Robert
  Setting the charger to 6 V will not charge the battery. You need
voltage to "push" electrons into the battery, thereby changing the
battery chemistry. ( storing electrons if you will). 6 Volts will not
"push" a charge into a 12 V battery.

Hopefully your charger is one with auto shut off.  (Automatic as
opposed to Manual charger)

Attach the clips to the proper terminals (red to positive, black to
negative), set it to 12 v and plug it in. Leave it on overnight.
Check the battery voltage with a multimeter. With the charger
connected it should read 14+ volts, With it disconnected and the
battery charged, it should read 13+ volts.

  If you are going to let the van sit for extended periods,
disconnect the negative cable. Better yet, remove the battery and
store someplace warm. Do NOT set it on a concrete floor. Put some dry
wood under it.  Some people say this is an old wives' tale but it is
cheap insurance.

Put the charger on it overnight, once a month at a 2 amp rate. (Again
assuming the charge rate is switchable on your charger.)

On 6-Jan-06, at 10:00 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> Date:    Fri, 6 Jan 2006 23:39:57 -0500
> From:    robertmstewart <robertmstewart@MAC.COM>
> Subject: Battery Recharging Question
>
> The BOSCH battery in my van went dead, the van was not started for
> about a
> month, prior to that it was fine.
>
> I took the battery out of the Van and connected it to a 6V/12V
> charger and
> is set for 6V and on an auto timer for 2 hours.
>
> Now my question is how long does it need to charge to be fully
> charged?
>
> It has a amp gauge on the front of the charger, right now it is at
> zero as =
> I
> just started it.  It=B9s a relative=B9s and have never used one
> before.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> Thanks,=20
>
> Bear with me, even though I had a van for a year I had a mechanic
> take care
> of everything, now I am trying learn for myself with this new van.
> Thanks i=
> n
> advance.
>