The Right Charger Is Needed For Your Battery
Purchasing the proper battery charger for a lead battery is very important.
The way we also charge the battery is also really important as well. It has been quoted that it is not advisable to deep cycle batteries even if it says it can be. For optimum efficiency, batteries should only be recharged when they loose their charge to about 50-60% of its capacity. How we then charge the battery is the next important factor. A battery acts a bit like a Portable Generators. Most of the bulk of the charge should be put in first and then the rest of the smaller charge should follow. However this initial bulk charge has to be regulated also. If the charge rate is too high, too much heat will be produced and will make the battery plates to buckle and distort. The heat could cause the plates to short circuit over time, causing a dead cell and ruining the battery. Some of the latest battery chargers are supposed to compensate for temperature changes and alter the charge rate accordingly. The latest car charging systems are supposed to be sophisticated enough to adjust and keep your battery at optimal charge, but in reality it appears this doesn´t always happen. The aftermarket charger you choose should also be able to have a charging and monitoring system on it as well. These monitoring chargers make certain that the weaker cells receive more charge than the stronger cells. If the battery then gets overcharged there is a risk of the battery getting too hot, going into thermal runaway and then exploding. Although this will make these chargers more costly to start with, they will be better in the long run. The additional solution to keep your battery in good condition is to trickle charge them. This can be done but remember to switch the charger off manually if the charger has no monitoring facility.
If your car is not being used consistently, then using a battery conditioner may be the best way. Battery conditioners monitor the flow of charge continually, making sure that the battery stays in tip top condition all year round. It is still a good idea to switch these conditioners off once in a while to let the batteries naturally discharge as the discharging process is still needed to keep your battery in good condition. Some shops that sell Petrol Generators also sell great battery conditioners.

