Battery Maintenance 101.
Winter once again and time to button up for that long winter's nap. This year I have an extra duty to perform. Besides covering the Scamp (which didn't work out so well last year) I will need to remove the battery and maintain its charge for the next few months.
I checked the Voltage just before removing the battery, and it was reading 11.4V. It had been sitting since October, and I really didn't know what to expect. I've read where letting a 12V battery get below 10.5v is bad for the long term health of the battery. Hopefully this isn't too low to be properly maintained.
When attached to shore power the Scamp's WFCO converter/charger takes care of battery charging and maintenance. I use a Battery Tender when the battery is out of the Scamp. There's a good article on Batteries and charging here.
Battery Tender and Battery Tender Jr.
I have used a Battery Tender Jr. to maintain my motorcycle battery for years. They are designed only for maintenance, and not recommended to recharge a fully discharged battery. They provide 750 milliamps of power, and cut out when they detect a full charge.
http://batterytender.com/resources/float-charging.htm/
UPDATE:
I have upgraded my charger to a BLACK+DECKER BC6BDW 6 Amp Waterproof Battery Charger / Maintainer
Seems to do a much better job than the puny 750 milliamp Battery Tender.
