I have a small trike 50cc 12v with charging by alternator,am I ok to connect a trickle charger 1/2 amp without disconnecting battery to keep it topped up?.
ndbw
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i've tried all ways to keep a bike battery going, when the bike was sometimes used infrequently.
an optimiser was the best, but i still dried a battery out with it
so eventually i used the optimiser for a day or so....then would disconnect the battery, never had a problem after that, attaching it to the optimiser every now and again
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I have an optimate 3 and originally used it in conjunction with a time switch to only run it for an hour each day.
However, when it powers up the first thing it does is give the battery a charge and check how it is doing. This ends up charging it more than leaving it on all the time where it drops down to a minute trickle and a occasional test. I just leave it on all the time now.
With a "normal" charger, I would not leave it on for more than an hour or so as they can toast a small bike battery.
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I've got an Optimate and an Airflow, and the Optimate is by far the best option. Despite it being a motorbike battery conditioner, I've used it to bring car batteries back from fully discharged, something the Airflow can't do.
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I bought a cheap trickle charger from LIDL (£4.99) and put it on the battery once every month or so. It's designed to be left on 24/7 but the mains socket in the shed is used for other purposes.
The make is a Tronic H-3056. You'll have to watch when LIDL do their motorbike accessories offer as that is the only time they sell them. You might find another supplier via google search.
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DD - will your LIDL charger work for both 6 and 12 volts?
Thanks Waino
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Waino,
It does 2, 6, & 12 volt batteries.
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Thanks, DD, I'll watch out for the next motorcycling offers.
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I think you would be perfectly safe doing this. But before you connect the charger just make sure the electrolyte level is above the plates. In simple terms can you see the metal plates in the cells and make sure the fluid is just above them. If you can top up with distilled water, be careful although the fluid is a strong acid, so don't spash or spill any.
If you really want to go to town and you have a voltmeter then measure the voltage of the battery before charging and also measure the voltage with the charger connected. You can buy a cheapie voltmeter for about £5. The voltage should be slightly higher when charging, say about 13.5 V or so.
I guess that the battery is quite small so would not need much charging, theory is when the battery is fully charged then the voltage of the battery should rise upto the voltage of the charger and the battery will not take any more charge. I would just leave it on for a few hours then disconnect it. Just a safety note charge up in a well ventilated area as hydrogen gas is given off during charging. OK for your battery this is likely to be minimal, best not light up a fag nearby.
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Thanks for your replies,have gone abundance and ordered CTREK optimiser which comes with a kit to bring leads from the battery to an accessable point so I will be able to quickly connect charger with ease.
ndbw
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When I had the Datatool alarm connected on my ZZR, it would discharge the battery to the point of iffy starting in about 3 weeks if the bike was not used. I bought an Oxford Oximiser charger (silly deal on the last day of the NEC show a few years ago) which prevented this happening, but like Westpig, I became concerned about leaving it on all the time. Eventually I settled on a compromise where I would plug it in for a couple of days every two weeks or so. The amber light would go green overnight, and be bright green the day after. This seemed to work just fine.
I have since disconnected / disabled the alarm system (a PITA from day one, good riddance to the thing) and now the battery can be left a couple of months and still spin the engine over quickly. I haven't needed the charger since.
Edited by DP on 02/11/2009 at 09:17
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