Question re: 12-volt battery, please?

I just replaced mine also last weekend with a brand new Yellowtop. I put it on a charger before I installed it and it was pretty low. Took about 1 hour to charge it up in 2 amp mode. Who knows how long they sit on the shelf before you buy them and they don't charge them before selling them.
You need to buy a regular charger not a battery tender. One with a analog charge rate meter not led's. I just picked one out for a buddy last week This one:

DieHard 10/2/50 amp. Automatic Battery Charger - Automotive - Battery Accessories - Battery Chargers

It has a 2 amp mode. On a healthy battery once a month in 2 amp mode will bring the battery to full charge in less
than 20 minutes. Do that once a month and you should exceed the yellowtop 5 year warranty.
Plus its the best battery troubleshooting tool there is. When you hook the charger up notice how much of an initial current draw is on the charger and notice how long it takes to reach a full charge. When you see those 2 events change your looking at an unhealthy battery. That's how I knew my original was going south. That battery lasted exactly 5 years almost to the day with monthly charges all its life.

 

A couple of dumb questions if I may:

1. Do you mean initial current draw from the battery ?
2. Is full charge set to a voltage or capacity ? How much ?

Thanks

 

1-Yes
2-Capacity. Full charge is when the battery will not take anymore charge. Meter shows O current draw.
Elapsed time on how long that takes is important too because that shows beginning of sulphation.
A healthy battery that's just a little low will charge up very fast. Over time as electrolyte wears out it takes longer and longer to reach O draw. And if its getting real bad will never become fully charged. It will always show current draw Time for a new battery.

 

SORRY

 

The new battery sounds like it has a partial discharge and needs a recharge to full. If I didn't have a battery charger at home, I'd just let the car do the job by letting the car sit for some 4-6 hours in ready mode.

I'm of Julia's mind -- I'm more inclined to buy a new battery more often than to have a good maintenance routine that extends the battery life. In my case this is because I am not comfortable fooling around with electricity (although I want to learn,) and more importantly because the car is not garaged.

 

Thanks Ed.

I'm still unclear about (2). Do you set the charger to an amp-hour rating, or does the charger simply stop sending current when the voltages of the battery and the set-point of the charger are equal ?

I may be *way* off track here -- is this fluid analogy correct ?
I think of amps as flow rate,
Voltage as pressure,
and the battery as a closed container

The charger opens flow into the battery with a pressure of 12v at a rate of 2 amps. When the battery is full enough it has a pressure also of 12v, and flow stops.

Is this at all right ?

 

Just turn the dial to 12v . Some meters don't have 12v in the d/c test area. If it has 6v use that and double the reading? You can also do what SageBrush suggested. Less hassle than trying to borrow a charger. H

 

I'd like to see a picture, I have to learn this, too.

I imagine the 'm' stands for milli, the 'k' for thousandths

 

Thank you.

I liked this tutorial how to use the things.

 

nope, find a place to recycle.

 

I gather some people make bombs of them