I'm really thinking of getting this charger now. It's the same price as the battery but looks like it will do a full charge as well as maintain the battery. I'm just hoping it will fit in the car so I don't have to pull the battery to charge it all the time. I don't have a garage but I do cover the car, I doubt it will get wet.

Under the Odyssy heading it says it wont even try to charge a battery that is less than 2 volts, I'll have to check it first. If its lower I'll try and get a new battery under warantee then get a battery tender instead.

http://www.batterymart.com/p-ACC-12V7A-S.html

As for as charging it off of the alternater, its obvious I need some kind of charger anyway.

I talked with Odyssey today and they said you can NOT trickle charge a battery that only has 5.5 volts left in it. They recommend at least a 7 amp charge at this point. The voltage for charging has to be as follows:

Fast charge voltage= 14.4 to 14.7 volts
Standby charge voltage= 13.6 to 13.8 volts

The current only matters if the battery is dead. So a trickle charger (like the battery tender) should be between 13.6 and 13.8 volts. Not a very big window and the battery tenders fall outside the range at 13.4 volts. There specifications even say that battery tenders shouldn't be used on gel cell batteries.

Right now it looks like I'll borrow a friend's charger and set it at 10 amps for 2 hours (or more) assuming the output voltage is correct. Then I'll get the cheaper $35-ish charger I linked to above to keep it topped off... and cross my fingers!

I think between the cold weather a week or two ago and not letting it run (trailer runs) at all, and keying the car on about 5 times with the WB 02 heater running for 30 seconds each time, it smoked the battery. Wouldn't even crank on Saturday. I threw my charger on it again (4Amp old school thing from the 70's) for about an hour or so, and it started right up. I then drove the car around, and it still seems to have a charge today. I wonder what long term effects this might have on the battery, not following the right charge voltage/amperage?

Dennis, I would make sure the charger you have falls within the range I listed above. I was in Home Depot and Autozone today looking at chargers, but none of them listed the charging voltage.

Whatever damage I did is done. I've got to stay on schedule for Limerock on April 21st. Still have to tune, setup the 7pts, Wideband and other odds and ends. It's sat since Saturday and just started right up today. I'm hoping I didn't really hurt her too bad! If not, I think the Hawker I got was only likr $60.

That's what I'm thinking now. The 'correct' chargers for them are pretty pricey, typically the same price or more expensive than the battery itself. Go figure.

I've recharged mine several times. After extended periods in the Camaro, and then when it became a hand-me-down for the motorcycle after I blew the engine in the Camaro. The motorcycle alternator/regulator/something is weak and the battery will get low, so after a couple weeks of riding, I throw the charger on it to bring it back up to 100%. It's an old one, no special program or anything. I'll hit it with 10amps for about 4 hours (longer if I forget - luckily the charger tapers off on its own...).