6 volt positive ground battery charger

[MBittner]

Hello,

 

I have a 1930 Ford Model A with a 6 volt positive ground charging system. I just had to replace the battery even though I hook it up to my charger religiously. What I believe is happening is that my current charger is not recognizing that it is a 6 volt battery due to the positive ground, and is over charging it. That being said, I would like to buy a 6 volt only charger/tender, but was wondering if anyone has used one with a positive ground and could give a recommendation. Thank you in advance.

[Larry Schramm]

Any 6 volt charger should do what you are asking for.  Just hook the positive lead to the positive terminal on the battery and negative to negative. 

 

The charger does not care what the battery is attached to or polarity. 

 

Just make sure you are using a 6 volt charger on a 6 volt battery.  A 12 volt charger will overcharge a 6 volt battery.  There are a lot of 12/6 volt chargers on the market.   Just pick a good one.

 

Look here.

https://www.google.com/search?q=6+volt+battery+charger&sxsrf=AOaemvI9GbxTTKuu5vZtjBxm3I5aaZXrjg%3A1637516234463&source=hp&ei=yoOaYZ37GOTqtQbX3Y6YDQ&iflsig=ALs-wAMAAAAAYZqR2gTXTbXATJL8gMEdFQozrWeL7Man&oq=6+volt+&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYAjIICAAQgAQQsQMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMggIABCABBDJAzIFCAAQgAQ6BAgjECc6CwguEIAEEMcBEK8BOgUILhCABDoLCC4QgAQQxwEQ0QM6BwgjEOoCECc6EQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgsILhCABBCxAxCDAToLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCUABY-R9gvTBoAXAAeACAAVOIAdMEkgEBOJgBAKABAbABCg&sclient=gws-wiz

[joe_padavano]

32 minutes ago, Larry Schramm said:

The charger does not care what the battery is attached to or polarity.

 

To be honest, it's good practice to disconnect the battery from the car when charging anyway, at which point the ground polarity is even more irrelevant.

[Rusty_OToole]

If you only have a 12v charger you can cut it down to 6v with a resistor or zener diode. Or pick up a cheap box charger at a yard sale that has 6 and 12V functions. I have half a dozen in the garage. They are not rare.

[Bloo]

I bought a tender with 6v capability on Amazon, and am very happy with it. I would recommend it, except I know it is out of production because I tried to buy a second one. They have others, and you might even find one in a local parts store.

 

As Larry and Joe pointed out, positive ground doesn't matter. Follow the markings on the battery. You don't have to disconnect the battery, but for storage over winter I would.

 

 

 

[Matt Harwood]

As someone who maintains (and replaces) the batteries of literally hundreds of cars, I have ultimately come to the conclusion that keeping it on a battery tender has no advantages over simply disconnecting it. It will keep a good battery topped off, but won't stop a battery from going bad over time. As a practice, we disconnect all the batteries on all the cars in the showroom and rotate battery tenders among them to keep them topped off, but I have not seen any difference in batteries going bad regardless of whether they're kept on a tender or just disconnected. 

[1wonton]

Any recommendation as to the best battery maintainer for long term storage?

[39BuickEight]

I like this one as it can go either 6v or 12v, so I never have to worry about which one I grab.  I have 3 of them for all of my various batteries.

[1wonton]

Thank you.  Can you leave this permanently connected?

[hidden_hunter]

I use a norco 6v, routinely on sale on amazon and has quick disconnect clips if you’re using it in a tendering scenario 

 

Have a couple, amazon replaced one that went bad

[joe_padavano]

6 hours ago, 1wonton said:

Thank you.  Can you leave this permanently connected?

 

Isn't the whole point of a battery tender that you leave it on all the time?

[Tom Boehm]

In my experience with a battery tender on a 6 volt battery it is important to monitor the water level in the battery. 

[pmhowe]

I'd like to reemphasize Tom Boehm's comment: My experience is that if you have a battery tender on a 6V battery, you must monitor the water level.

P

 

[trini]

Water level in cells must be monitored regularly , say once a month and keep topup. Do not overfill. For some strange reason 6 V batteries do not give long service as a 12 V battery. In a 6V system grounds and connections must be regularly cleaned /retightened.

[plymouthcranbrook]

I have one Sears and one Walmart battery maintainer that I use on my cars. One is 6 volt and the other 12.  My last 6 volt battery lasted about 7-8 years and the previous 12 volt lasted only 5-6.( Farm and Fleet batteries are not as good as they used to be).I just check levels and unhook the ground strap, then put the charger on and say bye bye till Spring.  The 12 volts have all been maintenance free and the 6 volt ones still seem to have about the same level of acid in the Spring as the Fall.