How long to charge battery?

[movein69]

Ok, I thought I had the battery thing figured out. My lights used to work with no electricity, then they would dim, then I'd plug into electric for a while, then after I'd unplug, the lights would be great for a while.

Apparently, my battery was low really and the electricity helped charge it some. I left my refrig on 12v and the battery is now dead.

How long does it take to charge a battery using the battery charger?

My charger has a 2 amp low charge and a 6 amp high charge for 12v.

I am dumb when it comes to this, please help.

[mike4947]

Well a group 24 battery when heavily discharged will need apx 50-60 amps to recharge it.
But the last 20% takes longer as the voltage in the battery is higher and there is less "push". Figure at least 24-48 hours to guarantee a full charge.
 
BUT, depending on your converter it could have a better built in charger that will supply higher amperage for a quicker recharge. As always check the water level before, and during the charge.
 
A must read for any one owning a battery:
 
http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm
 
http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volta.htm

[movein69]

Well a group 24 battery when heavily discharged will need apx 50-60 amps to recharge it.
But the last 20% takes longer as the voltage in the battery is higher and there is less "push". Figure at least 24-48 hours to guarantee a full charge.
 
BUT, depending on your converter it could have a better built in charger that will supply higher amperage for a quicker recharge. As always check the water level before, and during the charge.
 
A must read for any one owning a battery:
 
http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm
 
http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volta.htm

Ok, I will read your links, but my question is if it takes 50 - 60 amps and I just mentioned my charger having 2 am or 6 amp options, what does this mean to me?

[mike4947]

It means in a perfect world it would take 60/2 or 60/6 hours to recharge. But since nothing is perfect it takes longer. figure 20% longer at least. But that depends on how discharged your battery is. The more the discharge, the more amps needed to recharge.

[movein69]

It means in a perfect world it would take 60/2 or 60/6 hours to recharge. But since nothing is perfect it takes longer. figure 20% longer at least. But that depends on how discharged your battery is. The more the discharge, the more amps needed to recharge.

Ok, so the 2 amp / 6 amp is the amps per hour charge then. Got it.

Thanks for your help.

[mike4947]

As an aside, I have been critisized lately about always saying "amps per hour" by folks saying "that's redundant, everyone knows it amps per hour" So I stopped.
Thank you for actually not knowing that.
Some folks forget that not all of us were born knowing everything...note my signature.

[movein69]

As an aside, I have been critisized lately about always saying "amps per hour" by folks saying "that's redundant, everyone knows it amps per hour" So I stopped.
Thank you for actually not knowing that.
Some folks forget that not all of us were born knowing everything...note my signature.

Well you are correct. I had no clue. I am a newbie to popups but also know next to nothing about batteries or electricity.

I do not know how anyone who doesn't know about it would assume it was amps per hour.