How long to charge Stanley SL1M09?

[fire-stick]

The charging light just stays on.. it doesn't blink like the 12v version..

It's a 6 Volt 3Ah battery and has a 500 mah wall wart charger..

How long should i leave it on assuming i use pretty much all the battery capacity..

 

[qwertyydude]

Assuming the current is constant, 3 Ah with a 500 mah charge rate would mean 6 hours of charge but to ensure a complete charge you could leave it on another hour so 7 hours.

 

[VegasF6]

Check it with your meter. Good thing is, battery voltage is a good indicator of how "full" the battery is, with SLA. (unlike nickel batteries) I dunno the technical term for it. It is a shame it doesn't come with a multi-stage smart charger, to really get the most from it that is what you need. However, have a read on what battery university says about charing lead batteries, (or any other website you care to google)
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-13.htm
I would suggest a 12 hour charge, and look for 6.75V when done.
Keep in mind, I don't know what voltage your charger outputs, but just because it is a 500 mA charger doesn't mean it will be charging at that current the entire time.

 

[mdocod]

If you want to really preserve the thing long term, it might be worth investing in a cheap SLA float charger. You can probably find one for $10-$20. Cut and strip the plug from the wall-wart and wire it up to the output of the floater. Then you can just leave it on the charger whenever you aren't using it and know that the SLA is being kept it tip top shape all the time.