Charging a leisure battery, guide for dummies.

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zangels

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We have electric fencing and need to charge the battery. This is the first time we will of charged it and have googled about charging it and have read lots of conflicting advice.
We have a challenge battery charger, not sure if its a car battery charger or suitable for any battery. It has a switch to charge either 12v or 9v, our battery is 12v.
Any help greatly appreciated.
 
Always put the positive lead on first and take the negative lead off first. I tend to worry about connecting it all up so I turn the power off to the charger first, connect the battery and then turn the charger on. Also fon't forget to check that the water levels in your battery are topped up if necessary.
 
Thanks for the reply, I have read about giving off gases and over charging the battery with a car battery charger? Also about taking the lid off? How do you know if it has enough water? Sorry for all the questions I just haven't a clue and don't want to ruin the battery.
 
I charge mine with a car battery reckless charger. Yes, don't leave them connected up once they have charged.

If you have a battery that needs topping up with water it will have a number (6 on most of mine) 'lids' about an 1" in diameter that are flush on the top of the battery that you simply unscrew.
 
I will have a look and see if it has a number on. If it needs water, what level is the water supposed to be and how can you check? So do I need to take of the 6 little discs before charging?
 
think you are supposed to use distilled water.
Think if you use a trickle charger it will stop when its fully charged, don't think you are supposed to keep charging when full with a normal charger,
Trickle chargers are slower though.
 
Sorry for the confusion. I meant there are 6 lids that need unscrewing to top up with distiller water. Replace them before charging.
 
A charger that has the option of fast charge and slow charge is best

Always choose the slow charge option

The battery will have a longer life span and will also last longer per charge

mine take around 24 hours to charge usually
 
Yep stick it on the + or - terminals and dont touch the two clips together or you will blow the charger(I did this many times) and charge. I usually did it for until the light went fully charge. A tip I was given was to turn it off for a while when fully charged and then give it a quick boost up. My 12 v would last about 3 weeks on a 200 metre fence. I always had spares. But you must charge them or they wil just go flat quicker. Dont leave them charging indefinitely or they are a fire risk.
 
I have a charger that we were given, it has a row of led lights on it that start at min and go up 0, 50, 75,100 percent and then max. Does this mean its the slow type of charger? It's a challenge BC 12065 model.
 
eggs said:
Sorry for the confusion. I meant there are 6 lids that need unscrewing to top up with distiller water. Replace them before charging.
Click to expand...

Yep top them up then recharge. I prefer sealed batteries though. Keep it upright or you will end up with acid on your clothes etc.
 
Ok, thank you. I will have to get some distilled water then. When I read about the model of the battery it said it was sealed, but maybe not. What level should the water be at?
The battery has a charge indicator light that appears to be broke as it is always on green, will the led light on the charger get to max to show its fully charged?
So the discs need to go back on before charging?
 
If you look in the holes where the discs were screwed in you should see metal "plates", as long as they are covered by the water the level is fine, if they are sticking out of the fluid top up the water (boiled water, left to cool, out the kettle is ok, if you haven't got any distilled).
 
Your charger will charge the battery to full, then switch to low power trickle charging. Its rated to charge batteries upto 120Ah capacity (according to the Argos product page).
 
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