(ET) Battery evaluation

[Bill Alburty <willaim kc rr com>]

Thanks Jim for the address explanation. Now, I can post another 
relatively dumb question:
I have several batteries laying around in various states of charge 
between pretty good  and maybe dead. When I connect a charger that has a 
current meter on it, which, I assume shows the amount of current being 
drawn during charging, what is that telling me about the state of the 
battery's charge? It seems that if the current indicated starts out high 
then goes down in a few hours to about zero, that it is accepting the 
charge and its a good battery. If it starts out near zero, I assume it 
is pretty well charged already and is a good battery. When the current 
starts out at about 5or 6  amps and stays there for days, the battery is 
not charging and is probably no good. Is that a reasonable assessment? I 
don't have a load tester. I'm looking for affirmation and any additional 
thoughts.

Bill
E-12