Methods for charging a new battery.

[mx916]

I recently purchased a new battery and the question is about charging it for the first time. I put it on my Battery Tender Junior. I wont be starting the bike for about 3-4 days and want to know if the Tender will charge it up enough in that amount of time. I also have a Sears 2 and 6 amp charger. Should I put it on the Sears unit for a few hours before attempting to start up, of just leave the Tender on the full 3-4 days. Thanks for any input.

[steves]

2-3 days should be long enough for a good charge.

The shop you bought the battery at didn't deep cycle charge it for you before you took it home?

[mx916]

I ordered it mail order from Dennis Kirk. Don't really know if it arrived charged or not.

[steves]

Hmmm... It probably wasn't charged.

You should be okay letting the battery tender on it for a few days, but I guess if you are really concerned you could hook it up to the big charger for a while.

[The CyberPoet]

The battery (depending on your model Kat) will be 9, 10, or 14 amp-hours. The battery tender will put out about 1 amp-hour charge rate. That means, in theory, the battery should be full within 14 to 17 hours in a worst-case scenario (probably take less than half that). Since you're waiting days, just leave it on the battery tender and it will be fine (since the battery tender throttles back when the battery loads up).

If the battery already had the acid in it on arrival (pre-sealed batteries), it will probably only need about 30% of that charge time.

Either way, DO NOT HOOK IT UP TO A CHARGER THAT CHARGES AT HIGHER THAN RECOMMENDED CHARGE RATE (such as a typical car charger). Good way to ruin a brand new battery by overheating it.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[md86]

I've used a trickle charger to do SEVERAL batteries like that . Worked just fine . Just let it charge till it gets hot (it'll start to bubble) . Check with a multimeter once in a while . Should take just several hours .