Any Battery maintainence ideas??

[Dualsport]

Hey fellow Katanagans,
Before I start I must say that I have "searched" on this topic before posting but I'm still going to jump into the well of fire here. Here's the deal:
I now have four bikes in my shop. (I have just posted pics of them in the "Album" section) The ATK of course is exempt from this conversation because of it's lack of a battery. But the other three have batteries that need to be kept up during the winter months. It never gets cold here for long durations so I am able to ride them fairly frequently when I'm not traveling do to my job. What I would like to do is find a Battery tending solution that will keep all the batteries maintained in my absence without the risk of explosion, fire, or overheating. I would like to create some sort of in series row of tenders that will keep the batteries of all three bikes maintained with the batteries still installed in the bike. The Intruder will be the most difficult because of it's battery location but I am thinking of a modification to the bike or maybe some pigtails that will allow for attachment to a tender.
In y'alls infinite knowledge do you guys have any ideas?
Let er' rip!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!
Dualsport

[meanstrk]

Most battery tenders come with pigtail leads that are long enough to snake to somewhere accessible. If it's too short, just get some extension cord cable and make it longer so you can get to it. All my bikes have pigtails for tenders on them.

[Dualsport]

Hey Meanstrk,
Your a good example cause you look like you have several bikes also. Tell me, do you have muliple tenders or do you alternate one tender between bikes. Second, do you keep the battery cables simultaneously attached with the tender? Third, is the tenders voltage so low that charging is fine without having to remove the acid/water caps from the battery?
Dualsport

[Jax]

I bought my Batter tender from Harbor Freight. It was only 4.99 and works great when I hook up my battery to it...not a bad little item and if you have multiple batteries /bikes it won't break the bank...

[Black_peter]

Battery tenders operate at a very low amperage.
Probably around 500 milliamp.(1/2 amp) This means no need to open the caps. In fact you may experience more evaporation that way. They also have sensing circuits (like cordless drill chargers) so the power is cycled not just a constant small charge. Like Ron said they are designed so the plug can hang in a convenient spot. (at such low amperages the wire is probably 18 gauge, like turn signal wire size..) Remember that Battery Tender is a brand name! Cheaper units like Jax mentioned are probably fine but I won't vouch for their operation! I think they (Battery Tender brand) do have a multi bike unit but as I recall it was pricey. You might could design one if you're handy with electronics.. basically I'm thinking a relay circuit that switches the voltage from one battery to another each day. More than enough to keep the battery fresh and ready to run.

[tzortn]

I though that Battery Tender made a unit that will maintain multiple batteries at once. Kind of like this one:

http://batterytender.com/product_info.php?products_id=19&osCsid=39e98d738d2173ed04385336a575ffff

[Black_peter]

I think they (Battery Tender brand) do have a multi bike unit but as I recall it was pricey.

$260!!! Youch!
I didn't think it was that much!!
I'll design the device to rotate a $4.99 trickle charger to multiple bikes..
I'll only charge $79.99 for it!

[Mojoe]

never leave a battery on the charger with the caps removed. it will produce hydrogen gases and is potentially explosive.

I can swear by this. when I was 16 and in shop class, an incompentant teacher sparked a silenoid over a battery that just came off the charger with 2 caps missing. it exploded in 3 of our faces...with me getting the worst of it. my clothes were eaten full of holes by time I made it to the hospital. I had to wear patches over both eyes....one for 2 weeks, one for 3.

DO NOT F AROUND WITH BATTERIES WITH NO CAPS ON WHEN ON A CHARGER!

And be equally careful period when taking one off the charger...even with the caps on. A cigarette hanging in your mouth can do the trick.

alot of people don't realize the danger associated with a battery. I have seen several explode through the years....fortunately with no one getting hurt aside from some acid on the clothes, and my injury ion school.

and they never explode the same way. some with just chunks gone out of them....some with the whole casing gone and just the cells and post present. And it is loud as hell.....literally a bomb.

this mostly applies to batteries that came off a charger, or have been cranking alot trying to start a vehicle. the more current or heat passing through a battery...the more hydrogen gas that will produce.

anyway...it's just common sense.......hydrogen gas is flammable to say the least. and a battery can produce plenty of it.

[StevieB]

Re: Any Battery maintainence ideas??

...I have "searched" on this topic before posting but I'm still going to jump into the well of file here...

Pun intended?

[StevieB]

I though that Battery Tender made a unit that will maintain multiple batteries at once.

They do. My buddy who teaches m/c tech at Dekalb Tech College uses one in his lab/shop.

[Black_peter]

never leave a battery on the charger with the caps removed.

I don't know Mojoe..
Your caution about battery safety is correct, however:
A battery can produce H2 during the charging process. This is called "gassing".
It only occurs when a battery is being fed (more correctly allowed to feed) more current than it can convert into the acid, the acid boils giving off the gas. When forcing large amounts of current into a battery, larger amounts of gas is produced and you can get what is called "Thermal runaway" this is where the reaction produces large amounts of gas Oxygen and Hydrogen and high heat! The right combination will produce a very rapid flame. (With in a container an explosion) At low charge rates not only should the gas produced be very small but the gas will dissipate in the air (so diluting the H2 that it is outside the flash point. Remember that it takes the right levels of H2 in O2 to burn! Too much of either will not flash. The Hindenburg did not explode. It burned very very fast.. Gassing could build up a large amount gas that could "burp" past a seal releasing a concentrated burst of flammables..
It is never ever wise to charge a battery over a 2 amp level.
Not only are you asking for trouble with gassing and thermal runaway but you can damage the battery. It is also wise to never remove the charging clips with the caps open. Unplug the charger first.

[Mojoe]

never leave a battery on the charger with the caps removed.

I don't know Mojoe..
Your caution about battery safety is correct, however:
A battery can produce H2 during the charging process. This is called "gassing".


It is also wise to never remove the charging clips with the caps open. Unplug the charger first.

I thought that is what I said.

this problem is usually more evident in industrial charges where they sometime have a series of batteries connected at the same time, and running MUCH more than 2 amps.

BUT.....H2 can also be produced by a battery that is LOSING it's charge as the acid evaporates. You can leave a battery sitting on a bench in a hot climate....with the caps just lose enough to allow this to happen....and H2 will be evident.

and you are right....under most circumstances, the gas will disipate rapidly in the air so it won't ignite. but high humidty in the air, or a heavy fog can be just enough to prevent it from disipating enough and leave you with a small cloud of H2 hovering over a battery.

anyway, my point was just to be careful with a battery with no caps on it.

there are roughly 6000 incident in the US per year of batteries exploding during boosting that result in injury. trust me...this is painful. many end up blind cuz of it.

I pulled that fact from this site.

http://www.sightandhearing.org/sightcenter/battery.asp

[Jax]

Back to the switching of the battery charging machine..why not just buy 3 or 4 of the Harbor Freight trickel charger/tender...that's only $20 for 4 of them...then you don't have to worry about the mechanism.

[Black_peter]

Back to the switching of the battery charging machine..why not just buy 3 or 4 of the Harbor Freight trickel charger/tender...that's only $20 for 4 of them...then you don't have to worry about the mechanism.

Oh sure, deprive me of a living...

[Jax]

Here we go there they are 50% off in their big holiday ad...there is a coupon that states they are $4.99 from $9.99 lot No. 42292...they are called the Automatic Battery Float Charger: Charges and maintains batteries from 5-125 amp hours. Won't overcharge batteries...Sorry BP didn't mean deprive you of a living....