Topic: Lead/Acid Battery Maintenance

[That 70s Bike]

Wondering how often distilled water needs to be added to the battery when it is only driven 5-10 miles every other month and a battery tender is used intermittently. Reason I ask is I didn't stay on top of it and when it wouldn't even kick start, I pulled the battery & found the electrolite practically empty on one end gradually to 1/2 full on the other. I neglected to check it because I'd always think I'd have to take out the battery to see the level but  now realize I could've opened the caps & checked it that way.
I bought a new battery but am wondering if the original '76 CB-750 charging system could be overcharging the battery. I haven't desired to update the charging system as long as it was charging.
I know some prefer AGM batteries but the cheaper lead acid is working fine other than this issue.

[scottly]

The battery tender is more likely responsible for boiling off the electrolyte than the stock charging system, given that the bike is only ridden 5-10 miles every other month.

[Bodi]

The battery tender will definitely slowly dry out a battery. When I had charging problems and left it connected when not riding, I had to top up the battery fairly often. I connect it for a day about once a month over the winter to avoid losing too much water.
I have a few large (100cc?) syringes and stuck a few inches of small tubing to one, it works perfectly for adding distilled water through the tiny filler holes.
Going dry is rather bad for the batteries, the bottoms of the plates are exposed to stronger and stronger acid. The electrolyte level should always be above the plates.

[Terry in Australia]

Pony up the dough for an AGM  battery mate, the one in my Triumph lasted 10 years.

[That 70s Bike]

Thanks for the insight guys. I didn't realize a "trickle" charger would do that

Terry, that's great that the Triumph OEM battery brand lasted you 10 years! The OEM Yuasa AGM batteries in my 2 frequently ridden late model bikes only last 4 years

[TwoTired]

Thanks for the insight guys. I didn't realize a "trickle" charger would do that

Yes dumb trickle chargers always try to to put more into a full battery than they can take.  This results in electrolysis which separates H2O from H2SO4.  Those are the designations for water and sulfuric acid.  Freeing the water allows it to evaporate.

Smart automatic maintenance chargers "can" avoid that.  But, they need a temperature compensation circuit, and ideally, a temperature probe for the battery, to keep from overcharge levels, as the ""full" voltage capability of the battery varies with temperature.

The average Joe won't pay for such added complexity and shops based on labeling and price, so most available don't have that circuitry.

The result is battery water loss and sometimes destruction, resulting from the "set-and-forget" connection of trickle chargers.

Cheers,

[That 70s Bike]

...Smart automatic maintenance chargers "can" avoid that.  But, they need a temperature compensation circuit, and ideally, a temperature probe for the battery, to keep from overcharge levels, as the ""full" voltage capability of the battery varies with temperature.

The average Joe won't pay for such added complexity and shops based on labeling and price, so most available don't have that circuitry...

So this might explain why a Harbor Freight trickle charger can be got on sale for $6.99 and the Battery Tender brand is $35~$40 & never on sale!

[TwoTired]

I forgot to mention that the battery size matters.  The area of the plate surface effects absorption rate.

A trickle charger on a large 12v battery has much less overcharge issues (electrolyte loss) than on a small 12V battery.

It's really related the charge current capability vs battery max energy storage potential.

Cheers,

[derelicte]

For anyone looking, I just bought a sealed battery myself at a great deal and wanted to share.  Batterysharks.com - $33.50 shipped.  I'm reviving an old project and the last battery was shot.  Coupon code "moto7" saved an extra 2 bucks.

[Terry in Australia]

Terry, that's great that the Triumph OEM battery brand lasted you 10 years! The OEM Yuasa AGM batteries in my 2 frequently ridden late model bikes only last 4 years

Yeah mate, the battery is still in it (it's 10th birthday was last Saturday) and before I write it off completely I'm gonna hook up to my Optimate 6 smart charger, to see if it can't revive it, I bought an expensive replacement battery for it but realised that it's just a "Maintenance Free" lead acid battery and I wanted an AGM, so it'll probably go on my ride on mower.

The back story is that my brother bought the bike new but got sick and couldn't ride it, so it sat in his garage for 2 years, and had only 20 miles on the odometer when I bought it. The battery had gone flat so he had it charged up for me, but I don't know what damage it incurred sitting discharged for so long?

I've had it hooked up to my BMW trickle charge for as long as I've had it, but occasionally I've accidentally unplugged it and left it unplugged for weeks at a time, so it's maintenance over my 8 year ownership hasn't been ideal. Still, it's held up well over that time. Cheers, Terry.

[Ujeni]

I am a big believer in AGM sealed batteries just like Terry. Last longer, more cold crank amps and, best of all, they won't drip acid and stain the exhaust!

I've left mine unattended for more than six months in the past and returned to find that it had barely lost any charge.

I now run them on all my bikes. Even my older 6V bikes!

[jonda500]

I replaced my 1 still working lead acid battery a while back because my charger was saying it was only 75% charged even after charging it over night. With a new battery in my ridden bike I spent a few weeks stuffing around with the old battery. For the first few days, I was leaving it on charge all night, then checking in the morning to find it nearly 100% charged but very hot and the water level almost down to the plates - this went on for over a week and I was close to giving up on it when I noticed I wasn't losing as much water overnight any more and it wasn't getting so hot! I kept persisting and over the following few weeks it gradually improved to the point where now it only takes a couple of minutes on the charger to reach 100% and the water very rarely needs topping up, even if I leave the charger connected all day. I felt like I was wasting my time at first but now it seems like I've resurrected it - now my next step is to resurrect  a bike to put it in...
John

[seanbarney41]

am I the only crazy here that doesnt use a charger regularly?  thats for when you leave your lights on all day or something.  Seriously, get new battery, install it, ride, add distilled water once in a while if they need it, they last for years.  I live in Michigan and rarely do I even need to charge in the springtime.  I don't even have a battery charger that I keep with my bikes.

[Terry in Australia]

You might just be lucky Sean. Before I started using AGM batteries and smart chargers, I was lucky if I'd get two years out of a battery. One Yuasa battery I installed in a CB750 died in 6 months! Owning lots of bikes and having company cars provided meant that the bikes would sit for long periods unridden, and (especially in winter) the occasional weekend ride wouldn't be enough to keep them alive.

Since I started using AGM batteries and smart chargers, I'm getting years of use out of them. How many guys do you know who get 10 years out of one motorcycle battery? Cheers, Terry.

[jonda500]

I got sus on my bat when I was doing my very occasional (maybe once a year?) battery maintenance where I remove the battery from the bike, top up with distilled water and thoroughly clean up the terminals and the entire exterior with bi-carb or boiling water before giving it a quick top off with the charger and reinstalling. My ridden bike is kick only so hooking the bat to the charger when servicing it reassures me that it's all good and I can forget about it for another year or so. (A good new bat will be at 100% within 30 seconds of hooking it up to the charger even after sitting for two weeks.)

I forgot to mention in my last post that every time I replaced the water that had boiled off over night, the bat went from nearly 100% back down to 75% and would take all night to get back to 100 again, but then would need topping up again  - I can't believe how long I persisted with it!

I'm with seanbarney on battery charging, particularly here in Aus where we ride all year round, you really shouldn't ever need to use a charger at all - I got through the 80's and 90's without owning a charger.
John

[scottly]

am I the only crazy here that doesnt use a charger regularly?

You're not alone, Sean. Batteries like to be used. If one starts to self-discharge, I put a load on it for a while, like the headlight, before starting the charger. The "smart" charger I have is "thick as a brick", to quote Jethro.
Terry, you might want to be careful trying to recover the battery in the Trumpet; the "smart" charger may raise the battery voltage to 17V; while this would not harm our CB's (as long as the key was off), the modern bikes (and cars) with EFI have the computer connected to power at all times. Would that voltage be enough to damage the computer? I don't know, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way. Also, modern systems have a parasitic draw; after sitting for two months, the battery on my Civic was down to 10V.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Scott, I've used the Opti-Mate on the Triumph before when I left the battery charger off for a few weeks (the Triumph wasn't ridden at all for nearly 2 years due to legal reasons from 2014 to 2016) and it was dead flat, with no issues. I've currently got the BMW R1100GS and 2 car batteries being trickle charged by Opti_Mate's and I need to hook up the FJR1300, RC51 and VTR1000F as they're due for a top up too. Cheers, Terry.

[lrutt]

I have several bikes and need to keep a trickle charger on them. Tenders would boil out wet cell batteries but AGM's will last years. Problem with AGM's though is that they provide no warning when they fail. They just quit working all of a sudden.

And those HF tenders are not listed for AGM batteries.

[Stev-o]

For anyone looking, I just bought a sealed battery myself at a great deal and wanted to share.  Batterysharks.com - $33.50 shipped. 

I'm all for getting a good deal, but I like buying quality when it comes to certain parts [tires, brakes, cables, batteries]. This battery only comes with a 6 month warranty, that would concern me.