battery charging????

[ezgoin28]

how should I charge my batteries when I dont have a golf cart charger? I have a reg car charger that has 2, 40, or 200 amp settings. (6 , 36 volt batteries) I need to check the water in them how full do they need to be and am I supposed to used distilled water????

[ezgoin28]

sorry 6, 6 volt batteries for a total of 36 volts.

[simple man]

Water should just cover the plates. After you charge them, then fill to the indicator in the battery fill hole. Yes, absolutely use distilled water.
Using an automotive charger set at 40amps, connect 2 of the 6V batteries in series for 12V. You don't have to disconnect any wiring when you do this. Charge each pair for 1 hour and keep an eye on the temperature. They can be warm, but not hot. They will gas towards the end of the charge cycle, this is normal.
You really should invest in a cart charger. They have charging algorithms suitable for cart batteries. You are going to have to keep switching pairs, will be up for maybe all night ( a normal charge cycle, with a cart charger is 9 - 12 hrs! ), and the 12V charger will never get your batteries fully charged. Here's a link to " scottyb's " site. Read everything that has the word " battery " in it, and you'll get a much better understanding of the operation of cart batteries.
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/

[ezgoin28]

thankyou and I will definately invest in a cart charger soon. any recomendations??

[simple man]

Originally Posted by ezgoin28

thankyou and I will definately invest in a cart charger soon. any recomendations??

Being old fashioned, I would recommend either a Lester or a Textron charger. They both are durable and serviceable! I would post in the wanted and for sale section of the forums. I'm sure someone either has or will have one for sale.
This old girl has served me faithfully for a while now!

[ezgoin28]

If my batteries arent warm at all after an hour should I keep charging??

[JohnnieB]

40A is about 40% higher than the recommended charge current for a 225 AH battery, so you could damage them.

Monitor the on-charge voltage and stop charging when it reaches 15V.
Do not exceed 115F battery temperature.

Get a 36V golf cart battery charger as soon as possible.

[scottyb]

Wet cell batteries require a certain charging algorithm. (pattern of amperage & time)
You can do as Johnnie suggests to keep the voltage up (very necessary) but basically there is no substitute for a proper charge with an automatic battery charger.

[ezgoin28]

A new charger will be my next purchase.

[ezgoin28]

It looks like I am going to SAMs club later and pick up the Gbcpro pro