newbattery.htm-35
FLOODED batteries:
A flooded battery is the type with cell cap covers, that
you have to add water to occasionally. In general, these are the
types of batteries that are shipped dry, and you add electrolyte in the
initialization process. There are several problems involved with the purchase,
initialization and use, of
a brand new flooded battery (flooded battery here means a battery that you must
fill with an acid mixture before it is used, and that has removable caps for
adding water as it is used up).
***NOTE: There are some other
types of batteries, by SOME manufacturer's, that are NOT 'flooded' types, that
you DO add liquid to. Yuasa's Valve Regulated Battery (VRLA) is such a
type...but you add the ELECTROLYTE only ONCE, then you seal the holes.
If initialization is not done correctly, the flooded battery is likely to NEVER reach its full capacity; AND, will be very likely to have a shortened life. It is very important that gas bubbles be eliminated during the initialization period and a full and complete soaking of the internal parts accomplished. NOTE that, in general, the old-fashioned flooded batteries are the LONGEST LASTING batteries.
Flooded batteries can be extremely dangerous. Acid can blind you. The hydrogen gas given off by a battery can cause an explosion. Do NOT take this lightly. Wear goggles. Have a container of water available.
Scenario #1: Battery or motorcycle dealer fills the fresh dry battery with sulfuric acid electrolyte, and possibly charges it once, maybe not, and sticks it on the shelf for sale. The battery begins to deteriorate from that moment on (it deteriorates especially fast if acid is installed and the battery NOT properly initiated)....and it sits there, deteriorating, awaiting YOU, the customer. You, the customer, walks into a dealership, and YOU need a new battery RIGHT NOW.
Scenario #2: The dealer fills a fresh dry battery with acid mixture (called electrolyte), perhaps installs the battery, and you start your engine and you are happy and off you go down the highway. Such a battery has not properly absorbed the acid, will have bubbles as well as dry places at the plates creating hot spots and chemical problem spots, and will NOT have 100% of its plate areas initialized chemically nor electrically. That battery will NOT last nearly as long as it should, certainly NOT give proper long life... nor operate to its rated capacity and performance.
Scenario #3: The dealer fills a fresh battery with acid
mixture, initializes it in the way explained later in this article, and
then puts it on a Smart Charger, on his shelf, awaiting your purchase. The
dealer sells these shelf batteries within 2 or 3 months.
Congratulations!
Scenario #4: You purchase a battery at
a WalMart or similar. You fill it with the acid that comes with
it. You are aware of the initializing needed, from this article you are
reading, as the instructions that come with the battery are hardly complete in
this regard. BUT....IF that battery has no side vent; fumes are released UPwards.
You find your seat, etc., rotted out, sometime later...ugggh!
Have you talked to WalMart about how their battery WARRANTY works....you may
decide not to purchase batteries from WalMart. Do you know that if you
return a failed battery in, let us say, 3 or 4 months, that the return $
allotment is VERY skimpy? YMMV, with store policy.
Scenario #5: You do Scenario #4, but fail to notice that the battery has no vent tube; only vented caps; and, further, the battery has the + and - terminals on the wrong side. You return to the store with the battery, and find that batteries are covered not by exchange, but by an allowance, and you loose 60% of the $ you paid for it yesterday. Scenario #6 might be that you have been here, done that, before, so you return the battery as 'defective', and get you money back 100%....or, an exchange. The exchange battery also has no vent tube, and your seat rots out 3 years later. YMMV
Scenario
#6: You get the correct battery, initialize it in the
correct way, and probably get a long life from it.
Other battery types in common
use:
There are sealed batteries of
several types
available, besides the above mentioned conventional flooded batteries. The
conventional flooded battery with or
without sealed battery chemistry
MUST be charged regularly, or kept on a maintenance charger, more often
in warm weather.
The
absorbed mat sealed battery, now often called a VRLA (valve regulated...), the
most popular
brand is Panasonic (re-labeled as WestCo when sold by WestCo), also sold by several places including Digi-Key, has very low internal leakage and is shipped from the
manufacturer fully charged, and probably will be OK on a dealers shelf, for 6
months or so, unless the dealership battery storage area is quite hot.
Yuasa makes such a battery, shipped withOUT acid.
NOTE!!....it has been reported to me that WestCo's present battery, in at least one size, is a relabeled "BB" brand, and NOT necessarily a Panasonic. In the past, one could remove the WestCo label and see the Panasonic label. I have NOT investigated this any further, and have NO information, presently, to offer you on the BB.
Flooded batteries are made in two basic formulations. One
of the formulations contains calcium. A calcium containing battery
generally has a slower self discharge, and can be a low, or no, maintenance
type.
ALL the various types of lead-acid batteries, whether sealed, gel, lead-calcium,
lead-antimony, VRLA, AGM, etc., have somewhat differing charge, discharge,
float, self-discharge, temperature and other characteristics.
Common things to know:
The higher the ambient
temperature,
the faster the self-discharge, and more need for re-charging.
Some manufacturer's do NOT furnish the really important
specifications when promoting and selling their products. Some, on
purpose, try to cleverly avoid such information as Cold Cranking Amperes (CCA),
by using other terms, that are of no importance, or even meaningless. BEWARE!
BMW is phasing out flooded batteries and going to what they call a Gel battery
(NOT all gel batteries are the same!!!!), which requires, per BMW, a special type of Smart
Charger. All the various parameters of this battery and its TRUE charging
requirements, settings of the bike voltage regulator, its TRUE expected
lifetime, failure modes, etc......are not yet known accurately enough for me to
make good commentary here. NOTE that BMW started this phasing out,
and then re-instituted at least one size of old-fashioned flooded
battery. hmmm! BMW bikes with ABS-2 are susceptible to
ABS self-check problems with some batteries. Some BMW K bikes will
fry or weld a relay contact with a low battery.
The following is the PROPER way to fill and initialize a flooded battery:
1. Put the battery on your workbench, floor, wherever (concrete floor problems are an old wives tale stemming from wooden case days). Put your safety goggles on. Fill the cells to the upper fluid level mark on the battery using the acid mixture provided. Install the cell cover(s). Let the battery stand close to half a day...to settle in...and cool down. Some battery manufacturer's will say 1 hour minimum. The installation of the acid mixture DOES cause some heating, which can be worse in very hot weather. During this half-day period, occasionally shake/rock the battery to get the bubbles out. I like to do this by rocking the battery back and forth, giving it a bit of a 'knock' on the table/etc.
2. At the end of the half day period, top off the battery
cells again, to the same upper fluid level
line,
NOT water! Install the cell covers.
NOTE that this is
likely
the LAST time you will EVER add acid mixture to the battery....but, don't throw
the acid out.....>> Sometimes a battery may require topping up after being fully
charged and then sits a few hours.
3. After the above step 2, if and when the battery is at baby bottle (luke-warm) temperature or below, THEN you may start charging it. Connect the battery leads to the charger, and ONLY THEN plug in the charger, this is to avoid sparks. Be VERY careful to always avoid sparks near the battery. This is especially critical during the time the cell caps are off. Wear goggles. NOTE: never disconnect a powered battery charger unless its power plug is unplugged from the wall socket first....that HELPS avoids sparks. Have the cell caps in place when playing with the wiring.
4. The approved rate for initial charging of a new
battery is a maximum of 10% of the battery ampere-hour capacity. If you
have a 28 ampere-hour battery, that means 2.8 amperes. On a
practical basis, you will likely be able to use even a RATED 6 to even 10 ampere
car-type charger, so long as its meter-indicated charge does not exceed about 15% of
ampere-hours rating for a FEW minutes before the charge rate
hopefully tapers way down. Discontinue charging if the
battery warms up much beyond luke-warm, and then restart charging after the battery
cools down. You CAN use a small
motorcycle trickle charger, of 1/2 to 3 amperes, but it will take longer to charge the battery. Some of
the small ''wall wart'' chargers (small black box chargers that plug directly
into the wall receptacle) will have internal circuit breakers that will constantly cycle on and
off during initialization of SOME new batteries. DO NOT use a
6+ ampere charger if you have not let the battery absorb the acid mixture and
have not let the battery sit for some hours after that.
Note:
When a dry battery has had acid mixture first put into it, the battery will
automatically gain a certain 'charge'. This is the 'dry-charged
battery' effect. For most batteries, that charge is close to 80%, if
the battery was properly filled and let sit for some hours. If you put the
battery into immediate use on a motorcycle, with its powerful alternator, you
MAY be charging the battery at a too high rate; or, may be discharging it, if
you have a bike with many lights or poor alternator output, and so
on. I strongly advise you do NOT put a new battery, of ANY kind,
into service until you charge it fully.
For a typical battery, that means that the terminal voltage, not mounted in your bike, but on the workbench, AFTER charging, and AFTER letting it sit for an hour or so, will be 12.8 or higher. 12.5 is marginally acceptable. What I am saying here, in another way, is that the terminal voltage reached DURING charging; whilst important, and whilst it will be much much higher than that 12.8...., is NOT the best criteria for when the battery has reached 100% of charge. A much more accurate indication is the battery voltage 2 hours after being disconnected from the charger (and NO load of any kind, not even your bike's clock, on the battery).
5. New...or used battery......NOTE that....the amount of time necessary to charge the
battery, considering chemical inefficiencies, CAN BE AS LONG AS, but not
necessarily is, in hours, the rating
of the battery divided by the AVERAGE charging rate, plus as much as 50%.
I have seen it even longer with constantly cycling wal-wart chargers. The
new-fangled, and bit pricier Smart Chargers (lots of brands) are very
nice, and can be left turned on for extremely long periods (years).
NOTE!....90+%
of all the smart chargers I have seen have NO temperature compensation; or, not
enough. Because of this, many do not initialize a battery well, nor
maintain it well, in, particularly, cold weather. These smart chargers
SEEM to be set for a compromise voltage. Frankly, I prefer
initialization of a new battery using a common type of NON-smart charger, where
one can monitor the temperature and voltage of the battery. I think most
of you will not go this far.
I suggest that you MONITOR the new battery for temperature of the
case or liquid if you can, and MONITOR the battery terminal voltage with an accurate meter now and
then. The battery terminal voltage will slowly rise as the battery
charges. The speed of this rise, and the voltage reached after many hours, is
dependent on the internal characteristics of your charger, and the type of
battery. It takes a
MINIMUM of 12.8 volts at the battery, for a LONG time, to fully
charge a battery. In general
12.8 is NOT nearly high enough to ensure a properly
initialized battery.
Speaking of both the flooded and Absorbed Mat batteries
here, the maximum initializing is 13.8 volts.
At least per the books. In truth, up to 15 volts can be used, and IS
BETTER, if the
charging current is modest. There is a
sweet spot, it is 13.2-13.5 per the books. You might as well disregard
that, I find it WRONG for initial charging...reasonable for warmer climates for
the maintenance mode on a smart charger. All that being said, good and well with
manufacturer's, you are, on a practical basis, going to initially charge the new
battery up
higher in voltage than that, particularly with a NON Smart Charger.
If a flooded battery with removable cell top plugs, you are going to look inside the cells
(no
sparks, wear safety goggles). After some hours, the new flooded
battery voltage will
begin to rise closer to 14 volts and the cells will have many small bubbles
starting to rise; depending on the current. The higher the charging rate, the more the
bubbles. You may not see bubbles if the charging current is quite
low. This is now a good time to keep under that 10% rule. After an hour or two of these bubbles rising, ALL THE
CELLS SHOULD BE 'gassing' at about the same rate. The amount of gassing is
current dependent. More current, more gassing. It may well be
very difficult to see ANY gassing if your charging current is 1/4th or 1/2
ampere, and you do not have to see gassing/bubbles. Your eyeball,
with those
goggles, will easily see if the bubbling is about the same in all cells, if the
current is high enough. Be patient. AND, do NOT move the wires,
causing sparks. NOTE that with sealed batteries you won't be looking for
bubbles, but you WILL be monitoring the terminal voltage. The exact point at which you stop the charging is not
critical. I recommend between 14 and 15 volts, this varies with battery
construction/materials. Smart Chargers may not allow that
much. When all cells are well-gassing, and the voltage
is perhaps 14.4 at room temperature (close to 14.9 at 50°F) the battery is fully charged.
You can remove the charger, and let it sit an hour or so, THEN recheck the
terminal voltage (accurately, please!), in line with that 12.5-12.8+ I mentioned
earlier.
For some batteries the well-gassing point might be reached a bit lower, or a bit higher. Do NOT let it get over
15.0 volts at room temperature. If the current is low, and you can't see
gassing, use the voltage measurement. Conversely, if the bubbling is quite
evident, and you are only at 14.4 volts, and the bubbling is the same in all
cells, the battery is LIKELY fully charged....if the current is low, perhaps
under one ampere.
It is OK to initialize a Panasonic/WestCo and other types of VRLA/AGM batteries
as high as 14.9
at room temperature.
The new BMW Gel batteries have special charging voltage requirements. Ask about the latest recommendations. Some chargers won't work well with them.
6. Unplug the charger from the wall and THEN disconnect
the charger from the battery. This helps avoids sparks.
Sparks are VERY dangerous around flooded batteries in particular.
For a flooded battery, as you are charging, shake and
rock the battery some to dislodge more bubbles. Let the battery sit a few
hours after fully being charged, and repeat the shake and rocking. At this point, if the
battery fluid level is not at the upper line, equally, make it so with more acid
mixture. You will NEVER AGAIN add acid, only water.
7. For a flooded type battery, or a 'fill-it' type of AGM, etc., install the cell covers, install the battery into the motorcycle. Mechanically (sandpaper?) clean the wires before attaching them TIGHTLY to the battery. Be sure the wires are oriented to avoid shorts and sparks. It is a good idea to purchase some of the goop in a tube (NCP2 or equivalent, or even use Vaseline) and coat the entire POSITIVE (+) terminal, and wires there, AFTER assembly;...and, if the insulation is so-so, force some into the wire/insulation junction. Use an old hardware store 'acid brush' or toothbrush suitably modified for this application of protectant. It is NOT necessary to goop the negative terminal area. It is OK to use clear silicone grease for this. The best is the real grease stuff for batteries, it contains anti-corrosives, and does not depend on just the grease barrier.
8. Monitor the BATTERY voltage AT the battery!....start the bike, and as soon as the cylinders have some warmth, increase rpm, watching the voltage. Allow a minute or two, depending on how much you used the starter motor. If it does not reach 13.7 MINIMUM (and 14.5 MAXIMUM, although 14.9 is OK on the sealed batteries at cold temperatures) as the rpm gets higher and higher (might take 4000-5000 rpm depending on the lights, etc. you have), then you have a problem with the charging system or excessive loads of your bike, which needs looking in to. FYI, the voltage regulator should NOT be hot from a previously run engine for this test, unless you allow for that temperature effect (lowers the voltage).
For your information, it is typical for a BMW FAIRING voltmeter, to read approximately 0.2-0.5 v. lower than an accurate digital meter at the battery itself. If over .35 volt difference you may want to check the fairing voltmeter calibration, and if it is OK, then check for resistance at various contacts, relays, and connections, beginning with the ignition switch and starter relay under the tank.
Poor grounding connection at the diode board can cause charging problems...especially with the HORRIBLE rubber mounts and grounding wires needed with those rubber mounts. I STRONGLY suggest changing the mounts to aftermarket metal ones.
9. If you store your bike for the winter, removing the
battery is usually not necessary, so long as you keep it charged. A fully
charged battery will not freeze in typical, even quite cold temperatures, 50
below zero or more. If the
bike is stored in quite sub-freezing temperatures, and won't be recharged or
used with a smart charger, you probably should remove it from
the bike. The colder the battery, the less often it requires
recharging. A small trickle charger is fine every month or so (so is a Smart Charger you
leave connected and plugged in all the time).
************************************************************************************
The WestCo/Panasonic
batteries:
You can purchase these sealed batteries, which come fully
charged, from WestCo....or you can purchase them fully charged from Digi-key, and a few
others. You PROBABLY will find the Digikey price the very lowest,
and that price INcludes free shipping (maybe...see below)!
NOTE that the 28 AH battery from WestCo/Panasonic/Digi-Key is 6.5" x 4.9" x 6.9", and 3 POUNDS heavier than the
flooded Mareg. Float voltage is OK
at 13.5. Float voltage is NOT the bike system voltage under alternator
charging...it is a floating voltage for long term storage, or after overnight
SmartCharger use, with the SmartCharger still connected and powered.
I don't have the dimensions for the smaller battery, but it is on Digikey's
website.
There are two posts available, the suffix is AP and P, don't worry too much about that.
For those interested in 'P and AP', the WestCo battery always was the vertical threaded (5 mm I think)
stainless steel post...which is quite a bit stronger than you think it is. Panasonic
sells both that type and also sells the more
conventional post. Either works fine. From an engineering standpoint, I'd prefer a fatter vertical post, but
the SS post is fine. The more conventional motorcycle type post is my choice, and I
thusly prefer the battery that Digi-Key sells. Clean and shiny are the bywords for connections to the battery and
elsewhere's, as voltage drops make the regulator screw up, or create other problems.
There is a small difference in the maximum height, as measured at the case
top on one, terminals stick up a wee amount on the other. In every
instance I know of, either fits OK all bikes...but minor modifications have been
necessary to avoid tool-tray involvement. These may be as simple as
turning the stock strap upside down. In a few instances I have removed a
small amount of the UNthreaded area from the bottom of the plastic hold-down
knobs. In one instance I made a stainless steel strap...but that bike had
a deeper than usual tool tray.
NOTE....to get shipping free, go to Digi-key.com website, either one of these
URL's gets to the same page:
http://www.digi-key.com/
The LARGER (28AH) battery (Panasonic LC-XB1228P) (not for R65, GS, /5....) is Digi-Key stock # P049-ND. The 0 is a zero in that order number. Some /5 bikes were converted for larger batteries. BMW's use only two basic battery sizes, this is the larger one, which, over the years, has been rated between 25 and 30 ampere-hours.
The smaller battery for our other models, which is 17 to 20
ampere hours (various ratings over the years, same battery) is P231-ND.
Digikey pays for the shipping, IF you pay with order, and your order must be done
correctly!::
You must use the SPECIAL mail/fax order form, download and print it. Here
is a link to get that form; click on the hyperlink in the page displayed. I
HAVE checked that pdf form to see if it is the correct, NO
shipping charge form, and IT IS. NOTE the information on the right
side of the form on shipping and handling.
http://dkc1.digikey.com/US/MKT/HTO.html
If that does not work, simply click on the main page for Site Map, and the
form is listed on that page.
If you want specifications information on the batteries, you can use the links
to the manufacturer's part numbers.
Once you have that form printed, then go to the Digikey website and enter the search box with the battery part number, which is P049-ND, or P231-ND, depending on which battery you want. The result from the search will be a display of the current PRICE. Enter the figure in the FORM you printed. Remember, NO handling charge, NO shipping charge....read the FORM!
Fill it out, enclose a check!!, and mail it to the PROPER address.
NOTE: Digikey, like most distributors, makes changes on their website now and then as to how to find and order things....so, my information here is to provide some sort of guidelines for Digikey.
UPDATE!!!.....Digikey may ask for shipping $, even when done as above. They HAVE honored the information, but may still ask for shipping, or part of shipping costs. They might quote the website or other forms (such as the second page of the three pages you get when downloading your form) in which they state...(free) "....unless such charges exceed 10% on orders of $200 or less, or 5% on orders greater than $200. Digikey will notify you prior to shipment if these conditions exist".
However, even with shipping, their prices are the cheapest I have found.
**ANOTHER UPDATE!! This was a reply I did, slightly edited, to the Airheads LIST, the morning of 03-03-2006:
As most of you know, the procedure for ordering the Panasonic Battery from Digikey has been posted on the LIST many times....and it is also in my website's battery article. The procedure requires, for free shipping, to use the Digikey special Mail/FAX Order Form, send a check, and use the Thief River Falls, MN address. I have ordered quite a few of these batteries, using exactly the same procedure each time, from Digikey. I have had ONE goof-up, and want to explain what happened, as this was the very last order I placed, in November...and MIGHT affect YOU.
NOTE: The 28 AH Panasonic batteries are narrower, and you can, if you want, add a side
spacer of wood or?, or not. It is a small amount taller. Because of that small height increase, and depending on your bike, you may
or may not have
to do one or the other or two of the following:
1. Turn the existing battery top holder, upside down
2. Sand the BOTTOMS of the battery plastic hold down knobs....you will see that the threads do not start
immediately, so this is of zero consequence. If you do this, do it squarely.
3. Make a top strap (less likely with #1 being tried).
These batteries come fully charged if fresh. The negative and positive terminals are on the correct side. The
self-discharge rate is quite low when the battery is new, so even if the battery sat for 3 months, it is still
nearly fully charged. Probably sits around 12.7 or 12.8. EVEN THOUGH
these supposedly come fully charged, I suggest that you check the charge.
Adjusting the VR, if you have one: Measure ONLY AT the battery terminals themselves. If you have a dash voltmeter you are probably going to want to NOTE what it reads in comparison to the digital voltmeter you are using at the battery, probably 0.3 volt less. Be sure, of course, that your grounds, cables, brushes, wiring inside the timing chest, etc....are all properly tight and all grounds properly grounded...before adjusting the regulator. BE SURE you do that!
Refer to the diode
board article in this website for LOTS more information. Room temperature, try for
14.4 volts for the VR setting as a decent compromise, although up to 14.9 is OK on this battery, but
13.8 and under is a bad
idea. As soon as the engine warms, the heat rises into the regulator, and the voltage starts going down, so do it before much heat develops. I start from
a cool engine,
and adjust the regulator after a 2 minute warmup, which is enough to allow me to go to 4000 rpm
or so without injuring the engine. I have articles posted on my website and on the airheads website, on the regulators and on the grounding
information. It is a GOOD idea, if you have rubber mounts on the diode board, to change them to aftermarket solid metal
ones before adjusting the regulator. PIA to install, but real good idea. Motorrad Elektrik and Thunderchild sell the mounts.
Stan Smith at RockyPointCycle sells adjustable regulators very reasonably
priced.
Setting the regulator without knowing that all is OK...wiring, mounts, diode board, connections,
grounding...etc....is somewhat of a waste of time.
***NEVER...EVER....remove the timing chest outer cover without FIRST disconnecting the
battery, typically by removing all the wires at the negative post (if only the one big
wire at that post, you can do it at
the speedo cable bolt, which lug can be modified for easier removal in
future...with the smallest hole snip; be sure to use the washers).
Other battery sources:
WestCo Battery; 1620 Sunkist Street-Unit L; Anaheim, CA 92806;
714-938-5080; FAX 714-938-5307. http://www.westcobattery.com
http://www.gotbatteries.com
small vertical
terminal, a-la-WestCo.
800-551-5645 Portable Power Systems
Yuasa, sealed battery, for Harley Davidsons, about 1 inch shorter
335 CCA #YIX30L Yuasa, Allan Kohler 800-538-3627 (I have NOT
confirmed this information).
Yuasa has a Y60N28AL-B battery, is OK. NOT the YB18.
Some have used 'Garden tools' batteries. Be careful with flooded types, if
no overflow/vent tube, you could see the fumes from the caps rot out your steel
pan seat, ETC., over many years. The typical garden battery used is
size U-1.
http://batteryweb.com ask for
Ric, conventional terminals
********************************************************
BATTERY CHARGERS:
There is nothing wrong about using a common battery charger, NON-smart type, if done properly.
This applies to any of the battery types....absorbed mat (now called Valve Regulated...), flooded
(slosh), sealed, etc. There are some questions about how to
charge the new BMW GEL battery, so I am not...YET....covering them
HERE.
These NON-smart type chargers can often be had quite inexpensively, and
they are perfectly adequate for many of you. BUT.....if you store your
bike for periods of time (Winter?), and you ignore the bike during storage, you do NOT want a
common type (non-smart) charger left turned on continuously. Nothing wrong with turning
on a common LOW output type once a month, typically overnight, less for the Panasonic type
batteries (or much less time for larger chargers).
The Smart chargers are called SMART because (of many other things they MIGHT do)
they recharge a battery to a reasonably proper higher initial voltage (many are
too low though), that higher voltage is NEEDED to recharge the battery fully; and, then they automatically
drop the charging voltage to one or two lower levels, the final level is usually called the
Float Level of charge...which is just enough to maintain the charged condition. For
flooded batteries, the fluid use is typically negligible in constant Smart
Charger usage. In that respect, and because the SMART chargers can be left turned on all the time, the battery is slightly better off
than being recharged manually now and then. Some of this is because flooded batteries,
especially, tend to lose a fair amount of charge every month, day, hour, that they just sit
there...and this happens FASTER as the temperature the bike is subjected to, rises. So, this
effect is more important in quite hot weather.
BE SURE to see the SPECIAL note on Smart Chargers, at the end of this article!!
The new GEL BMW batteries are a special situation, and I do NOT have
any experience with their supposedly very special charging
characteristics. When I do, or have reliable information I feel I can
trust, I will post it here.
For folks that commute in cities such that the STOCK Airhead electrical system does not keep the battery
fully charged, and you wisely connect a battery charger every night, you PROBABLY should have a
Smart charger, with an easy to plug-in setup. In fact, an easy attaching
method is a good idea. The BMW accessory plug and socket works just fine for that
purpose. Be advised that there is supposed to be a 8 ampere fuse in that
plug wiring. Mind cautions about the sockets possibly
grounding the battery withOUT the battery ground wire at the speedometer bolt
being connected.
As a general rule, the largest size of battery charger that might be used safely with your airhead's
battery is one rated at 6 to 10 amperes. A smaller one is better for most folks. Even one as
small as 1/4th ampere is OK. NOT always. One that is too small may
well not recharge the battery if it is well-drained from a day's commuting and
you use the bike again the next morning. Most motorcycle type chargers are rated at 0.5 to 3 amperes. NOTE that most of the various types of chargers, especially the cheap 'wall-wart' ones,
have a built in circuit breaker, that tends to constantly recycle if the battery charge level is quite
low....or a cell or two are somewhat, or more than somewhat, failing.
There are, or can be, a relatively important problem with larger size chargers. Depending on the
particular design, they MIGHT TEND TO overcharge the battery if left turned on for too long. It
is NOT the current output CAPABILITY that causes this (at least up to the 12
ampere size, generally), but the internal resistance of the charger is lower, and the output voltage
also TENDS, by design, to be a wee bit higher, thus this type of charger TENDS to
overcharge. NOT ALL will do this. If the charger is vigorous enough (not all will do this)
enough current flows into the battery, the battery will get hot, plates may buckle, the acid mixture and reaction causes hydrogen gas and water vapor to escape, especially on the open vented
flooded batteries. Putting such a charger on a sealed battery might well cause
internal pressures that could cause a mini-explosion. I think
10% of capacity, in amperes, is OK as a maximum for INITIAL FEW MINUTES of
charging.
Restating all this: the problem is that SOME of these chargers are probably
designed such that their output current does not taper off ENOUGH, as the battery terminal
voltage rises from the charging. This is NOT universally true! I have a 10 ampere charger, that works just fine. Mine has an adjustable timer on it, a handy
feature, but not really needed for most purposes. If I connect this charger to one of my airheads
in my garage once a month, it shows a 6 ampere charge for less than half a minute, and is
down to 4 amperes within a few minutes, then slowly tapers to under 1 ampere as the battery is
recharged. That type of operation is just fine. You don't want 5 or
more amperes of charging for very long, minutes is usually OK. Typically a recharge takes an hour or two after a couple of months of flooded battery
sitting. An absorbed mat battery (AGM or VRLA) (WestCo/Panasonic/Digi-Key/Yuasa) will USUALLY recharge far more quickly, as its
internal self-discharge is quite low, even in hot weather. A Smart Charger
might take overnight for any type.
IF you use a common, NON-smart charger, MONITOR now and then the battery voltage.
If it is a larger type, monitor that the current does not stay up too high for
very long. When the voltage reaches the fully charged amount, turn the charger off,
depending on the battery type this might be higher. Don't allow the battery to get over baby bottle
warmth. The range of voltage depends on the battery type, and the temperature of the battery.
For temperatures near freezing, that voltage might be 14.5 on a flooded battery, and 14.9 on an
absorbed mat battery. For 70°F temperature, the voltages will be lower.
I like 14.3 on a flooded, 14.7 on an AGM...as a general rule
If you use a larger battery charger, many will have a meter that monitors the charging CURRENT. It is OK for that current to be
initially rather high...maybe 6 amperes....IF!! ... that current level drops within a FEW minutes to
under 4, and then slowly downward. This applies to both sizes of the airhead batteries. The rule
of thumb that a battery should not be charged at a rate over 10% of its ampere-hour rating is a
good rule, but not an absolutely strict one. If your larger battery charger is still delivering 3 or
more amperes and the terminal voltage of the battery is already over 14, then you want to be very
cautious about using that charger at any time. NOTE that these currents
are for already in use batteries, not for initializing a new one.
The use of the old-fashioned service station quick chargers (75 amperes and higher) is
absolutely forbidden for our airheads...and is not good for large car batteries either. Huge input
currents will cause spot heating in the battery, and plate buckling, steam, quite possibly the battery
will be destroyed, and rather quickly.
CAUTIONS: NEVER, EVER!!!, remove the cell tops of a flooded battery during the time the
electricity to the charger is turned on, or you intend to mess with the wires, power on or not.
Hydrogen gas is emitted, sometimes a bubble will be given off unnoticeably, not just when the
battery is noticeably 'gassing'. One spark from the leads, and you could be covered with
acid...the battery could, literally, explode. That acid will likely damage your
eyes, very seriously. Wearing of protective goggles at all times is a very good idea. Goggles are very cheap compared to one's
eyesight!! The acid in batteries is sulfuric, and that acid attacks skin,
quickly, and will destroy your eyesight!!!
WARNING!!!!!!****If you install a battery that is the flooded type, and the only venting is a hole in each cap, or the top area, and there is no plastic tube leading downward..some similar method, corrosive gases will eat out your metal seat pan, or do other damage in the area, eventually.
NOTE: Excessive charging, over a long period of time, even if the excess charging is of a rather low level, will slowly cause oxidation of the inter-cell connections, eating them away, and reducing battery life.
************************
Here is some information that
you more nerdy types might like to have:
Batteries deteriorate, fully charged or
not. Deterioration varies with temperature and type of
battery. In general, every 15°F ABOVE a nominal 77°F the battery is
stored or operated at, will HALVE the life of the battery. Batteries
also self-discharge. In GENERAL, a flooded battery loses about 1% of
its charge per day in Summer temperatures. For an AGM, the loss is much
lower, perhaps 1-3% per MONTH. When you charge any battery type, the
conversion is not 100% efficient. For flooded batteries, you must
put into the battery about 15-20% more electrical energy than the battery will
give back. This 15-20% is converted to HEAT in the battery during
this charging. For AGM's, the conversion is more efficient,
perhaps as low as a 5% loss. There is a peculiarity with Gel
and AGM batteries, that deals with a mathematical function called Peukerts
Exponent. No need to get into the math, here. What it means is
that Gel and AGM batteries can be discharged (there is a recharge effect too) at
a higher % of capacity rate than flooded batteries with a minimal loss of total
capacity. Let me explain that a tad more. If you have a
fully charged battery of any type, the battery has an ampere-hour
rating. A 28 AH battery SHOULD, theoretically, deliver 280 amperes
for 6 minutes, 28 amperes for 1 hour; or, 2.8 amperes for 10 hours, or 0.28
amperes for 100 hours....and so on. However, batteries are less
efficient as current drain goes UP. Thus, a battery typically LOSES
capacity as the drain RATE increases. The AGM and GEL
batteries are MUCH LESS affected by this, than the flooded types.
For the very nerdy, the Peukerts value is LESS for the AGM and GEL.
**********************
The BMW Gel Battery,
characteristics, charging, bike voltage regulator settings, and whatever else I
can find out:
((section to be added in future))
SPECIAL note on Smart
Chargers:
Smart Chargers vary in design.
SOME have safety features that can cause you a mess of confusion and some
problems, if you don't know about what I am going to tell you
here. Some of these chargers will have NO OUTPUT, therefore NO
CHARGING!!.....unless the battery they are connected to....has at least some
voltage (often maybe 8 or greater) to begin with, and the voltage needed varies with the manufacturer and
model! IF your battery is drained very considerably, or is
dead, and your Smart Charger does NOT start to charge that battery, you have NO
CHOICE but to use some other type of charger on that battery, until the battery
terminal voltage rises enough for the Smart Charger to recognize it and turn
itself on! Of course, the battery could be no good, but it will not
hurt to try a conventional charger on the battery for awhile. For a
very dead battery, it usually takes only seconds of any other type of charger,
even a momentary connection (best with a series lamp or other resistance) to a
car battery....to put just enough of a charge into your bike battery to allow it
to trigger the Smart Charger immediately afterwards. I've already
mentioned, well above, my concerns about smart chargers NOT being temperature
compensated, nor, having ENOUGH initialization charging voltage.