Battery Maintenance

[twas_brillig]

I've got several 'intelligent' battery chargers. I dug my 1999 Buell S3 (visualize a goosed Harley V-twin stuffed into a sport bike chassis with 101 hp) out of the snow on the drive way and dragged it inside this afternoon. It hasn't been driven for about a year and a half and I was bit discomfited to find a nearly full fuel tank this evening - presumably with some form of fuel preservative.
I've had a $ 50 Yuasa charger on it all this time, full time; purchased from one of the local bike shops. Figured I'd stick the key in and see if there was enough juice to even turn the motor over: dang thing started! Sure stunk up the air quality (heat is on in the garage) for working on the BE.
Bottomline: there is something to these "intelligent" chargers - they're well worth the price.
Doug

 

[Guest]

Bat'try aint cheap fer that thing either.

 

[sqbsprite]

I have chargers mounted in both my Sprite and my MGB. I keep them plugged in when I am not going to be driving them for a while. They really increase the life of a battery. My MGB battery is 10 years old and still going strong.

 

[Sarastro]

This has been my experience, too. Battery life depends on a lot of things, but probably the most important it to avoid sulfation--creation of lead sulfate crystals on the plates, which don't go into solution in the battery as it's charged/discharged. Proper charging will prevent this. The smart chargers do that.

 

[Pythias]

The battery in the red thing is about 10 years old as well. I never do anything to it except start the car. The car sits for about a month to 8 weeks at a time in the winter without being started or driven. Maybe there is something to positive ground. .

That said, the most important thing about smart chargers is that they will work on gel cell batteries. Generally (IIRC) if they loose too much of their charge, they don't show enough resistance for a regular charger to "see" them, and one needs to put another battery in series (or parallel?--- can't remember which) in order to get them to "take".