How long should I charge a new battery for 1st time?

[minieggroll]

I recently bought a new battery, poured the acid in, and hooked it up to a charger for 2 hours (at 2 amps). However, I was reading from other places to charge the battery overnight or even for 24 hours.

The instructions in the battery say to charge for only 2 hours before first use. Any suggestions?

[JWR]

I prefer overnight.

[jonathan180iq]

I don't always charge my batteries. But when I do, I prefer dos dias.....

http://www.projectooc.com/evtv/_images/2010-09-10-2.png






This is a total joke.
One good charge is enough. Usually 8 hours or so. Overnight makes the time seem to pass more quickly ;)

[Rookie Rider]

Overnight.

[mrlmd1]

If your charger has an indicator of full charge, 2 hours may be enough. You can leave it overnight for convenience but usually 6-8 hrs is enough for a 1.5 amp charger. You have to watch out that your charger does not put out more than this or not have a tapering charge and cook the battery. If your charger is 2 amp I would say 4- 6 hours should be plenty.

[5th_bike]

Mine said to charge until the charging current goes down to 0.3A. With my 1A charger that took about 6-7 hours, so you with a 2A charger, should be good with 3-3½ hours. [note: edit/additions below]

[Edit:] Check the instructions to see if they mention an charging amperage with the specified 2 hours charging time.

If they mean 2 hours with a 4A charger, it should be 4 hours with your 2A charger then.
If they mean 2 hours with a 2A charger - follow the instructions.

[mrlmd1]

A 4A charger is too strong for this size battery - it should be no more than 2 A.

[alantf]

[attachment=0:4iijqeep]Untitled-1.jpg[/attachment:4iijqeep]A 4A charger is too strong for this size battery - it should be no more than 2 A.

Suzuki quote :- 0.7A for 5 to 10 hours, with a maximum of 3A for 1 hour.

[mrlmd1]

That's from Suzuki, but the battery manufacturers are the ones whose recommendations you need to heed. You can destroy a battery pretty fast if you put too many amps into it - it may boil or you can overheat it and warp the plates inside. It always pays to read the instructions that come with whatever you buy, no matter how smart you think you are.

[Water Warrior 2]

I have used my Battery Tender twice to charge up a new battery. 0.85 amps overnight(a long night) and it is ready to go. I do have a 2 amp charger but it doesn't have smart technology or a brain so I just ignore it mostly.

[dentheman]

A smart charger takes out the guesswork. I have a Schumacher SEM-1562A, 1.5 amp maintainer, but it also serves as a charger if the battery is not completely dead. The yellow light comes on when charging and the green light comes on when the battery is charged, and then it will continue to monitor the battery and apply a 'top-off' charge when needed. I have the included ring cable on my battery and the connector comes out just below the saddle, so I just plug the charger into it. On the coldest winter nights I plugged it in to insure my battery wouldn't die/freeze and it did the trick. It beats removing the battery over the winter. No buttons to push or settings to make, totally automatic.