Tom Walker wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:

->  TW> As stated about a rating of time vs Discharge current. With smaller
->  TW> batteries ususaly discharging at 1/10 the Ah rating.
->  TW> Whicy by the way is a good measure of a safe charging current. Thus
->  TW> your 11 Ah battereis should be charges at approx 1.1 Amps.

-> Which is not to say that it can't take a bit more than that
-> initially,  say
 TW> up
-> to 3-4A or so if it were only for a little while,  and tapered off in a
 TW> matter
-> of 1/2 hour or less...

 TW> Only a Somewhat sofisticated Gell Cell battery charger will do 
 TW> that. 

Nope.  Any charger will do that,  they only "push" so hard,  and
the battery,  as it starts to charge up,  will raise it's terminal voltage,
 thereby "pushing back".  It's normal behavior...

It's only nicads that do the constant current bit.

 TW> And definatly not a standard Automobile Battery charger.

Sure,  that's all I ever use.

 TW> That is why I recomended a specialized charger or one rated at no
 TW> more then 1.5 Amps.



 TW>  Gell cells are damaged far easier then the standard liquid
 TW> electrolyte batteries.

Only if they're really abused.

I had one guy want one for a smallish motor that he used to spin the prop
on a model airplane,  to start a gas engine.  He came in,  told me what he
wanted it for,  and I told him to bring the rig in.  Then he comes in with
a little box that has all the accessory stuff including this starter motor,
 and when I measured it the thing was pulling about 4 amps!  His initial
choice of a 7AH gel cell wouldn't stand up real well under that kind of
use,  and I pointed him toward something a bit heftier.  

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