How Long to Leave Batt on Charger?

[Pelikan]

Generally how long should one keep the battery on a float charger?  The charger I have is a $15 eBay special but seems to work okay.  The A/C adapter says 12volts and 500 mA.

[Yuri.]

Does the AC adapter really says 12v?If it's just an AC adapter that converts to 12v DC it will never charge the battery fully... You can leave it there forever. At 12v a lead-acid battery is somewhere between 40~50% charged

[twocool]

Depends on the charger..."Float charger" is a vague term....

It is possible to overcharge a battery....as other poster said 12 v is not enough to charge a battery...

But 12 v is just the "nominal" voltage...most charge at 13.8 or thereabouts...

I spent a bit extra... $40 for a battery tender Jr...which is a "smart" charger..which the mfg says cannot overcharge a battery and can be left connected indefinitely...

Even so, I remove the charger once the "fully charged" light comes on.   In cold weather, and if I'm not riding much, I will periodically put on charge..it usually takes only a few minutes for the charged light to come on..

Cookie

Generally how long should one keep the battery on a float charger?  The charger I have is a $15 eBay special but seems to work okay.  The A/C adapter says 12volts and 500 mA.

[Suzuki Stevo]

Battery Tender Jr $24.95 @ Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412955284&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+tender

I have one for every bike/rig on my property that doesn't get driven on a daily basis, they work on full size truck/car batteries also.

[burning1]

I'm not sure I'd trust a generic ebay charger...

With that said, the expectation is that you'll leave the tender attached indefinitely. They are designed to maintain a battery on a bike that's going into winter storage, and will actually help keep the battery healthy.

[ace50]

You can over-charge or discharge a battery and ruin it. See link.

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/motor_battery.php

[twocool]

Yes, that is the design and intention of the battery Tender....

OTOH..
a fully charged, healthy lead acid battery or AGM battery will last the winter without any additional charging.  Letting a DIScharged battery sit around in cold and sub freezing will ruin it

Cookie

I'm not sure I'd trust a generic ebay charger...

With that said, the expectation is that you'll leave the tender attached indefinitely. They are designed to maintain a battery on a bike that's going into winter storage, and will actually help keep the battery healthy.

[Suzuki Stevo]

MC batteries by virtue of their size are not as robust as a full sized car/truck battery, hence the need for a Battery Tender if not ridden on a regular basis, or if you own more than one bike and don't rotate them forward to the garage door to be ridden once in a while