Gene wrote:

Cutting to the chase.... it *should*, no, rather, it MUST. Harbor
Freight sells cheap crap made overseas. Put some money into this thing
and do it right.

A charger should charge at a minimum of three rates:

1) Bulk Phase - maybe at 40-80 amps until the battery is charged to
about 75% of full charge.

2) Acceptance Phase - battery voltage is maintained at 14.4V and the
amperage is reduced. That should charge the remaining 25% of the
battery.

3) Float Phase - (and this directly addresses your question) voltage
is reduced to 13.3V. This will maintain the battery without boiling
off the electrolyte.

The best chargers employ an equalization phase.

Here is some worthwhile reading material:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...ryCharging.htm

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/


Thanks. That's all good information. Now the question is where to find the
right kind of charger. So far, when I look at what is for sale in stores,
the information is cryptic. I can't quite tell what it means -- just like
the Harbor Freight battery manual is vague about how it works, whether it
will shut off, etc.

I know this can't be all that complicated to figure out. I guess I'll just
keep shopping until I see what looks right.