I don't disconnect the battery cables on mine (Generac GP7500) when the trickle charger is on it. However, I do disconnect the charger when I do the weekly test run.
You didn't ask, but I see warnings about the hydrogen gas that's created when a battery is charged. Especially if it run down and needs a lot of charging and especially if it is in a closed in space. And the warnings are about sparks from the charger when the charger is connected or disconnected. It helps to turn off the charger when doing this.
Despite my posting, AFAIK it's incredibly rarre for a fire to start, or an explosion, from this hydrogen gas, but people here or googling can tell us more.
I've seen batteries explode. It's pretty spectacular. Pieces of case
20 ft away. Never seen any injuries other than a little acid burns and ruined clothes. Typically from people disconnecting the charger while it was still on. I avert my face when disconnecting or connecting the last lead. It's more likely to happen inside a garage or other enclosed space than outside. Hydrogen is pretty light and given a chance it goes away quickly.
So, inside a garage, the hygrogen filled up the whole place? Must have been one hell of an explosion.
For the OP, I've yet to see a starting battery that couldn't be charged with a slow charger while still connected to the engine without doing damage. People routinely leave battery tenders hooked up to all kinds of engines in everything from cars to generators without disconnecting the batteries. That's what I would use to keep it charged.
I've never seen a battery explode that had the caps on. For some reason, possibly due to an old mechanics tale, many folks will remove the caps when a battery is charging. The idiot who uses a cigarette lighter to see down into the battery to check the electrolyte level is the usually the victim/cause of a battery explosion. :-)
My wife maintains about 80 golf carts at the country club she manages. They have had a few battery explosions. The caps were always on and it was always caused by something sparking while they were on the charger.
That's a little different situation than a single battery. I imagine that a little ventilation could prevent a high concentration of hydrogen from occurring. The real expert on lead acid batteries is Ma Bell because the phone company uses more lead acid batteries than anyone else. Well, there are the U-boats...... :-)
OK, that makes sense. And yes if the charger shows 18 amps, that's 18 amps at each battery. I was thinking they were parallel, that would need a lot more current. I never worked on a golf cart, mostly just curious. Now I know a little bit about them.
My friend manages a ministorage. Her golf cart is gasoline, but the other location, a couple hundred yards down the road, has an electric one. I finally got to see how they vary. They're just like you guys say.
Years ago a friend of mine had a gasoline golf cart just for riding around their property. They told me to take it for a ride so I got in and looked. And I looked and looked and asked them how to start it. They all (their was a party going on) told me to step on the gas. I said "I see the gas pedal but where do I start it?" Back and forth a couple times until I finally stepped on the gas, the motor started and I was cruising. I also found out that many of them run the engine the opposite way for reverse. Weird little machines.
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