Thread: prevent battery failure
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Old Apr 13, 2010 | 02:52 PM
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waldig
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: VA
Talking Re: prevent battery failure
With ANYBATTERY float charger or tender, you gotta be sure that the open unconnected potential at the terminals is about 13.5 volts or so. Cheap chargers can be all over the place and if high will dry out a battery on standby before you know about it.

There was a guy pointing out that there was a sale on amazon for like 6$ for really good chargers, and I got another 3. Testing proved the outputs to be closely regulated. Some of the cheaper 2 amp chargers can toast a battery in as little as a week - cause there are 24 hours x 7 days x 1 or 2 amps and you gotta a self inflected wound. Measure twice, cut once.

BTW harbor has really good disposable multimeters at 4.99 and on special are as low as 2.99..Get a few and if you blow it you can grab another, cause stuff happens. Woody