Trickle Charge
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Joined: Jun 2001
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From: McHenry
Trickle Charge
I have a charger with 12V 10amp and 12V 2amp settings. Which setting should I trickle charge at? Also can I leave the battery hooked up to the car or should I remove before hooking up the charger?
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
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From: At the beach in little Rhody
Re: Trickle Charge (shftn6)
Based on the description of your charger, I would say neither. A trickle charger or battery maintainer will sense the voltage and then shut off until the battery goes down to a certain lever where it will go on again. The two I know of are the Schumacher and the Battery Tender. The one you have sounds like a battery charger not made for storage.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 1999
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From: Tucson AZ
Re: Trickle Charge (shftn6)
If you, in fact, want to trickle charge a "low" battery, I would use the 2 amp setting. Let it work overnight. If you want to maintain a battery, I would recommend the Battery Tender; works great. :)
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From: McHenry
Re: Trickle Charge (shftn6)
Both the 2amp and the 10amp cycle as the battery needs it. The front of the charger says 2amp for small batteries and 10 for large.
Also can I leave the battery hooked up to the car?
Also can I leave the battery hooked up to the car?
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Monticello MN
Re: Trickle Charge (carpe dm)
If you, in fact, want to trickle charge a "low" battery, I would use the 2 amp setting. Let it work overnight. If you want to maintain a battery, I would recommend the Battery Tender; works great. :)
Ed
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Joined: Aug 2000
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Re: Trickle Charge (C5XTASY)
A true "trickle Charger" is usually 0.5 amps a has a sensor built in to stop charging when the battery is fully charged, and then come on again when the voltage drops to a certain point. A combo that works well for me is a wall mounted Wal_Mart trickle charger along with an Optima Yellow Top. I store my car for long periods-I feel one coming on now-and haven't had a problem. :flag
