battery maintenence on yak systems

[Mike K.]

Kind of a boring topic but fairly important. I have been using a standard trickle charger but am never quite sure if the charge is adequate or if I am overdoing it. There are some excellent web sites out ther on SEALED LEAD ACID BATTERIES and their maintenance. From what I've seen, it is not good to quick charge these things...a slow charge is preferred... but a trickle charger may still kill the batteries over time. They should also not be left discharged for very long. If these mistakes are made, condition called SULPHATION occurs which is the buildup of crystals within the battery that eventually reduces the charge capacity and kills it. There are SMART CHARGERS out there that can vary the output automatically and maintain the battery indefinitely but are very expensive. As I was finding all this out, I happened to open the latest Harbor Freight Tools flyer and noticed a dirt cheap ($4.99 on sale) FLOAT CHARGER that slowly (12-24hr) charges the battery and can and should be left hooked up all the time to maintain the charge without worry of overcharging or cooking the battery. It is preferrable to keep the battery at 100% charge all the time according to the web sites. I called several battery companies to confirm this and all were in agreement that the float charger was best. This will insure maximun battery life and output with no worry of over or under doing it. I encourage all to do their own homework on the subject and confirm what has been written here but hope this helps...for $5 it's hard to go wrong.