Trickle Charge 6 Volt Lead-Acid Battery

• Hooking up a battery on a trickle charge is the most effective way to charge your battery, if you have the time. Connect the metal clamp on the end of the red charger cable onto the "+" battery terminal. Connect the metal clamp on the end of the charger's black cable onto the "-" battery terminal. Set the charge rate to "Slow" or "Trickle" charge. Leave it to charge overnight and in the morning the battery is ready for use.
  
  

Fast Charge 6 Volt Lead-Acid Battery

• Hooking up your 6-volt battery and charger for a fast charge is the same as the trickle charge hook up. Put the clamps on the battery terminals ensuring that red goes to "+" terminal and black goes to "-" terminal. However, now set the battery charger to a "Boost" or "Fast" charge. This means the charger will charge your battery at the maximum safe rate. If your battery is partially discharged it may only take 30 minutes. A fully discharged battery may take up to three hours.
  
  

6 Volt Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Battery

• Absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries are the latest type of lead-acid batteries. They can withstand impact and if the casing does crack no leakage occurs as the cells are effectively dry. Another good point about an AGM battery is you can use a regular charger so there's no need to add to the cost of a new battery by having to get a new charger. Hooking up is identical to a regular lead-acid battery. Connect the red clamp to the "+" terminal and black to the "-" terminal. It's best to charge an AGM battery at the regular or slow charge setting.
  
  

6 Volt Gel Battery

• You can irreparably damage a gel battery if you use a regular lead-acid charger, unless the charger has variable charge settings. Ideally hook up a specific gel battery charger as it monitors the charge rate. Put the metal clamps on the battery terminals as with a lead-acid battery. If you're using a gel battery charger, simply turn it on and leave it until charger indicates the battery is charged. If you have to use a regular charger, set the charge rate to 5 volts. The charge rate must be about 10 percent lower than the battery's voltage. Check the battery regularly. If it gets too warm, turn off the charger and let it cool before starting over.