On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 20:18:03 -0700, Pagan wrote:

"Ben" wrote in message
...
I just purchased an old BMM 2400, replaced the battery and it works
great...

The other shoe.... there was no manual with it, and I don't know the
proper
Battery Charging Scheme for the SLA 24 battery.

My lawn is quite small, so I can mow it several times without
recharging,
but
I just want to know the best scheme to get the longest life I can out of
the
battery.

I have tried the RYOBI site, and it is of no help..

Thanks to anyone provide some guidance..

For lack of better information, I suggest you leave it on the charger
anywhere from overnight to 24 hours. This is assuming you are using a
'dumb' charger, in other words one that doesn't monitor battery charge,
have a timer, or any fancy features. This is quite likely with Ryobi
products.

If you have a 'smart' charger, you can leave it plugged in. If your not
sure, you are safe assuming it's a 'dumb' charger and following my
previous recommendations.

Do not discharge the battery completely, ever. When things start slowing
down, finish mowing if you can, then haul the thing back to the charger.
There's no need to charge after every use. Best would be trial and error,
keeping track of how many uses you can get out of one charge, then charge
the battery one or two uses short of the limit. There's no need to worry
about so-called "memory effect" and whatnot with an SLA, but you want to
avoid overcharging the battery, as well as avoid using electricity when
you don't need to.

Try recharging your old battery for 1 to 2 weeks. I'll bet
you can recover it to some extent. daveA