Minimum charge current for AGM battery?

[zmoz]

I have some Hawker 39AH AGM batteries that I use mostly to power an inverter when I'm camping. I was reading the charging information on Hawker's web page about these batteries, and it says in bold "For repeated deep discharges the minimum inrush current should not be less than the rated capacity of the batteries".

Since I have a 39ah battery, that leads me to think the minimum current should be 39 amps. What?! I'm not doing any damage to the battery by charging it at 2-6 amps am I? I was under the impression that a slow charge is ALWAYS best...

[TomW]

zmoz;

Somehow that just seems totally backwards. My theory is they made a typo and meant it should not exceed the AH rating of the battery. This simply would just make more sense.

Of course I am no battery expert of any kind so your mileage may vary, etc.

Cheers.

TomW

[commanda]

Gotta be a typo. Should read MAXIMUM inrush current.

Amanda

[zmoz]

Well, it certainly sounds like it should be a typo, but I don't think it is. They also very clearly say that there is no maximum current for these batteries so long as the voltage is correct.

Here's the page I'm refering to:

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/odycharg_a.htm

I guess I'll try contacting Hawker...

[commanda]

After reading their site; basically let the battery take as much current as it wants, but don't exceed the voltage listed in the table. So, if you're charging from a wind generator, you want a really good dump load controller that never lets the voltage exceed the stated maximum.

Amanda