bettery charger

[kotec123 10+ year member]

i found a 6volt/12volt battery charger in my garage, and lately i have been blasting my system, so the electrical system was dropping to low voltages........ my question is i dont know when the batt is charged fully.....cause there is a meter on the front or the charger, but it measures in amps.

how long do i keep it on theree without ruining my yellow top? or can i just let it go for a few hours?....because i dont know if the thing stops once its at 12V or if its just a 12volt battery charger....AKA it just keeps charging and charging as long as its a 12v batt?

the charger is an OLD starline 406 6 volt and 12 volt battery charger.....ive had it on there for an hour or so already....let me know thanks

should i get a better ( notice the title ) battery charger or is this fine?

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[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

What amperage(s) is the 12v output rated for?

If it is a 10amp charging cycle then you wouldn't want to leave it on the battery overly long or run the risk of overcharging and possibly ruining or blowing up the battery.

If it is a 2amp trickle charge then you could theoretically leave it on there indefinately. As old as you're describing this charger to be I would imagine it is either an On or Off affair rather than having an automatic setting....

Most chargers have an amperage guage that shows the charger's current output and when it drops to Zero or something approaching it then you'll know the battery is "full." (at least every car battery charger I've ever used worked in this manner)

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

yea its a 10 amp...now the meter is reading 1 amp....but i dunno if it means 0 cause its old or if its still charging....is one hour already too long?

and yes its an on off charger....no auto settings or anything

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

yea its a 10 amp...now the meter is reading 1 amp....but i dunno if it means 0 cause its old or if its still charging....is one hour already too long?
and yes its an on off charger....no auto settings or anything

10 amperes for an hour on a battery that wasn't seriously discharged should be more than sufficient to top it off. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

ok so ill take it off now

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

when i took it off, the meter went back to 0, so i dunno if it had some more charge in it or not, but maybe its because my batt is massive?? (optima yellow top d31t, 900CCA )

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

and i just noticed when we were charging my friends yellow top, he noticed that there were lumps on top that he never noticed......

luckily i took mine off in time i guess

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

when i took it off, the meter went back to 0, so i dunno if it had some more charge in it or not, but maybe its because my batt is massive?? (optima yellow top d31t, 900CCA )

Because it was no longer output any current so the meter will read Zero.

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

Because it was no longer output any current so the meter will read Zero.

yes obviously, but im still not sure if when it reads 1 amp that its done charging.....and what about the lumps on the top of my friends YT/?

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

bump....im about to leave so please sumone let me know if my friends battery is ****ed since it has lumps on the top if it....like a lump above each cell.....is it ruined? or messed up in any way>?

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

yes obviously, but im still not sure if when it reads 1 amp that its done charging

Depends on the charger. Most non-automatic ones will never read true zero while still attached to a battery. Yours is likely of this variety.

and what about the lumps on the top of my friends YT/?

He overheated it. Most likely it isn't ruined and will still be usable but I would suggest he likely significantly shortened its lifespan. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

shit....ok thanks alot prowler....uve been a huge help