Charging new battery question

[ScottRNelson]

Time to report on my new YT12B-BS battery.

My Battery Tender charged it to about 13 volts.  It maybe hit 13.2, but after sitting for a couple of hours showed 12.9.  The instructions for the battery said to charge it for 12 hours, but the Battery Tender decided it was done after about two hours.  This was with both a regular Battery Tender and a Jr.  The battery instructions said that a valid voltage range would be 12.8 to 13.5, so according to those instructions it should be good, but I've been told by someone with more expertise in this area than me that I should charge it to 14.0 to 14.5 initially.

So I bought a Craftsman charger from Sears ( http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02871222000P ) to see if I could get it pumped up a bit.  That one keeps hitting the battery with a second or two of 14.5, then lets off for maybe 15 seconds - repeat forever.  After leaving that on overnight my battery shows 13.6 volts.  I'll leave it on for a while longer before sticking it into the bike.

Looks like I'll need to take a long ride on Saturday after putting the battery in.

[BK_856er]

Reviving an old thread!

I have a Yuasa YT12B-BS on the way for my SBK.  The 6yr old unit is past its prime.

I've read the info in the Yuasa technical paper and I understand the importance of the initial charge.  I have a Battery Tender Plus, but according to Scott it might not get the job done to completion.  Topping it up with a good long initial ride might not be the heathiest thing for the new battery due to the high charging rate.

I found a large 13.8V, 3A DC power supply in my garage.  Any reason I couldn't use that to finish off the initial charge after the Battery Tender goes into float mode?  Any thoughts on that?

Alternatively it looks like the Yuasa 1.5A SmartShot charger is a good bet at ~$60.

BK

*edit* Yuasa charger is now also on the way to me.  I'll update with the initial charge measurements in a few days.

[slyfox]

Things you need to know about a 12V battery ......:
Float charging : 13.5V to 13.8V
Boost charge : 13.85V to 14.5V

You could leave your battery on float charge overnight as it will not do any harm to the battery.
You should NOT boost charge your "sealed" battery as it will lessen your battery life time.
If you seriously wanna boost charge your "sealed" battery .... you could as well BUT
You should NOT do it more than 2 hour as it could ruin your battery.

[BK_856er]

Yep, but the initial charge on a Yuasa AGM/VRLA battery is something special from what I gather.  It's delivered dry with separate liquid acid capsules and the initial charge is done with the caps off after adding the acid.  It's a one-time thing with a specific procedure for best long-term results.  Subsequent "maintenance" is more normal.  Just wanted to clarify the "new" aspect here.

BK

[Howie]

Tender plus will charge it.  Many chargers do have a float voltage that is too low for an AGM battery.  Even then, the bike will charge it the rest of the way.

[BK_856er]

I got my new Yuasa YT12B-BS (thanks Jeff!) and the Yuasa SmartShot 1.5A charger.  Messed around with the SmartShot on my existing batteries and it works well.  The updated charger model that I received has a 6/12V switch on the front.  In float mode my BatteryTender Plus charges at 13.0V, whereas the 1.5A SmartShart charges at 13.4V.  I checked with Yuasa technical support about the suitability of their 1.5A charger for the initial charge, specifically on the YT12B-BS, and their reply is below.  There is some added detail about checking for remaining unabsorbed acid after the first charge, and also letting the acid soak for a longer period prior to initial charge.  I will follow the procedure below this weekend.  I'm sure the BatteryTender Plus would also do a good job, but I needed a second charger/maintainer and wanted to try out the Yuasa unit.  Just passing things along...

-------

Our Smart Shot Charger is suitable for activating your battery.

For the most part you are correct in activating your battery, what I
would do is this.

1. fill the battery with acid and let sit for about 1 hour or 2, this
will help the acid soak into the plates.

2. set the sealing strip on the battery to cover up the holes so the
strip is a loose fit, do not seal the battery just yet.

3. charge the battery with your charger, it might take 10hrs to charge
your battery since this is your initial charge.

4. After the charging is completed, remove the strip, look inside with a
flash light to see if there is any free standing acid, if there is
repeat steps 2 and 3. The reason for this process if your battery is
sitting on any type of angle, or is laid on its side in your vehicle
other then 90 degrees with any loose or free standing acid you run the
risk of the battery leaking. You might have to charge your battery 2 or
3 times until the acid soaks in.

5. Once the acid is soaked in, seal the battery and it should be ready
for use.

----------

BK

[errazor]

AFAIK a healthy fully charged lead acid cell have 2.2 Volt stored.
This equals 13.2 Volt. ( 2.2 *6)
To charge the cell to 2.2 Volt you must get current to flow in to the cell, this means that your charger must deliver more than 2.2 Volts to each cell.
13.5-13.6 volts should be safe.
Make sure that the battery is not getting to hot.

[BK_856er]

I followed the modified Yuasa activation procedure:

- Add acid/electrolyte, loosely fit cap strip and wait 2hrs for adsorption
   (battery got slightly warm initially, measured 12.9V)

- Connect 1.5A SmartShot charger
   (exactly 4hrs in charge mode, no real temp increase, could hear healthy gassing)

- Left charger in automatic float mode
   (overnight, two cells still had some standing liquid)

- Disconnected charger for a few hours, re-connected charger, let it do its thing again
   (no more standing liquid, sealed cap strip, sat overnight with charger removed, measured magic 13.2V)

Looks like I'm good to go.  Hopefully for another 6yrs.  The SmartShot put out up to 14.5V in charge mode.  Fair warning - that acid/electrolyte is some nasty smelling stuff!

BK