I recommend, instead of a standard charger set to trickle setting, that you instead purchase a "smart" trickle charger that will constantly monitor battery condition, charge it when it needs it, and the rest of the time throw just enough current into it to keep it "warm." The brand commonly sold is called Battery Tender. I've used one when storing my Harley over the winter now for 7 years, and it works great. They are a little pricey at the Harley dealers, but I believe I've seen 'em at Sears recently. As I recall, there's a deluxe version that is about $60, and a simpler one that might be $40, but I could be off on both counts. They will not overcharge your battery.
I used to pull my (harley) battery out and store it my basement, trickle charging it once a month, but the battery is difficult to pull out from under the seat (without dropping the nuts down into the abyss of the motor). The Battery Tender has standard terminal clips, and also comes with a second wire with flat rings at the end...you can permanently mount the latter to your battery terminals (or in the case of the Prius, to the jumper point, if it has nuts on it...I've never looked at mine). The wire then unplugs from itself, about halfway down its approx. 6' length. So, I leave that wire (coiled up and tied with a twistie) hooked to the battery and tucked under my seat all summer and, in the late fall, pull it out and plug it into the wire coming from the Battery Tender.
I'm not sure how much sense I'm making. What I'm trying to say is that the wire comes out of the Battery Tender a few feet, and there is a junction there where you have the choice of either attaching one wire (with spring clips at the other end, like most jumper cables have) or an alternate wire that has the mountable flat rings at the end. If you leave the alternate wire hooked up to your Prius all the time, you can still use the battery tender to charge up other batteries, by using the spring-clip attachment.
Yikes, I think I'll just stop. Check it out at batterytender.com!
Rob
I used to pull my (harley) battery out and store it my basement, trickle charging it once a month, but the battery is difficult to pull out from under the seat (without dropping the nuts down into the abyss of the motor). The Battery Tender has standard terminal clips, and also comes with a second wire with flat rings at the end...you can permanently mount the latter to your battery terminals (or in the case of the Prius, to the jumper point, if it has nuts on it...I've never looked at mine). The wire then unplugs from itself, about halfway down its approx. 6' length. So, I leave that wire (coiled up and tied with a twistie) hooked to the battery and tucked under my seat all summer and, in the late fall, pull it out and plug it into the wire coming from the Battery Tender.
I'm not sure how much sense I'm making. What I'm trying to say is that the wire comes out of the Battery Tender a few feet, and there is a junction there where you have the choice of either attaching one wire (with spring clips at the other end, like most jumper cables have) or an alternate wire that has the mountable flat rings at the end. If you leave the alternate wire hooked up to your Prius all the time, you can still use the battery tender to charge up other batteries, by using the spring-clip attachment.
Yikes, I think I'll just stop. Check it out at batterytender.com!
Rob
