Charging batteries in series

[emzed]

I have just put my three new 12V 12Ah AGM SLA's on charge with my 36V tuos charger. When finished, two of the cells are the same and the third is about 0.5V lower. The batteries are new but I guess maybe one was in a lower charge state than the others. When charging them in series, I assume the third won't get the extra charge it needs as the current is the same when connected in series. So do I need to get a 12V charger and make sure all three are fully charged before connecting them in series.
I gather that when connected to my bike this won't be an issue as they will all discharge at the same rate.

Any comments? Am I on the right track?

Cheers

[Draggin]

  The batteries need to be conditioned.  Charged and used a few times before there full potential is realised. I don't think that 1/2 a volt will change much in overall performance.  The first run will only give you about 10km the subsequent runs may get as high as 30km.  look around in this forum and you will find more than you ever wanted to know about batteries. 

[cadstarsucks]

Actually you should not do that.  While the 0.5V might not seem like a lot is a battery imbalance and charging them in series will result in the premature failure of the system - undercharged batteries will be over discharged while others will be overcharged resulting in battery failure.

Dan