# Connecting battery charger



## Mpd165 (Mar 9, 2011)

I bought a Schumacher battery charger today and while reading over the manual noticed I says "attach at least a 24 inch long 6-gauge insulated battery cable to the negative battery post. Position yourself and the free end of the cable you previously attached to the negative battery post as far away from the battery as possible then connect the negative charger clip to the free end of the cable."

I've never had a battery charger where I couldn't just hook the charger clips to the appropriate battery terminal. That's the purpose of the additional negative cable? There is only about a 10 inch gap between the negative and positive clips coming from the charger, so even with the additional cable attached to the negative post I'm not going to be able to get very far from the battery due to the positive clip limiting my distance. Why can't I just attach the negative clip to the negative terminal?


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## ScottMD (Mar 9, 2011)

:-k got me?


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## Mpd165 (Mar 10, 2011)

well I found this on the Schumacher website

What is the purpose of the 24” cable and where do I purchase one?

The 24 inch (61 cm) long 6 gauge (AWG) insulated battery cable referred to in the owner’s manual is for safety purposes. Since the last connection you make to the battery is at the free end of the cable, as far away from the battery as possible, any arcing or sparking will occur away from the explosive gases generated by the battery. As an additional precaution, we also tell you not to face the battery when making this final connection. This cable is a standard battery cable and can be purchased from any auto parts store.

So, from the sounds of that it's not necessary to have the additional cable, but is an added step for additional safety.


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## redbug (Mar 10, 2011)

that is their out clause.. if the battery explodes and you didn't have the extra cable they will claim you failed to follow the instructions


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## rusty.hook (Mar 11, 2011)

I just use an on board 6amp battery charger that stays in my boat. Its hooked up to the trolling motor battery all the time, I just back the boat in the stall, grab the plug on the charger and plug it in to my extension cord, and that's it. When the green light comes on, its charged. It is all sealed. Mine is made by Motor Guide, I bought it off Ebay.


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## Mpd165 (Mar 12, 2011)

Well, now I have to get a new battery. After being on the charger for about 24 hours I went out in the garage and found a puddle all around the battery, so obviously it's bad and leaking. It was a free battery that came with the boat, so it's no loss. I just means I have to go shopping for something else.


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## gmoney (Mar 12, 2011)

Mpd165 said:


> Well, now I have to get a new battery. After being on the charger for about 24 hours I went out in the garage and found a puddle all around the battery, so obviously it's bad and leaking. It was a free battery that came with the boat, so it's no loss. I just means I have to go shopping for something else.


WOW, be cafeful with that puddle around the battery. It's most likely sulfuric acid if it came from inside of the battery, it will eat through everything! I would suggest neutralizing the acid with a lot of baking soda before trying to remove the battery and clean up the spill.

The voltage regulator went on my dads car once and so the battery overcharged and boiled the acid causing it to leak out. This acid rusted everything around the battery very quickly, it was a mess.


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## Mpd165 (Mar 12, 2011)

gmoney said:


> Mpd165 said:
> 
> 
> > Well, now I have to get a new battery. After being on the charger for about 24 hours I went out in the garage and found a puddle all around the battery, so obviously it's bad and leaking. It was a free battery that came with the boat, so it's no loss. I just means I have to go shopping for something else.
> ...



Thanks for the advice. Luckly I had the battery sitting on the concrete garage floor with nothing around, so the only thing affected is the concrete floor. I used some shop towels to mop up as much as possible and put down some kitty litter to soak up what was left. tomorrow after it's had a chance to soak in and i get off work i'll sweep it up and dispose of it. I'm hoping it was a faulty battery and not charger since I just got the charger and this was the first time it has been used. I dont know how old the battery is, but if I guessed at least 5 years I dont think I would be off. I wasnt even sure if the batter would hold a charge, but wanted to try it before I went out and bought another one. Since the indicator lights on the charger said it was hooked up properly and charging I just left it on there waiting for it to show a full charge, until I found my puddle today.


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## gmoney (Mar 12, 2011)

I would take the battery in to a store that will test it for free. Their test should show you if the battery is bad or if it's the charger. If it's the first time using the charger and it's bad, you can probably return it. It should have some type of warranty


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## Diesel Dan (Mar 17, 2011)

I don't understand why they would not tell you to hook up the battery and then plug in the charger. That is how I do mine and it works good. There may be a reason that they don't want you to do that, I don't know. Also, there has been countless opinions on placing a battery dirrectlly on concrete. I have heard that you can and I've heard that you can't. I have heard that the newer batteries don't matter. I being a poor man with poor ways don't care to find out the hard way so I always put a battery on a wood board when setting it on the floor. I'll let some of the more wealthy guys experiment with that.


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