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[john1951]

Just bought a 6 volt Charger for my Gell Cell battery.
                    After about 1 hour, the charger switches to trickle mode.
                     How long should I leave it on charge for ( the instructions were'nt specific about this)?
                      Would it be OK for a few days?

                                                                             John

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

Hi John

It's never a good idea to go a "few days".  What you need is a meter to check the voltage. That way you know where you are.

Ken

[Shipmate60]

John,
Gell cells shouldn't be fast charged.
It is usual for the charger to charge at 400-500 milliamps (aprox 1/2 Amp/Hr).
So for a flat battery divide multiply the Amp/Hr rating by 2 and add 1 This will give you the total time to fully charge the battery.

Bob

[exvtop]

Bob,
Shouldn't that be multiply ampere/hour rating by 2 if charging at 1/2 amp?

mike

[Shipmate60]

Yes it should 7AmpHour battery will take 15 hours to charge from flat 7 TIMES 2 + 1

Bob

[malcolmfrary]

If its a constant current charger, yes.  If its just a charger that can manage about a half amp, no.  The charging current will drop as the battery voltage rises and the difference between battery voltage and charger potential output drops.  If the charger drops back to trickle mode, that implies that it has a voltage monitor and/or a current sensor to detect what it regards as a full charge.  Going to trickle mode means that provided the battery is of a size that the charger was intended for, it can be left indefinitely.  It should be remembered that what is a trickle for a 120AH traction battery will be a catastrophic flood for a 7AH battery.