They don't "put a draw on it". They charge to the specified voltage, then go to float mode, so they don't overcharge. When the voltage drops again from not being used they go back to normal charge.
I use the Yuasa Hot Shot. It's a 900mA charger where some are only 750mA. I use it on the Harleys through the Winter while I ride the quads and on the quads through the Summer while they're sitting so the're ready to run if I decide to take one of them for a spin.
Anyways, if you get a charger, make sure it's a float type charger. There's less of a chance of battery damage.

I would suggest a trickle charger as well...

HOWEVER- My wolverine has sat for right over 2 months before. (there are problems with College [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img] Jumped on it, and it fired right up. Ofcourse, if your machine has been sitting for a long time make sure you provide a LONG warm up time. All of the oil has trickled down into the bottom of the block. DO NOT REV IT once it fires up [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Thanks a lot for all the help. If I can't find one today at an ATV place and an auto store, I will get one online.

One last question on this: Can I hook it up to the battery while it is still on the ATV? Where it is in my garage, it would be no problem doing so, and I wouldn't have to go through any trouble of removing and putting it back in every time I want to charge it up. If I CAN do that, just connect the positive lead to the positive terminal, but should the negative lead of the charger hook to metal on the ATV or to the negative lead on the battery? Thanks again for everything!

Most chargers come with a pigtail that you connect right to the battery. Then when you want to charge it you just plug the adapter right into the pigtail that stays on your quad. If you're going to use the clamps that come with it, connect both of them to the battery so that you have a good ground.
The reason you're not supposed to connect to the negative (when jumpstarting a vehicle) is so that you don't create a spark (and explosion). Connect both leads to the battery BEFORE plugging the charger in so that you won't get a spark and you'll be fine. Connect + lead 1st.

Thanks! I can imagine people not wanting to spend the time answering such basic questions from a newbie, but you guys have been great!

No problem Doug! This sure beats the "what's the top speed on my XXXXX?" or "Which is faster, a slug or a snail with the same mods?"
Have a good one!
Brian
PS - The slug is faster, it doesn't have the weight of the shell that the snail has. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

The battery tender jr works just fine, no need to buy the more expensive one. Ive seen them as cheap as 23 bucks, but 28 seems like the recent price.
Heres the battery tender website
http://batterytender.com/faqs.php?os...ff1d3b73a8bd7a

(concrete makes the battery go bad)

This was true of old batteries. New Batteries are much better so you can leave them on a concrete floor. You can even charge one on concrete if you wanted.

Chipdog4 is right.... concrete only drained the old style batteries. The new ones are not effected by the concrete. Save yourself some $ and go to Walmart. Purchase the Everstart Battery Companion. If I remember right it was $15-$20 dollars. Its a 1.5 amp trickle charger/maintainer with float monitoring and reverse hook-up protection. Its also comes with 2 types of hook-ups. One that you can leave attached to the battery and just disconnect when your ready to ride; and the other is just a clamp style hook-up for temporary charges. I've been running this for several years and it helps extend battery life greatly. Its for 6 or 12 volt batteries; and it evan has a trouble LED if your battery goes bad. Best money I've ever spent IMO.

While you guys were posting the last few replies, I went to Advance Auto and got what they had: Schumacher 1 amp MANUAL trickle charger for 6 and 12 volt batteries with reverse hook up protection. I took out the ATV battery and have it charging on the workbench in my basement. As I stated, the charger is manual, so I guess I have to monitor and unplug the battery instead of just letting it go for days. In fact, the battery itself (that came with 2005 Kodiak 450 auto) states a charge of 1.8 amps for 5 to 10 hours, so I figure with a 1 amp charger, it should go a bit longer. It ran me about $18. They had one for thirty some odd dollars that was probably automatic, but I didn't want to spend the extra money for it.

It came with a pigtail, but when I put it on, I couldn't get the screw to thread into the hole. I think the lead made the screw a little too short, so I might need to get another one.

Thanks again for everything. If you think I made a mistake getting this charger for any reason, let me know because I can take it back. I just wanted to get something quick while I have the time because I haven't ridden it in a month and a half and we have a cold spell right now...