I just purchased a new 500 EFI and from what I have read here on the forum regarding batteries in general, you should make sure your battery is at a full charge before you start riding your atv. My last atv, a 04.5 500 HO came with a sealed battery. The one on my '06 is the conventional type. No where in my manual does it mention charging this type. It only mentions making sure the fluid levels are correct. I have no experience with the conventional type, only with the sealed type. Is it okay to go ahead and charge this type? (I have no battery meter to check its current voltage.)

 

It should be at full charge from the dealer. If it cranks up fine and doesen't sound like the motor is turning slow during cranking, it should be ok.If you you could get someone with a volt meter to check across the battery, a fully charge battery should read no less than 12.7 volts. If you try to charge a fully charged battery with a conventional battery charger. You could damage your battery.

 

You can go to walmart and get a trickel charger for cheap. Once it charges your battery to 80% it then slow charges it till it reaches 100%. Takes about 12hrs to do this. Then it will maintain it at that level without hurting it. But be sure to vent the battery before charging it. Otherwise it will swell and pop. Been there done that. Next battery I get will be a gell type. You can even get one of these shipped to yah because it doesnt have the acid in it. They run about $100. But well worth it.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I'm okay? The battery came with a vent tube, so I guess that would be considered venting? I used a Yuasa Automatic 12V 900 mA Battery Charger. It reaches a 14.4 volt peak, then automatically switches to a float reverse polarity protection (Trickle charge) . So says the info on it. I have emailed the company to comfirm. Will post their reply when I hear back from them.

 

If you can easily pop of the cover where you would add more fluid, that would be the best way to vent. Otherwise when the battery swells it will cause (not always) the acid to rise and run out of the vent tube. If your battery is in a hard to reach place I wouldnt worry about it. The vent to will work just fine. My 250 has a vent tube but my kids 90 doesnt.

 

Hey gooseman, go here and read this. It might be helpful as far as battery charging goes.
charging a battery Hope this is helpful.

 

hc & watzupdog, I really "appreciate" you guys taking the time to reply and coming to my aide. Thank you for all the help!

 

FYI, I just got a reply from a Yuasa tech guy. It is as follows:

Our Yuasa charger is an automatic charger, which means that it will not overcharge the battery. If the battery started out at a full state of charge, the charger would not really charge it. With a battery that you add water to, even if you overcharge it a little bit, you just need to make sure the fluid level is up between the lines and there is no harm done. You don't necessarily need to vent the battery during charging. It allows it to breath, but this is not critical. As for keeping it fully charged to extend the life of the battery, that is essential. The worst things you can do to a battery are let it sit in a discharged condition and let the fluid levels drop. Those two items will kill a battery in no time.

 

I dont understand how a yuasa battery charger is going to cause your battery to breath. You need to vent the battery or it will swell and pop.

 

This is a quote from battery tender......

How is the Tender Plus battery charger different from a trickle charger?
The Battery Tender Plus battery charger delivers 1.25 amperes during bulk charge mode, holds the battery charge voltage constant at 14.4 VDC during absorption charge mode until the battery charge current drops to 0.1 amperes at which time it then automatically switches to a float charge mode. During float charge mode, the output voltage of the Battery Tender Plus battery charger is 13.2 VDC, which is well below the gassing voltage of a lead acid battery. This keeps the battery topped off, while minimizing any detrimental effects to do gassing. The Battery Tender Plus battery charger is able to perform these complex switching functions because its electronic circuitry is controlled by an on board microprocessor.
Although they often appear to be a better economic choice for the typical consumer, trickle chargers do not have the advantage of sophisticated electronic control. Therefore, as they allow the value of charge current to trickle down to what appears to be safe levels, the output voltage of the charger rises well above 15 VDC, sometimes even going higher that 16 VDC depending on the charger type and the battery that is connected to it. Either voltage is well above the gassing voltage of a lead acid battery If the battery remains connected to this high level of voltage for an extended period of time, even less than 1 day, extreme damage can be done to the battery. What appears to be a cost savings for the charger may actually cost several times the charger price in replacement batteries.