery-tender/BT-021-0128.html

It can do a "full charge" at 1.25 amps then switch to a trickle charge "to maintain proper storage voltage". I strongly urge you NOT to put a 6 amp charger on your new battery. It will be toast. There are also charges with a hardware switch between full charge and trickle charge so you don't have to rely on the "smart" circuitry.

See THIS ARTICLE article for everything you ever wanted to know about battery charging and chargers. But definitely follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[jamminjimmy]

Hi Guys,
The Battery tenders do a good job, but they only bring battery voltage to around 13-13.2 volts. The one that we have had most success with is the CTEK 3300 it runs $69.99 verses the $65.99 of the Battery Tenders. The biggest advantage is that the CTEK 3300 will bring the voltge to 14.2 allmost a must if your using a Gell battery, since they have a "memory".

[sachsaca]

Ok thanks guys, gotta get the right charger then. elcrapoh'la. dang it. darn, shoot, man (kick dirt), daagumit, fooey, Oh well, it's what I needed to knwo, again thanks. Glad I asked I would cooked that sucker good.

[bonanzadave]

I just got a new battery, sealed battery. You put the fluids in, charge and go.

Really ? Never bought one but I woulda thought a sealed battery would be just that. Sealed.

[jamminjimmy]

sacsaca,
You can use the Battery tender like Basscliff had mentioned or the Battery Tender Jr. It just wont make the battery up to its highest charge, One of the main thing to do is after you install acid pack, let the battery sit for couple of hours so that it turns to gell. You can look down into the battery and see the difference. After it turns to gel, than put it on the charger. We had changed over to the CTEK 3300 last year and they have been great, but we used the Battery Tender to charge for years.

[koolaid_kid]

Go to Walmart and get the schumacher battery charger. 1.5 amps, acts like a tender when the battery is charged, about $22. Its only downside is that it is too large to carry with you on a trip. Unless you have lots of room, of course.

[koolaid_kid]

Really ? Never bought one but I woulda thought a sealed battery would be just that. Sealed.

Not the gels. The AGMs are completely sealed, BTW.

[1_v8_merc]

Go to Walmart and get the schumacher battery charger. 1.5 amps, acts like a tender when the battery is charged, about $22. Its only downside is that it is too large to carry with you on a trip. Unless you have lots of room, of course.

This...^^^

I have one of those from wal-mart too.

It has a selector switch between 9 and 12 volts.
But I believe they did away with the Switch last year, so its completely Automatic now.

But you just set it to 12 volts, and hook her up, so when the battery is full, it goes to into Trickle Mode automatically.

Had mine for 2 years now, NEVER had a single problem with it.


I even use it for electrolysis rust removal, haha.

[chuck hahn]

I like the BATTERY COMPANION myself..got mine at Meijers about 5 years ago and its still going strong.

[Steve]

Go to Walmart and get the schumacher battery charger. 1.5 amps, acts like a tender when the battery is charged, about $22. ...

.I have one of those from wal-mart too.

It has a selector switch between 9 and 12 volts.
But I believe they did away with the Switch last year, so its completely Automatic now. ...

I have seen them with 6/12 switches but never a 9/12 switch.

I like the BATTERY COMPANION myself..got mine at Meijers about 5 years ago and its still going strong.

For what it's worth, I have 5 or 6 of those Schumacher units around my place. Yeah, they all work, they all get used for one thing or another.
They just changed the appearance and a little bit of the operation, like v8_merc mentioned, but they still work just as well.


.

[SteveM]

Hi Guys,
The Battery tenders do a good job, but they only bring battery voltage to around 13-13.2 volts. The one that we have had most success with is the CTEK 3300 it runs $69.99 verses the $65.99 of the Battery Tenders. The biggest advantage is that the CTEK 3300 will bring the voltge to 14.2 allmost a must if your using a Gell battery, since they have a "memory".

I too have the Ctek charger and highly recommend it as well.