Check out our newest arrival to Battery Mart!

We are proud to offer the Yuasa YUA1P2AMPCH Battery Charger. This is a 12 volt, 1.2 Amp automatic battery charger from the world’s leading manufacturer or powersport batteries. It is an upgrade to Yuasa’s YUA1201000 12 volt, 1 amp battery charger, providing 20% more charging power than before.

Since the YUA1P2AMPCH is an automatic charger, you’ll never have to worry about overcharging your battery. Once your battery is fully charged, the charging will automatically switch to maintenance mode. This will keep your battery topped off without any interaction on your part. Your battery will be ready to go when you are!

Each charger includes a full set of charging leads:

• A set of ring terminals
• A set of clips
• A 12V plug (also known as a cigarette plug)

The cable from the charger has a quick-disconnect so you can easily attach your charger to your battery. A common use is to bolt the ring terminals to your battery and leave them attached at all times. When you’re ready to charge your battery, simply connect the charger’s quick-disconnect cable into the leads and plug the charger into the wall. When you’re done, you can just disconnect the charger from the leads and let them hang off the battery until you need them again.

Because Yuasa is known for the best powersport batteries on the market, they are meticulous in the design for the chargers they make. Yuasa understands the needs of the market and have built a charger to meet your expectations.

We enthusiastically recommended the Yuasa YUA1P2AMPCH battery charger and maintainer to all powersport owners. Whether you are charging a motorcycle battery, ATV battery, or even just a common sealed lead acid battery, we encourage you to check out this charger!

Recommended for maintaining all sizes of powersports batteries and for charging deep cycle batteries up to 12 Ah.

Order today and get free shipping. Check out the Yuasa YUA1P2AMPCH!

One of the most overlooked aspects of motorcycles is battery maintenance. For many, there is a time during the year you put your motorcycle away for storage for a few months or let it sit inactive for a longer period of time. This can be a huge problem, as batteries don’t respond well to inactivity.

Motorcycle batteries tend to last between 3 and 5 years before needing to be replaced as long as the batteries are properly maintained. As with any battery that sits for longer periods of time without being used such as sitting through the winter months, the battery naturally loses charge over time & will build up sulphation on the battery plates. The sulphation will cause your battery’s run-time, performance, and life to noticeably decrease. In the more advanced stages, the battery can be difficult or even impossible to charge or start your motorcycle. Sulphation is the number one reason for premature battery failure.

However, you can prevent this from happening and ensure that your battery holds up after inactivity.

Use an automatic battery charger/maintainer: These units plug into standard 120VAC outlets and provide your battery with a charge current. This will keep the battery fully charged and maintained so that sulphation never builds up. It also helps towards breaking up loose sulphation that already may be present. Automatic chargers like the BatteryMINDer by VDC or Battery Tender by Deltran are perfect for these applications since they can be left connected to your battery all the time. Both of these brands can maintain your batteries in ways that prevent damage by keeping sulfation from building up on the battery plates and by keeping the battery fully charged. It is always recommended if you’re using a maintainer on any wet battery to make sure you monitor the water level of the battery. It is also advantageous to remove battery cables from the battery as this eliminates any possible draws from the battery while charging.

Keep your motorcycle battery in top shape: There are many types of batteries, and the two most common types for motorcycles are conventional (wet) and dry AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries. If you have a conventional wet battery, you’ll need to keep an eye on your fluid levels and add distilled water as needed. A wet battery’s biggest drawback is the battery acid which can evaporate if it sits for longer periods of time, especially if connected to a battery maintainer for that time. If you have a wet battery where you can check the fluid levels then you should always do so and keep the fluid levels topped off.

The positive and negative connections on any battery (wet or AGM) should always be kept cleaned to ensure maximum transfer of electrical charge. There are special products that are made just for this type of maintenance, although using water and baking soda is effective for most people. You should also clean your terminals with cleaning chemicals and protect them with a corrosion preventative.

Do not let your motorcycle battery freeze: Whenever you decide to store your bike’s battery, be sure it’s in a place that does not consistently fall below freezing. This is an extremely quick way to find yourself with a cracked battery. If you keep a battery maintainer connected to your battery, this also helps work towards keeping the battery from freezing.

By properly maintaining any battery you can greatly enhance battery life which can result in having a working battery for years to come.

We’ve all heard the myth that storing batteries in a refrigerator prolongs their life, but is this really true?

The short answer is that we recommend not doing it.

The best way to store your batteries to get the maximum shelf life is in a clean, dry, room-temperature (68°F to 78°F or 20°C to 25°C) environment. Temperature has an impact on a battery’s shelf life and the hotter it gets, the faster your batteries lose their charge. Storing primary batteries (D, C, AA, AAA, 9 volt) in a cooler environment slows down this rate of discharge that all batteries experience even when not in use, hence a longer shelf life. However, very cold temperature storage can be harmful to batteries if condensation results in corroded contacts or seal damage due to extreme temperature storage. The condensation and humidity in your fridge can negatively impact or even ruin your batteries so it’s very important that they are stored in a dry place.

When a battery is not being used, the electrons inside can flow out of the battery which will drain their capacity through a process called self-discharge. The higher the temperature, the more the free flow of ions or self-discharge from the battery. When stored properly, the discharge rate of a single-use alkaline & lithium batteries is only about 1%-3% per year. Lithium-ion batteries which are found in cell phones, laptops, and some power tools only have a self discharge rate of about 5% per month when new. However, several years ago rechargeable batteries like NiCd (nickel-cadmium) and NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) could lose as much as 20%-30% of their capacity per month. At that time, storing these types of rechargeable batteries in the refrigerator seemed like a great idea to slow down this process. Within the past 10 years there have been significant improvements in rechargeable batteries and the discharge rate is only about 15% per year now. Instead of storing them in the fridge, it’s recommended to just recharge them.

By storing your batteries in the refrigerator you can potentially ruin your batteries just to squeeze a very small amount of life out of them. Purchase a battery organizer and keep it in a clean, dry, room temperature environment and not in the fridge or freezer.

A power inverter converts 12-volt DC power from your batteries to 120-volt AC to power your standard appliances. Planning to take a camping trip? If you do not have easy access to AC power, how long can you go and how much can you power? What power inverter is the best size for you and what should you consider when looking to purchase a power inverter?

First, make sure you have enough power. Inverters are rated in watts, and almost all electrical appliances have a corresponding rating. (chart below)

Next, choose the right batteries. One of the most crucial factors of the success of your installation is your choice of DC power source.

Conventional starting batteries are not the recommended for power inverters. Power inverters require batteries designed for deep discharge/recharge cycles during normal operation. Starting batteries are made to deliver a very fast “starting” burst of power to start an engine and are then recharged by the vehicle’s charging system. Deep Cycle batteries are made to be deeply discharged and recharged multiple times without causing any damage to the battery. Deep Cycle batteries are usually rated in Amp Hours. Amp Hours provide a rating of how long the battery can supply power over a certain timespan.

To determine the battery capacity and inverter power you will need, you’ll first add up all the wattage requirements for each appliance or device you’ll be powering. If the item is listed only in amps, just multiply the amp draw by 120. Then, determine the length of time each item will be powered by the inverter & battery it is connected to. Multiply [Required Watts] by [Hours Run] for each item, which gives you the watt-hours required for each. Add each device’s watt-hour requirements together for the final, total watt-hours you will need. Divide your total watt-hours by 120 to get your amp hour requirement.

When choosing your battery, a good rule is to use one with a total capacity (Ah) that is at least twice your amp hour requirement. This will give you some wiggle room if you need more run time than you are expecting. This will also prevent your battery(ies) from completely discharging which will increase battery life and longevity.

When you are using multiple batteries to power the inverter, you should ensure that all of the batteries used are the same manufacturer, type, capacity, state of charge, and age so the system will perform in a stable manner. In situations where multiple batteries are connected in series, parallel, or series/parallel, replacement batteries should be the same size, type, and age. Do not put a new battery in a group that is several months or years old. Replace the entire group or add a good used battery.

Lastly, purchase a good battery charger to fully charge your batteries back up after they have been used with your inverter.

Wattage of Common Appliances