advice on dry-packed auto battery-- charge?

[redfishsc]

I just bought a small Autocraft dry-packaged battery (not a dry-cell). The folks at the store said to just add the fluid (acid) and wait two hours.

The instructions that came IN the box said add the fluid, didn't say anything about waiting.


BUT------


The back of the box says to add fluid and charge. It does not say how to charge it (ie, slow trickle, quick charge, or just wait a few hours and it'll "charge" itself).

So. I added the stuff a few minutes ago and obviously it isn't generating any juice. I do NOT OWN a charger and would rather not have to buy one since I'd use it once every three years.

Do these dry-packed batteries automatically generate a charge after sitting and stewing for a while, or do they have to be literally charged with a battery charger?


This is a small battery going in a 50cc 4-stroke motor scooter BTW.

 

[Rick_G]

Give it a couple hours it may generate enough juice to start the scooter and then you can ride it around for a while and fully charge the battery. Failing that you will have to charge it with a charger.

 

[redfishsc]

Unfortunately I don't think the scooter generates enough juice to recharge a battery anything like how an alternator will on a car.


When I burned the last battery down by accident (ignition switch broke and left the instrument panel energized and I didn't notice), the scooter would not recharge the battery enough for it to run the starter.

I'll find out in a minute. I'm driving this thing to work this morning (30 degrees outside but it's only a 1 mile hike)

 

[Sylvanite]

I have a charger if you want to borrow it. Then again, these things aren't very expensive - it might not be worth the cost of gas. You could go back to Autocraft and ask them if they will charge it. Most of those places do free alternator testing and have an industrial quick-charger.

Regards,
Eric

 

[rjwolfe3]

I believe Autocraft is an Advance Auto Parts battery. If it is, they can charge it for you. I worked there for 7 years and filled and charged many of those types of batteries. But it was a pain so they may tell you they don't do it.

 

[Skye]

Well, I bought a new bike battery a few months ago, added the acid and then charged it for 8 hours. Worked for me...

 

[redfishsc]

I have a charger if you want to borrow it. Then again, these things aren't very expensive - it might not be worth the cost of gas. You could go back to Autocraft and ask them if they will charge it. Most of those places do free alternator testing and have an industrial quick-charger.

Regards,
Eric

That's very generous of you, Eric. Fortunately, it fired right up this morning, only needed some time to stew (overnight).

What's bugging me is that, in the process of working on something else on the scooter, I found an inline fuse that had blown. I wonder if the other battery was fine after all but there's no way they'd refund me since I've already swapped in the old one (core charge) and opened the acid packs on the new one.

But at least I know I have a new battery I don't have to worry about.