how to charge sealed 12 vdc gel-cel / lead-acid batteries ?

Nov 22, 2005 3 Replies

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Pogo 20 years ago

What's the best or favorite solution for charging 12vdc sealed gel-cel / lead-acid batteries. The kind that are about 2" x 3" x 6" .

I would like something that I can use on different voltage batteries if I end up using them. Say 9vdc, 12 vdc, to 24 vdc. Thanks !

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The Artist Formerly Known as K 20 years ago

You really want a good charger -- the batteries will last a lot longer. I use the Battery Tender line

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). These don't do seperate voltages, though. Not cheap, but it'll pay for itself pretty quickly.

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John Mianowski 20 years ago

I use a lot of gel cell batteries, mostly 6V but some 12V & even some

2V. While an expensive charger is needed for some battery technologies, SLA is not one of those. One of the main reasons that I stick with SLA technology for my applications is that it is easy to charge & very forgiving of abuse.

I use the smallest, cheapest 6V/12V motorcycle battery chargers that I could find at my local auto parts store, at a cost of about US$15 each. I often charge several batteries at once, wired in series, parallel, or some combination so as to get a convenient voltage that matches the charger. My chargers deliver 1A, so I leave my batteries on the charger 1 hour for every AH for which the total collection on the charger is rated.

I always charge only IDENTICAL batteries together, never mixing brands or even models of the same brand. The result has been many years of reliable use at minimal cost.

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