Replacing battery in cold weather.

HondaDreamer

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Hello all,

The very old battery that came with my CA77 just died a noble death and I have a new one - uncharged - ready to replace it.
It's about to be a couple months of cold here in New England, which means I'll be seldom riding, which brings me to my question:
Should I just let the bike hibernate over winter and replace the battery in the spring OR should I replace the battery now and have it sit idle for weeks at a time possibly? The garage I use unfortunately doesn't have electricity that would allow me to use a battery tender.
Any insight would be appreciated.

IMG_6220.jpg
 
Fully-charged (12.45 volts) with a proper liquid electrolyte level (distilled water -> acid) & disconnected & stored on a board disconnected, they only require attention about once per 2 months.

As portably small as they are, just top up the charge with a 0.75-amp (slow) charger on your kitchen or bathroom counter one evening at that frequency.
 
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Boosted said:
Fully-charged (12.45 volts) with a proper liquid electrolyte level (distilled water -> acid) & disconnected & stored on a board disconnected, they only require attention about once per 2 months.

As portably small as they are, just top up the charge with a 2-amp (slow) charger on your kitchen or bathroom counter one evening at that frequency.
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Super helpful, thank you. Is there a charger you'd recommend?
 
HondaDreamer said:
Super helpful, thank you. Is there a charger you'd recommend?
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Any car charger that has a 2 amp charge level option, but do not leave it on 2 amps for more than 10 to 15 minutes max as it is too high a charge level for continuous charge of a 9 amp battery (if yours is 12v). Best option is a charger with a 1 amp charge level option, and/or a trickle option like a maintainer. I have an old Snap-On charger that has 2 amp and .035 amp maintenance charge levels
 
ancientdad said:
Any car charger that has a 2 amp charge level option, but do not leave it on 2 amps for more than 10 to 15 minutes max as it is too high a charge level for continuous charge of a 9 amp battery (if yours is 12v). Best option is a charger with a 1 amp charge level option, and/or a trickle option like a maintainer. I have an old Snap-On charger that has 2 amp and .035 amp maintenance charge levels
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Thank you! I was thinking of getting a maintainer but I don't know if I want to spend $50 on one. Feels like a good investment however.
 
I would get a maintenance type charger for the specific purpose of battery maintenance. It's so easy to make a mistake with a larger charger and set it wrong.
 
HondaDreamer said:
Thank you! I was thinking of getting a maintainer but I don't know if I want to spend $50 on one. Feels like a good investment however.
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Before you do that, look at standard battery chargers around the same price so you get something that will do more than just maintenance. Check their features and see if you can find one with a lower charge level than 2 amps without breaking the bank. I paid about $100 or more for that Snap-On charger but the name was a big part of the price, all their stuff is pricey. Here are a couple that look promising

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS5...=1&refRID=5ZPYK28TAY9MZD2QA4V3#productDetails

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tend...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5ZPYK28TAY9MZD2QA4V3
 
ancientdad said:
Before you do that, look at standard battery chargers around the same price so you get something that will do more than just maintenance. Check their features and see if you can find one with a lower charge level than 2 amps without breaking the bank. I paid about $100 or more for that Snap-On charger but the name was a big part of the price, all their stuff is pricey. Here are a couple that look promising

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS5...=1&refRID=5ZPYK28TAY9MZD2QA4V3#productDetails

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tend...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5ZPYK28TAY9MZD2QA4V3
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Thank you for these links. This is great.
I'm going to a battery store today to get a professional to charge my new battery. I'll maybe ask what they recommend. Really don't want to make a mistake with this, and maybe putting up the money would be worth it. Thanks again!
 
I put an old 2 amp charger on my dead 3 year old 12v generator battery this week for about 3 hrs. It was hot when I got back to it. It seems to be holding a charge now, but I am pretty sure I damaged it. Now I am also looking at battery maintainers like the Tender Jr.

Live and learn.
 
old rectifier "leaks"

Get a cheap Harbor Freight multi meter and test DC voltage every hour. Stop at 12.4-12.6 volts. 2amps can be a bit much, I use a .5 and a 1amp and a 2amp,

depending on battery size but don't trust without a meter check.


If you still have the old style finned selenium rectifier, they can "leak" causing battery drain, sometimes overnight. Best to disconnect your battery ground if not riding for a while or until you get a newer silicone type rectifier. They work better anyway.
 
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Randall said:
I put an old 2 amp charger on my dead 3 year old 12v generator battery this week for about 3 hrs. It was hot when I got back to it. It seems to be holding a charge now, but I am pretty sure I damaged it. Now I am also looking at battery maintainers like the Tender Jr.

Live and learn.
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Yeah, only a full sized car battery can handle continuous 2 amp charge and even then you wouldn't want to leave it for 24 hours. On the older clear-case Yuasa bike batteries you could watch the electrolyte boil after about 15 to 20 minutes on 2 amps or higher. Overheating the plates is the death knell. If the generator battery is still holding at least 12.6 a few days later it's probably okay for now, but at the least you may have taken a little life span from it. I'll start out a low battery on 2 amps but you either have to set a timer to remind yourself or stay in the area and remember to check back on it or it will get hot. I put my charger on a timer module sometimes so I don't have to worry about forgetting, even with some of my cheaper HF rechargeable tools that the charger doesn't cycle when it's fully charged like my 1/2" cordless impact. I set the timer for 3 hours out of the 24 hour day, then catch it the next day before it turns back on again.
 
Yep, I don't trust smart chargers that much. Even if you get voltage up it may be old and gutless. A suggestion I heard was kill switch off, lights on for 10 min. see if there is enough left for starting and then turn everything off for 1/2 hour and see if it comes back up on it's own, sort of a load test.
 
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