Written By Marina Dawson

The simple explanation on how to charge your batteries is to hook them up to a charger. But like most things in life, it’s never quite that easy. Not only are there different ways to charge your battery without using an actual battery charger, but there are also things that you do daily with your batteries that can affect how effectively they recharge. And last but not least, don’t forget that not all battery chargers are created equal. A good understanding of how to charge batteries to protect both yourself and the battery will prevent many potential problems.

First, before charging your battery you’ll need to think about safety. Use a clean workspace to set up the charger and battery and ensure the area is well ventilated before you start charging. If the batteries need water, top them up prior to recharging. The caps located on your battery are there to prevent fire, so do not remove them at any time. Charge with the caps in place, and if your battery doesn’t have these caps then you’ll need to cover them with a wet cloth.

How you use your batteries will greatly affect how the recharging cycle works. Batteries should never be discharged to below twenty percent of their totally capacity, if you can at all help it. Allowing your battery to be used to one hundred percent of capacity will greatly reduce its life and ability to recharge. The battery should always be recharged to its maximum capacity, as continually using or storing a battery with only a partial charge will contribute to sulphation and a decreased battery life. Additionally, over-charging your battery will also lead to sulphation. You don’t want to continually discharge your battery by about fifty percent and then recharge. Instead, a full recharge should be completed after the battery dips below the fifty percent mark, but above twenty percent.

A three-stage battery charger is designed specifically to recharge batteries in a way that provides the most efficiency and extends the lifespan of the battery. Using other devices that are not designed for recharging batteries, such as a converter in an RV, will drastically shorten the life cycle of your battery. Often they do not alter the voltage used to charge the battery, and therefore will fully recharge the battery. Constantly using your battery in a partial state of discharge will lead to sulphation and a battery that can’t hold its charge. On the flip side, these devices can sometimes maintain a steady voltage that is too high, resulting in boiling your batteries dry and causing excessive corrosion.

It is important to recognize that battery chargers are complicated pieces of machinery. Your charger should be kept dry, and the air holes on the bottom be allowed to vent freely. Do not attempt to repair a battery charger on your own, or to operate one that may have been damaged. When charging, remember that the red cable always is hooked up to the positive terminal, and the black to the negative. Be sure to recharge your battery as quickly as possible after a discharge especially if you have overused your battery and discharged it to a dangerously low level. By limiting the amount of time it sits idle you will decrease the damage inflicted to it.

Remember, how you charge your batteries and what you charge them with will be crucial in keeping up the lifespan of your batteries. Knowledge of proper charging is a must!

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