BTW one needs to be careful with in-situ charging. One has to make sure the battery can vent freely, and this is why most people remove them for charging.
The battery (Gill 241) has a kind of vent with a hose attached which other end is overboard. I hope this is enough for venting and it will not explode during charging. Finally, the charging current with engine running is ca. 6A. Charger gives only about 3A.
My C172 sleeps in hangar where I can use the mains. It will be not the only one, airport has an electrical tug always plugged in too.
I can see two problems here.
1. There has to be an accessible point/connector in the electrical wiring of the aircraft where to plug the charger/maintainer without dismantling of the cowling.
2. It is necessary to plug in the charger after the flight and forget it. It should be safe to let it on for weeks unsupervised.
Ad 1 - Can I use the supplied lead with rings permanently mounted on the battery? Is it legal? This wire with rings on one end should go directly to the battery and the other end has a protected connector for the charger. This looks to me like it could be mounted permanently. If this connector will be accessible through the opening where the external power connector is, the problem is solved. Or do I have a better option?
Ad 2 - If I need to go every other day to airport to see the thing
... Of course, there are employees at the airport, it will not remain unsupervised for long time. What could happen? The charger is designed to be olways on. There is a legal question too, if it would be a charger for "aviation use" it would be "more legal" (insurance issue) or it is only my beginner's paranoia...
miroc