6 volt battery

[andrew34ruby]

..... so my strategy is to use a battery conditioner on a cheap time switch that comes on for just an hour around midday each day.

I also don't like to leave the battery on a conditioner/charger all of the time, but a lot of battery conditioner/chargers will not come back on from a time switch.

Mine needs power switched on at the wall, then a button to be pressed. My habit is it use the charger for 24 hours, about every 3 or 4 weeks.