How Batteries Charge; Spark Prevention - Craftsman 934.716140 Owner's Manual

INTRODUCTION
HOW BATTERIES CHARGE
A charger DOES NOT FORCE current into a battery - it makes a
limited amount of current available and the battery draws as much
of it as it needs, up to or slightly greater than the OUTPUT AMP
rating of the charger.
The closer a battery is to zero-charge ("dead"), the more charging
current it will want to draw. When charging begins on a "dead"
battery, a charger!s ammeter (if so equipped) will register toward
the high amps end of the scale and fall toward the zero end as the
battery becomes more fully charged. KEEP IN MIND: the
ammeter registers the amount of amperage being drawn from the
charger by the battery, not what the charger is capable of
delivering.
One would expect a battery to draw zero amps when it reaches
100% of charge. But at 100% of charge, the battery will continue
to draw a low level of current and convert it into heat within the
battery. If left connected to a MANUAL charger after reaching
100% of charge, the battery acid will begin to boil, resulting in
overcharging and possible battery damage.
But the Sears #71614 battery charger is FULLY-AUTOMATIC.
When full charge is reached, it will completely shut off the
charging current to the battery. If the battery were to discharge for
some reason, the charger will automatically resume charging the
battery until full charge is reached again.
SPARK PREVENTION
MAKE SURE NO SPARKS OR FLAMES OCCUR NEAR THE
BATTERY, especially during charging. It takes very little to ignite
the explosive gasses produced by a lead-acid battery. Read,
understand, and follow the SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS section of
this manual before attempting to work with or near a lead-acid
battery,
For more information about batteries and battery charging, contact:
Battery Council International
111 East Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
Telephone: (312) 644-6610
and request their publication titled:
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BATTERY SERVICE MANUAL