best bike battery charger image
turtle mas
and what ampere rating battery charger should I use for a yamaha
yzf-R6? what difference does the ampere rating make?
I'm looking at battery doc, yuasa,battery tender, and they come in all ampere ratings from 750mA to 1.5A.
answers from any owner of these battery charger are appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Answer
I agree with the other folks who've recommended the Battery Tender,,it's a good charger.
Your question about Amp Rating.....
In simplest terms,,Amp rating determines the SPEED at which a battery can be recharged.
A Higher Amperage will recharge a given battery Faster.
"Speed" or "Faster" is usually considered a GOOD THING.
NOT SO on Battery Charging!!!
SLOWER is Better,,for several reasons.
HEAT is a major concern.
Higher Amp /Charging Rate will always produce Higher Battery Temps,,,even if it's all within acceptable Specs.
The Lower Charging Temps can be,,the Longer the Battery Life.
The Trade off is SLOWER Charge rate.
Time to Full Charge is figured according to Battery Amp capacity.
Example:
A 1A Charger will Fully Charge a 6A Battery in 6Hours(approx)
A 2A Charger would do it in 3Hrs
A 12A would fully charge a 6A Batt in 1/2 Hr or less!!
The same 1Amp Charger would fully Charge an 80Amp Car Battery....in 80 Hours--about 3 1/2 DAYS.
So in Principle(an in practice) ANY 12Volt Charger will Charge ANY 12 Volt Battery.
It's TRUE that "1 Size Fits All".
But there's Huge Differences in the Performance/Effects amongst the various combos of Batt Size/Charger rates.
In REALITY,,,that "rule" includes a huge compromise.
The Trade-off ranges from extreme OVERCHARGING ,,OverHeating,,Boiling out the Electrolyte,& Reducing Battery LIFE,,,,,,
To being simply "TOO SLOW" to be Practical for most situations.
No one wants to wait 2~3 DAYS for their battery to ReCharge when they need to get to work the next morning.
So the matter of determining " Best SIZE Charger/charge rate"
comes down to considering The Intended Use.
The SMALLER/SLOWER the Charger,,the BETTER,,,for Battery Life,,and "personal safety".
The BIGGER/FASTER the charger,,the Better for quick charge,,getting going in a hurry,etc.
In Your instance,,,and choice of 1.5A vs 750mA(3/4A) it doesn't SEEM like that big a difference.
One is TWICE the charge rate of the Other,,
it will Charge TWICE as Fast.
But it'll also (theoretically) be able to Heat the Battery Twice as much,,boil electrolytes Twice as fast,and generate twice the sulfation rate.
I "THINK" Your battey is an 8 Amp job?
From Fully Dead,,a 1.5A charger will fully charge it in 5 Hrs approx.
That's NOT "overcharging" a 7A~12A range Battery,,,but it's nearing Borderline of what's BEST for Battery Life.
A 3/4A~~ .750mA Charger would take about 10 Hours.
That's SLOWER for YOU,,but Much Better for the Battery.
If you,,left lights on and totally Drained Battery,,,
EITHER would Fully recharge it "overnight".
Either would also recharge it "enough" in 20~30 minutes to allow Kickstarting...provided the battery is in decent physical condition.
Which is also a consideration.
You surely want to keep your battery as Healthy & Happy as possible.
But you also want the capability to deal with "worst case" of a Drained battery to be able to get going in a reasonable amount of time.
20 minutes,,to an Hour WAIT might be fine for YOU,,,while a 4hour wait would "ruin your day"...just for example.
It comes down to what an Individual NEEDS /Wants/Expects.
And the choice should be made with the awareness of the Compromises,,the trade-offs that are inevitable.
And as Contrary as it seems to "BIGGER is BETTER" thinking,,,
Smaller Chargers,,LOWER Charge Rates are BETTER for Battery Life and Reliability.
....................................................
I see you're in Illinois,,,and assume your Biking is limited during winter weather.
If that's so,,and you plan to keep your battery on maintenance charger for the several months of downtime,,,here's a suggestion.
Disconnect the battery cables,,to isolate it from the electrical system.
Keep an eye on the "water Level",,,and use ONLY Distilled Water if you need to add some.
Every grocery store,walmart,etc has it,,$1/gal
I know thats been said a Gazillion times over the last 50 million years,,,and we violate the "Distilled Water ONLY" Rule TWICE that many times and get away with it.
But it DOES make a Huge Difference,especially on Small Batteries.
The chemical/mineral elements in Tap Water/Mineral Water are "electrically" the equivalent of putting a steel screwdriver across the 2 battery terminals,,,,and/or Insulating the internal plates from electron flow.
It's a FAINT effect,,so the bad results take Time to kill the battery.
But it DOES have a distinct and CERTAIN bad effect on Batt Life & reliability.
A GOOD batt that wears out,,Gradually gets weakers and Declines in power,,,giving you "fair warning"
A "Bad" battery from effects of Overcharging,,improper maintenace,,and Wrong Water/Electrolytes--Tap Water,,,
They're "Fine" one day,,and DEAD the next...NO warning.
I dont mean run-down/discharged,,I mean DEAD>Deceased.
"Old News" on Distilled Water,we all know that,so just a reminder.
If you Do plan a "total shutdown" thru winter,,,of course you can Manually charge your battery occasionally during that time.
It's not that much hassle.
The Type of chargers your considering are made to be left on for extended periods anyway.
Ideal,,for both personal convenience And Battery health would be a TIMER that switches the Charger Itself on/off.
Switch charger ON a while,,,let the Charger's Circuitry do IT'S job,,then OFF and let both the charger & battery rest a few days.
YOUR requirement would only be maybe a monthly check of Batt's water level.
Multi-Day Timers are somewhat expensive.
You could buy a New battery next spring for "same price".
So it becomes a rather "false economy",,,any NEW battery is always gonna be better than even BEST-maintained one.
One alternative that tends to "split the difference" is the Single day/24 Hr Timers.
They're cheap enough ,,Under $10 at places like Walmart.
You can set them for a few hours of ON-time each day.
1~2 Hrs Daily Run-Time of the "Smart Chargers" will keep your Batt at Optimum Level,,,,while reduce Total Time of Charger operation.
Saves Energy,LegWork,Battery,,and Charger.
It also constitutes a sort of "extra safety" in the event the battery is "forgotten" on the charger.
Instead of Charger running on maintenance mode all day,,it gets switch OFF automatically.
A Small,Frequent Charge will maintain a battery better than Less-Frequent,more extended charge.
Granted,,that may be a Moot Point,,or even Totally Pointless for many folks.
But a cheap,simple On/Off Timer can be a very useful "charging accessory" for SOME situations.
One example,,not "scientific" and not directly comparable is the "Seasonal" Boats down here on Gulf Coast area.
I know a Bunch of people who replace a SET of batteries every Year at season's beginning,,even after "charging them thru the Off-Season"(Innefectively,,Obviously)
Well,,the simple addition of a Timer & leaving the charger connected "Full Time",,,the batteries are now giving 2 and 3 Years of Reliable Service.
In THAT application,,it's a $10~$50 Timer ,,saving $150~200 Battery set annual expense---forestalling that expense a year or 2. They can "live in the boat shed" for 6 months unattended with no worries about ever overcharging,,or going dead & sulphating themselves to death.
.................
Last Small but important point.
Batt VENT HOSE.
Make sure it's open and not pinched anywhere,,obviously.
Also consider it's Routing path,,particulrly where the Open End is positioned.
Batts make a gas(Hydrogen) which gets "blown away" by airflow during riding.
But that gas also Condenses in the tube,,and some LIQUID "battery acid" exits the tube.
Very Corrosive,,so make sure and drips can't be blown onto Bike Parts while Riding.
A Different environment and conditions exist while Charging the batt.
Any "drips" from the vent are gonna go SOMEWHERE.
With No Road Wind,,naturally they'll fall straight down.
If Damage to your FLOORING is a concern,,,use some kinda drip pan----something plastic is best,,,some common Baking Soda sprinkled in it both retains any acid,,And neutralizes it.
The GAS that exits the vent during charging is Hydrogen Gas.
That's not only Flammable,,it's Explosive.
It dont just Burn,,it DETONATES.
Like the difference between lighting a Candle and a Firecracker.
It's WAY lighter than Air,,Lighter than even Helium.
(You may be famliar with the HINDENBURG BLIMP which exloded/Burned in the '40's)It was filled with HYDROGEN.
I can't imagine of a better example.
The implication to a person charging their Battery on a bike is this:
Most all bikes have their Batt Vent Tubes routed Down and exitting at Bottom of Bike.
While sitting still,,and Batt being Charged,,and Hydrogen being produced,,,,
Where's the vented GAS going??
RIGHT,,it's wafting STRAIGHT BACK UP,,"through the Motorcycle".
Your Bike is like a chicken getting smoked on a grille,,,Except it Aint Hickory.
It's Corrosive,Acidic,Flammable Hydrogen Gas.
The "cure" is simple,,,get a length of tubing that'll slip snugly over your existing Batt Vent Tube,,,and route it AWAY from the bike.
Simply to avoid the fumes from drifting straight up back onto your bike.
The Volume of Gas produced by a charging battery is Very Small,as far as Flammability concerns.
In a normal garage,or storage shed,,,the AIR:Gas ratio is really too lean to support combustion.
BUT!!!!,,If You happen to use a COVER,,or Tarp,or whatever which DOESN'T "breathe Freely".....
It's POSSIBLE to Fill it with the extremely LIGHT Hydrogen Gas.
In effect,,a sorta "Hydrogen Balloon".
It WILL displace the Air under such a canopy.
You may not actually be creating a "Little Hindenburg Balloon-Bomb" under Your Bike's Cover,,,
But You would CERTAINLY be storing it in a Cloud of Corrosive Hydrogen Gas,,,at minimum.
Routing the Batt Vent AWAY from the Bike is a simple enough solution....and doesnt need to be anything fancy , elaborate,or expensive.
Zillions of batteries get charged doing "everything Wrong",,,and do just fine anyway,,or at least apparently Good Enough.
But a few small principles can be Better for Bike,it's Battery,,the Charger,the bike's Storage Area,,and owner's convenience ,safety,,and pocketbook.
Quick recap:
**Smaller/Slower Charger is generally Better
**Mind Batt Water Level,,stick with actual Distilled Water to add
**A cheap Timer MIGHT offer convenience & may add maintenance efficiency
**Mind the Battery Vent's Condition And Position
--Under Riding Conditions
--And,,under Parked > Batt-Charging conditions
So,,Just some ideas that may be of use in certain instances.
Take care.
Whats a good solution to charge a small lawn mower battery on a bike?
Z
Ok my bicycle has dual 55 watt fog lights on there i use at night (there VERY bright), and i was wondering what i could use that is self contained on the bike to keep the battery charged up?
Also i have a battery charger but i dont wanna be dependent on it for my bike lights.
Answer
for 29 dollars at Northern tool you can buy a solar battery charger that puts out 1.8 amps during the daytime. If you can park your bike in the sun or just the battery and charger...I have used this system successfully on 12volt boat batteries for years...but it is just a trickle charger
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