[Coolcatnap]

Fellow Riders,

I bought a brand new battery and have to fill the electrolyte. What i am concerned about is charging it. Can it be charged with Battery Tender (Trickle Charger)?

Thanks

 

[jpr1968]

Yes, but it will take a while.

 

[John Hopkins]

When I buy a new lead acid battery I fill the electrolyte up to the marked level and connect a 4amp charger to it before fitting the covers or caps, then I charge it all day or overnight..the charger I use automatically cuts down to a trikle charge when the battery is fully charged.. then I disconnect the charger, check the electrolyte level on each cell, fit the cover or caps and measure the voltage.. A lot of people will say you should use this or that particular type of charger but the lead acid battery that you fill with liquid before you first charge it has been around since selenium plate rectifiers and will not be harmed whatever charger you use.

John.

 

[Giannishreds]

I used the tender, takes about 4 hours. At least it shuts off unlike a charger.

 

[Aufgeblassen]

I used the tender, takes about 4 hours. At least it shuts off unlike a charger.

Huh? Chargers I use shut off when fully charged.

 

[Giannishreds]

Huh? Chargers I use shut off when fully charged.

I had a friend with a bad experience, not sure of the brand.

 

[jpr1968]

Huh? Chargers I use shut off when fully charged.

Why would you say HUH? Just because you have one that shuts it's self off doesn't mean they all do.

 

[adlowe]

Why would you...

...even ask someone who's handle translates as:

"presumptuously, self-assertively, arrogantly
bloated, swollen, inflated, puffy; bumptious, pushy, self-assertive "

 

[jpr1968]

...even ask someone who's handle translates as:

"presumptuously, self-assertively, arrogantly
bloated, swollen, inflated, puffy; bumptious, pushy, self-assertive "

 

[John Hopkins]

Wow, that's not very nice..

My handle translates to anything from 'good looking twin brother of famous Welsh film star' to 'Relative of man who made his living burning women and girls at the stake because they didn't worship at his church' and lot's in between..

John.

 

["Captain D"]

Yes, I`ve used a tender for charging new battery on my bike...
I have more than one charger, I just checked the box for the charger I hooked up to the 8Ns batteries, it`s a Manual charger...
Requires monitoring, it reads,
D

 

[Aufgeblassen]

Why would you say HUH? Just because you have one that shuts it's self off doesn't mean they all do.

Because most all do, when you set it in the AUTO rather than MANUAL position!

 

[Coolcatnap]

Well this was a learning experience. I had to fill each cell manually with a single canister. It was a pain as I could not see how much was filled.
It was a stupid Napa motorcross. I just hope I start my bike and take it home. It is currently in my office garage.

 

[John Hopkins]

A piece of brake bleeding hose is ideal for filling a new battery, you simply put the hose in the liquid then block the other end with your finger, as you lift the hose it will retain the liquid until you unblock the end with your finger.

To see the level you should be able to shine a light through the thin wall of the battery, there is a level mark which is usually 1/4 inch above the top of the plates.

John.

 

[Eagle7840]

Fellow Riders,

I bought a brand new battery and have to fill the electrolyte. What i am concerned about is charging it. Can it be charged with Battery Tender (Trickle Charger)?

Thanks

I know I'm going to get flack about my reply, but this is what I recommend from over 40 yrs experience of bike ownership and more with automotive new batteries. Use an automatic battery charger with a variable battery size option setting such as the Schumacher line. New lead cell batteries need an initial full charge before installing no matter what is advertised. Trickle chargers or battery tenders just don't do the job on a new or weak battery. They're fine for keeping functional charged batteries up to snuff during storage. That's why they're called tenders and and not chargers.

 

[gregtheginn]

Huh? Chargers I use shut off when fully charged.

Thanks for clarifying
that translation. I mistakenly thought it meant "rude, pompous, reactive, condescending and shallow".

...even ask someone who's handle translates as:

"presumptuously, self-assertively, arrogantly
bloated, swollen, inflated, puffy; bumptious, pushy, self-assertive "

 

[Beezer]

I know I'm going to get flack about my reply, but this is what I recommend from over 40 yrs experience of bike ownership and more with automotive new batteries. Use an automatic battery charger with a variable battery size option setting such as the Schumacher line. New lead cell batteries need an initial full charge before installing no matter what is advertised. Trickle chargers or battery tenders just don't do the job on a new or weak battery. They're fine for keeping functional charged batteries up to snuff during storage. That's why they're called tenders and and not chargers.

I wanted to give you a bunch of flack but I can't because you're right. Those little electrons are all bunched up like frightened cattle in a pen and they need a forceful prod to get moving back to the other side where you want them. They ignore the gentle nudge of the trickle current. Electrons can be so moody.

 

[jpr1968]

Because most all do, when you set it in the AUTO rather than MANUAL position!

You are ASSUMING that ALL chargers have a switch for manual/auto.

 

[jpr1968]

I wanted to give you a bunch of flack but I can't because you're right. Those little electrons are all bunched up like frightened cattle in a pen and they need a forceful prod to get moving back to the other side where you want them. They ignore the gentle nudge of the trickle current. Electrons can be so moody.

No, actually they don't. They're not smart. They don't know how much amperage they are getting.

 

[thunderglass]

I have a maintainer that will generally charge new and weak batteries. The bigger the battery the longer it will take along with where the starting point is on it state of charge. A new car battery may take 48 hours to bring up fully. I did have one dead bike battery that was reading 0.8 volts and had to use a constant current .5 amp charger on it for 24 hours to bring it up enough for the maintainer to actually see there was a battery connected. It fully charged and still starts the bike but I'm sure it's life has been cut in half if not more because it was a dead door knocker.