charging new battery with car charger

[halcombrick]

i just bought a new battery from walmart, all i have is a 2 or 10 amp car charger, whats the best way to charge it with this type charger, right now a battery tender just isnt possible for me

[Jump Wings]

Most cycle batteries should not be charged over 3 amps. If you have a digital voltmeter use it to make sure you are charging at the proper voltage. Don't exceed 14.5 volts dc. With your charger at 2 amps a low battery should draw 2 amps when first hooked up and less as it charges. Three hours should get you a full charge. Make sure your charger is compatable with the type of battery. Some chargers aren't recommended for gel batteries. Harbor Freight has coupons for a free voltmeter. They are pretty handy. I keep one in my saddle bag. A cheap load tester will tell you if the battery will hold a charge. But don't use a cheap one on larger batteries. I spent $10 on one and burned the wires testing the batteries in my diesel truck. I bought a good one for $40 and have had it for years.

[dnehasert]

Use the 2 amp mode. I have done this for years. Rule of thumb is 10% charging amp so 2 A. is 10% of the Goldwing battery.

[WingAdmin]

Most cycle batteries should not be charged over 3 amps. If you have a digital voltmeter use it to make sure you are charging at the proper voltage. Don't exceed 14.5 volts dc. With your charger at 2 amps a low battery should draw 2 amps when first hooked up and less as it charges. Three hours should get you a full charge.

A typical Goldwing battery has a capacity of about 20AH - which is 20 amp-hours.

If the battery needs a full charge, that means (in theory) it would take a charger putting out 20 amps one hour to charge it, or a charger putting out 1 amp, 20 hours. In practice it's a little more complex than that, because the battery does not charge linearly.

In this case a 2 amp charger would take 10 hours. Again, this is in theory. Basically, if you want your battery to have a long life, when you get it new, put it on a low-current charger (2 amps is fine) and let it sit overnight. It will take the slow charge and gently bring it up to full capacity.

Rapid charging a motorcycle battery for the first time with a lot of current (like 10 amps) is a good way to ensure the battery has reduced capacity and a shorter life.

If all you have is a Battery Tender, that's OK. In fact, that's probably the best way to charge a brand new battery - it's slow, and it has intelligence to ramp the charge correctly. Battery Tenders can supply 0.75 amps, so hook it up to your new battery and let it sit. After 24 hours or so, it will be completely full and ready to go.

[spiralout]

If it's an Everstart that needs to be filled with acid, be aware that some don't come with enough to fill each cell to the line. The last two I got were both this way. If you start filling cells to the line, by the time you get to the last one, you'll be out of acid. I had to distribute it evenly then top off with distilled water. Also, 3 hours at 2 amps is no where near enough to charge it to full. Check the included directions. If I recall correctly, it's 8 or 10 hours at 2 amps.

[FM-USA]

I have and use the Schumacher 10 amp charger on my Wing without problems.
It powers down automatically as per battery needs. It's an old charger, maybe 20+ years?

I've left it on the battery through the cold winter nights for 3 days straight a couple times. Checked the electrolyte levels, none dropped. The battery is a std. Yuasa for the 1500 Wing.

HOPE this helps.

.

[halcombrick]

i got me a battery tender jr. today, all problems solved in that dept., i love these things lol

[littlebeaver]

It's comforting knowing there are guys here that know their stuff....I like it.. Bike's are a little different that auto's...I have always do it over night on a slow charge...