Oxford Of570 Oximiser 900 Charger

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

Hi

My NC750x is standing in a heated garage for 2/3 weeks without use over the winter so I'm thinking of using a battery charger to maintain the life of the battery.  Can you use the above charger when the battery is still wired into the bike or do you have to disconnect the battery whenever you charge?. 

Every 2/3 weeks (or when the salt has been washed away) I take the bike for a good 3 hour+ ride, should I need a charger?

 

Thanks

 

Lloyd

[Guest Hati]

If the bike is new (less than two years old), you probably get away with not charging, but a trickle charger will definitely keep it topped up. You don't need to disconnect from the bike, use the connector provided with the charger bolted to the battery terminals. That way it's plug and forget. Just don't forget to disconnect before you ride off

[Englishman 165]

If the garage is heated you should not need a charger, as I understand it it's low ambient conditions that are not good for batteries.  Might also be a good idea to turn the HISS indication off too perhaps

[Guest Hati]

The consumption of the HISS LED will not effect the battery. It turns off in 24 hours anyway I think.

[ste7ios 469]

Hi

My NC750x is standing in a heated garage for 2/3 weeks without use over the winter so I'm thinking of using a battery charger to maintain the life of the battery.  Can you use the above charger when the battery is still wired into the bike or do you have to disconnect the battery whenever you charge?. 

Every 2/3 weeks (or when the salt has been washed away) I take the bike for a good 3 hour+ ride, should I need a charger?

 

Thanks

 

Lloyd

Yes, you can use it, it also has the necessary cables for a permanent connection. You shouldn't charge it on the vehicle when the battery has a very low charge where very high voltages will be applied to break sulfation (it enters in recovery / desulfation mode).

A battery maintainer is always a good idea. An always fully charged lead acid battery will last the maximum of its life (4-5 years) when it's working in ideal environmental temperatures (~25°C / 77°F).

2-3 weeks is enough time for some discharge (parasitic loads, self discharging) and sulfation will deteriorate the battery sooner...

Avoid dummy trickle chargers. They need monitoring, and may overcharge the battery causing gassing... A maintainer like this, or Optimates & Cteks are the best solution.

Cold is only make the electrochemical reactions slower i.e. we've less performance. It doesn't affect battery life. The real enemy of battery life is heat, and sulfation that starts to build when the battery is not fully charged.

[Englishman 165]

Cold temperatures affect the chemical process inside the battery that produces and stores electricity, effectively slowing it down and reducing the battery’s ability to hold the charge. Older, weaker batteries will typically already have reduced performance and cold temperatures will often drastically reduce this further, to the point where the battery will discharge or go flat very quickly.​

 

From the RAC

[ste7ios 469]

Excellent sources about Lead-Acid batteries:

• http://www.batteryfaq.org/
• http://batteryuniversity.com/
• http://www.yuasabatteries.com/ (take a look at the Technical Manual. A must read IMHO)

[embee 7,288]

Excellent advice as usual from Stelios. Lead acid batteries are best kept as near fully charged as you can manage. Automotive batteries are not designed for "deep-cycle discharge", unlike leisure or propulsion batteries (caravans, electric scooters etc) which are designed to be run nearly flat then fully recharged.

 

As said, providing the battery is not seriously discharged and you have a modern "intelligent" charger, you are safe simply connecting the charger, a decent charger will not fry the vehicle electrics.

 

They will "self discharge" simply due to the chemistry, but modern lead acids will only lose maybe 0.5% per day (ballpark) on their own. Self discharge is faster the warmer it is. If left unused, fully recharge at least once a month, I tend to go round the bikes every couple of weeks while they are off-road during the winter, using an intelligent charger and leave it connected for around 12hrs each bike. Like this I've had batteries on my SV650 and Deauville last 6-7yrs.

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

Thanks all. A fancy battery charger it is then.

[roddy 845]

Left my bike for 3 very cold days outside and had to bum start it today. All the lights came on but did not fire up. Do I need a new battery on some new spark plugs? Thinking of getting it checked out in case it happens again?