02-03-2019, 04:31 AM
On a closely related sideline; how many of you actually " work" your battery when in winter storage?
Just leaving the battery on the optimate is of course preferred over just leaving the battery to"sit" over winter but from the battery's point of view it still falls asleep, i think most would agree with me that a working battery is a happy battery, even with the tender connected it is a good idea to exercise your battery by switching the ignition on for 5 to 10 minutes, the pump runs and builds pressure, the ecu cycles on and the battery discharges at a rate of around 5 amperes with the h4 light on, the heat build up of the halogen is the limiting factor.
Depending on the rider's situation and preference you could even start the engine, run it for 20 seconds and let the tender top up the battery again, that way you also find out early and when the battery has actually given up, i do this about every month over winter and even take it for a short spin on a nice day.
Here is a link to some thoughtful practical points on various batteries i came across;
[url=http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?main_page=page&id=18&chapter=1]http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?...&chapter=1
It does not cover sitting in winter but explains a lot about different batteries, and i personally want to verify if the battery tender float voltage is appropriate for the battery ( or defective ) by checking it with a volt meter, a $20 meter will provide you with peace of mind and prevent unpleasant surprises.
Over time i have destroyed nice gel cell batteries by overcharging them, even one day is enough to permanently destroy them, i never go over 13.5 volts on a lead acid of any kind for a float charge,( if the battery is full it converts the incoming charge into heat and eats itself ) any more is pushing it for no reason i can think off except when it is critical to maintain 100% delivery capacity in case of a power outing situation in a commercial setting, but you pay for that with a shorter battery life .
Most of us have an opinion about batteries, this is mine from experience, i have also started to look at lithium but at this stage i wait for reliable reports about them but it does look promising.
Float charge means; to maintain a " float" voltage that supplies current that balances out the discharge rate of the battery.
At a set voltage the charger ( tender as in "tending" ) supplies a very small amount usually some milli-amps ( thousands of an ampere ) to offset the self discharge of a battery.
Somewhat like having a full bath ( with capacity to empty ) and maintaining the full level with a slow dripping tap to offset the evaporation of the water, the hotter it gets the more drops are needed to maintain the full level or even a toilet cystern with a float valve
If this amount gets bigger over time it indicates the end of the battery's life.
So the tender makes up for the quality of the battery thereby maintaining it's level of charge over time, low battery voltage is another way for a battery to lose faith as is low or high temperatures.
Hope this helps.
Just leaving the battery on the optimate is of course preferred over just leaving the battery to"sit" over winter but from the battery's point of view it still falls asleep, i think most would agree with me that a working battery is a happy battery, even with the tender connected it is a good idea to exercise your battery by switching the ignition on for 5 to 10 minutes, the pump runs and builds pressure, the ecu cycles on and the battery discharges at a rate of around 5 amperes with the h4 light on, the heat build up of the halogen is the limiting factor.
Depending on the rider's situation and preference you could even start the engine, run it for 20 seconds and let the tender top up the battery again, that way you also find out early and when the battery has actually given up, i do this about every month over winter and even take it for a short spin on a nice day.
Here is a link to some thoughtful practical points on various batteries i came across;
[url=http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?main_page=page&id=18&chapter=1]http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?...&chapter=1
It does not cover sitting in winter but explains a lot about different batteries, and i personally want to verify if the battery tender float voltage is appropriate for the battery ( or defective ) by checking it with a volt meter, a $20 meter will provide you with peace of mind and prevent unpleasant surprises.
Over time i have destroyed nice gel cell batteries by overcharging them, even one day is enough to permanently destroy them, i never go over 13.5 volts on a lead acid of any kind for a float charge,( if the battery is full it converts the incoming charge into heat and eats itself ) any more is pushing it for no reason i can think off except when it is critical to maintain 100% delivery capacity in case of a power outing situation in a commercial setting, but you pay for that with a shorter battery life .
Most of us have an opinion about batteries, this is mine from experience, i have also started to look at lithium but at this stage i wait for reliable reports about them but it does look promising.
Float charge means; to maintain a " float" voltage that supplies current that balances out the discharge rate of the battery.
At a set voltage the charger ( tender as in "tending" ) supplies a very small amount usually some milli-amps ( thousands of an ampere ) to offset the self discharge of a battery.
Somewhat like having a full bath ( with capacity to empty ) and maintaining the full level with a slow dripping tap to offset the evaporation of the water, the hotter it gets the more drops are needed to maintain the full level or even a toilet cystern with a float valve
If this amount gets bigger over time it indicates the end of the battery's life.
So the tender makes up for the quality of the battery thereby maintaining it's level of charge over time, low battery voltage is another way for a battery to lose faith as is low or high temperatures.
Hope this helps.