Yes, it is recommended to fully charge a new lead acid battery before using it. This helps ensure the battery is properly conditioned and can provide maximum performance.
How often should a lead acid battery be recharged?
Sealed lead acid batteries need to be kept above 70% State of Charge (SoC). If you are storing your batteries at the ideal temperature and humidity levels then a general rule of thumb would be to recharge the batteries every six months. However if you are not sure then you can check the voltage as follows:
It's best to immediately charge a lead acid battery after a (partial) discharge to keep them from quickly deteriorating. A battery that is in a discharged state for a long time (many months) will probably never recover or ever be usable again even if it was new and/or hasn't been used much.
So many lead acid batteries are 'murdered' because they are left connected (accidentally) to a power 'drain'. No matter the size, lead acid batteries are relatively slow to charge. It may take around 8 - 12 hours to fully charge a battery from fully depleted. It's not possible to just dump a lot of current into them and charge them quickly.
Personally, I always make sure that anything connected to a lead acid battery is properly fused. The common rule of thumb is that a lead acid battery should not be discharged below 50% of capacity, or ideally not beyond 70% of capacity. This is because lead acid batteries age / wear out faster if you deep discharge them.
How long should a lead acid battery stay discharged?
Lead acid batteries should never stay discharged for a long time, ideally not longer than a day. It's best to immediately charge a lead acid battery after a (partial) discharge to keep them from quickly deteriorating.
What happens if you don't recharge a lead-acid battery?
Even in storage, lead-acid batteries naturally lose charge over time, and failure to periodically recharge them can result in irreversible damage. 8. Proper Disposal and Recycling of Lead-Acid Batteries Lead-acid batteries contain hazardous materials, including lead and sulfuric acid, making proper disposal crucial.