Battery Maintenance Charger

[Photo4x4]

Hello all

My Burgman has been in the garage for a few weeks (salt and ice...) and the battery is now very low.

I plan on purchasing a trickle maintenance charger and to leave it connected up over the winter. Anyway my question is, do I need to disconnect the battery to do this or can I just connect the maintenance charger with the battery still connected?

Thanks.

Keith Hart

[Bluebottle]

It is ok to maintenance charge with the battery connected.
There will be less drain if you disconnect it, even with nothing at all running (clock etc) the connection itself will increase leakage of the charge. Off the vehicle, frost free, dry and sitting on dry wood/rubber is the ideal

If you are buying a modern battery tender rather than an old fashioned trickle charger they usually come with a connector and a variety of leads to fit it - including one that can be permanently fitted to your battery.
That gives you a handy socket on your bike for quick connection without disconnecting or removing anything, and if you want it for a different vehicle just plug in the traditional crocodile clips and off you go.

I recommend CTEK stuff. The MXS 3.6 is plenty big enough for one 12v vehicle at a time and it has easy to use modes to switch between car and bike charging everything else is automatic so it will charge or maintain as required. You don't want to go whacking car currents through a small battery obviously.

I have another that will auto-detect the battery voltage and adjust itself but I can't remember which model it is, handy if you have a mix of 6v, 12v and 24v vehicles

[Photo4x4]

Thanks for that Bluebottle, very helpful.

I'm happy to get the CTEK on if you think I'll need it.

I was looking at the: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 55205#tab3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Will this do the job?

Keith Hart

[x10350]

is there one you can just plug into cigar lighter eg on Piaggio x10 350

[Ralph]

I don't bother disconnecting the battery but I connect the charger via a cheap 24 hour timer and set it to come on for a hour each day
battery is always fully charged.

[Normsthename]

Looking at the Halfords one it looks like it only connects by crocodile clips.
That will be a PITA if the battery is difficult to access.
I would get an Optimate which are the most popular.
You get a Lead to connect to the battery and just plug into that without having to touch the battery.

Andy

[Bluebottle]

I agree with Normsthename
Those big clips on the Halfords one will be a nightmare to get into the tight space where the battery is stored

[Whatsisname]

Aldi do one around January for about twelve quid, a bit like the Ctek 3600. It shows the battery oltage, unlike the Lidl version.

[chippie]

No reason what so ever to keep a fully charged battery on constant trickle charge.
Once charged a good battery should keep a charge for many weeks,I would then
top up with a trickle for 3/4 hours.

[Photo4x4]

I think that the Optimate with the accessory socket adapter would be a good solution.

What do you think?

Keith Hart