Will charger hurt my Rocket III’s battery?

Q. My Triumph Rocket III is fitted with an alarm and clock and I was wondering whether should I put an Optimate on after every ride, even though it’s generally only left for 12 hours?

Is it worth it and could it do any damage to the battery?
Mark Farley, email
 
A. The Optimate will not damage the battery and it will only add 3-4p a month to your household electricity bill.

Although your battery will hold its charge for weeks without any problem, the advantage of keeping it hooked up to the Optimate is that it keeps the voltage slightly elevated at 12.6 volts.

If the voltage drops to 12.4 or lower then sulphation, where lead sulphate starts to build up on the plates, can occur, which will reduce the battery’s amp capacity over time.