Battery Charging Question

[MrRiden]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a UB12220 battery from Amazon but was wondering about charging. Is there anything I need to be aware of or can I toss this on my Battery Tender Jr / 30 yr old sears charger without causing an unfortunate event? Thanks.

[Bob_Roller]

Battery tender will work fine on the AGM battery .
You don't have to keep it on all the time the AGM's don't discharge as fast as a flooded type battery .
Don't use a trickle charger, they never stop charging .

[Barry]

Even if you only use the bike once every 2 weeks an AGM battery won't need charging and I agree with Bob that it's not a good idea to keep them permanently on trickle charge unless you are very confident that the charge voltage is matched to the battery. I wouldn't do it simply because with an AGM it's unnecessary.

As to charging your new battery when it is necessary, any charger will do provided the recommended charge voltage of 14.6 - 14.8 volts is not exceeded. The voltage must be reduced to 13.6 - 13.8 volts when they reach full charge. An unregulated charger can damaged an AGM if the voltage is allowed to remain too high.


http://files.upgi.com:8086/UPGFileService.svc/GetSpecSheet/40582

[mrclubike]

The only reason I put my AGM on the charger is when I am going to start the bike when it is below 40F just so it has more power to crank the motor over with the Bosch starter
In Arizona I don't see a huge need for a battery tender

AGM's do like a higher charging voltage than a normal flooded battery like 14 to 14.5
I run my Odyssey at 14.6
Odyssey recommends up to14.8

[mrclubike]

The AGM really likes it colder
Looks like the hotter it is the more they discharg

[Bob_Roller]

Heat shortens the life of  battery .
The average service life of a motorcycle battery here is 24-30 months .
Auto battery 36-40 months .
That's why I've gone to generic AGM batteries .
The last Odyssey battery I had, lasted 19 months .

[Barry]

A useful chart posted above by Mrclubike. It gives a clear indication of when to charge a battery in storage. In my climate I'm good for 6 months minimum but at 30 Deg C only 3 months.  A normal wet cell battery will discharge a lot faster though so an AGM is still the way to go.