Batteries -- what is the dif?

[unbidden]

No. My garage doesn't have electricity. I know there are solar trickle chargers but I don't have much faith in them.

I use a solar trickle on my generator that is kept in a wooden vented box outside. Eight years now, same battery.

 

[John_Mc]

Has anyone heard of or tried a battery desulfator? My boss gave me a trickle charger/desulfator a while back I am just now trying it on my motorcycle batteries. It is supposed to desulfate or clean the plates of the battery by sending small pulses of electricity through the plates. Claims to extend battery life up to four times. I charged my 18 year old battery let it sit for a few tays, tested it with my voltmeter which read 12.45 volts. I put the charger/desulfator on it I am leaving it on for a month then will test it and put it in the bike and see if I notice any differance. This is the one he gave me. What do you think is it legit or snake oil? This is the one I have.

BatteryMINDer 1510: 12 Volt-1.5 Amp Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, and Battery Desulfator Designed for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, ATV, Boats, RV

They work well, and BatteryMinder is one of the better brands out there. They desulfate continuously and are temperature compensated, so keep your battery properly charged regardless of the ambient temperature. I've got about 5 of them, including an aviation-specific one (aircraft batteries are incredibly expensive, so it pays to take care of them right).

 

[dragoneggs]

They work well, and BatteryMinder is one of the better brands out there. They desulfate continuously and are temperature compensated, so keep your battery properly charged regardless of the ambient temperature. I've got about 5 of them, including an aviation-specific one (aircraft batteries are incredibly expensive, so it pays to take care of them right).

I have 4 or 5 Battery Tenders... been very happy with them. I just found this review/comparison between BT and BM. This guy thinks the Battery Minder is better. I have no experience with them.

BatteryMINDer 151� vs. Battery Tender Plus -

 

[John_Mc]

No desulfation on the Battery Tender models ruled them out for me. They are still good chargers, and if you keep your battery charged all the time you can minimize the formation of sulfation, but you wont get rid of any that has already formed over time.

 

[Peter 315]

I had the Battery Tenders only one left switched over to Battery Minders they have full time desulfation, And you can get the y cord and charge two batteries off one....

 

[ruffdog]

Back in the 80's when I worked for a motorcycle/ATV/snowmobile/jetski dealer, we had many batteries being installed or replaced. Most times we would have 10-20 batteries being charged at any one time. My experience was that Yuasa were good and was the brand that mostly was OEM. The aftermarket brand that seemed to do pretty good was Interstate. Some of the off brands were showing up on the scrap pile more often. I do understand that companies DO change and their quality may go up/down as their priorities change. My Yuasa in the RTV900 was still going good at 12 years when I traded it in.

 

[aczlan]

Back in the 80's when I worked for a motorcycle/ATV/snowmobile/jetski dealer, we had many batteries being installed or replaced. Most times we would have 10-20 batteries being charged at any one time. My experience was that Yuasa were good and was the brand that mostly was OEM. The aftermarket brand that seemed to do pretty good was Interstate. Some of the off brands were showing up on the scrap pile more often. I do understand that companies DO change and their quality may go up/down as their priorities change. My Yuasa in the RTV900 was still going good at 12 years when I traded it in.

If I remember correctly, YUSA was the provider for the OEM battery in our B7500.

Aaron Z

 

[crazyal]

Be careful of the batteries that have a higher CCA in the same size. To get the extra power they have to extend the plates inside the battery. As the battery 'wears' it sheds metal that collects on the bottom of the battery. As this builds up it can short the plates out killing individual cells. Everything I have that uses a motorcycle battery has been converted over to a garden tractor size battery or, in the case of my UTV, a car battery.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

After letting the Battery Minder desulfate my fully charged old battery for a month it brought the voltage up from 12.45 to 12.79 now for the weather to warm up so I can test it in the bike. I put it on my lawnmower battery.

 

[dragoneggs]

After letting the Battery Minder desulfate my fully charged old battery for a month it brought the voltage up from 12.45 to 12.79 now for the weather to warm up so I can test it in the bike. I put it on my lawnmower battery.

With all my Battery Tenders don't really need a Minder but maybe I should get one and rotate it around with my Tenders. Would think an occasional desulfating would be good?