Battery Charger/Maintainer Mounted Under Tractor Hood

[MarkF48]

With the talk of hard starting in the cold, I'm giving thought to getting a Battery Tender to mount under the hood of my 2216. I have an AC outlet near the tractor for a magnetic crankcase heater, so having the AC plug from the charger accessible from under the hood might work out better than having a connector tail that attaches to the charger externally. What I'm not sure about is if the Battery Tender DC leads can remain connected to the battery while the tractor is running and charging the battery with its own system. The FAQ at the Battery Tender site doesn't seem to mention doing this.
Anyone have a semi-permanent charger wired into their battery?

 

[AchingBack]

I installed one that works similar to this 1.5 Amp Three Stage Onboard Battery Charger/Maintainer
Mine came with a mounting bracket that slides under the battery. The tender is permanently connected to the battery. When I want to use it I just plug it into the 110v extension cord hanging overhead. I always unplug it before starting the tractor. I wouldn't care for the one you are considering because it would be very difficult to easily access the battery terminals every time I wanted to hook it up.

 

[davesl708]

Yes you can leave it connected. I use a maintainer on my SUV. It stays on the vehicle all the time.
No problems.

 

[Navasot]

Iv suggested in the other threads and you may have done it but have you cleaned your ground connection were it meets the frame and the frame itself lately?

 

[emcvay]

How cold is it? I've had no problems in the last 3 winters with temps down to -22F

My guess is that you've got summer diesel in a winter tractor For me it's common to fill up in the fall with summer diesel and forget it until the winter when it starts to get thick causing a sluggish start. I then have that lightbulb moment, pour in the Diesel 911 (if it's real cold or the regular treatment if it isn't too bad) and problem solved! Ignition left, ignition right, wait for the light to go out and viola running tractor

 

[newbury]

Iv suggested in the other threads and you may have done it but have you cleaned your ground connection were it meets the frame and the frame itself lately?

How cold is it? I've had no problems in the last 3 winters with temps down to -22F

My guess is that you've got summer diesel in a winter tractor For me it's common to fill up in the fall with summer diesel and forget it until the winter when it starts to get thick causing a sluggish start. I then have that lightbulb moment, pour in the Diesel 911 (if it's real cold or the regular treatment if it isn't too bad) and problem solved! Ignition left, ignition right, wait for the light to go out and viola running tractor

Do you guys even read the original post? No mention of HIM having problems, just a thoughtful "plan ahead" preventative maintenance.

With the talk of hard starting in the cold, I'm giving thought to getting a Battery Tender to mount under the hood of my 2216. I have an AC outlet near the tractor for a magnetic crankcase heater, so having the AC plug from the charger accessible from under the hood might work out better than having a connector tail that attaches to the charger externally. What I'm not sure about is if the Battery Tender DC leads can remain connected to the battery while the tractor is running and charging the battery with its own system. The FAQ at the Battery Tender site doesn't seem to mention doing this.
Anyone have a semi-permanent charger wired into their battery?

Great idea.

 

[emcvay]

Good point Seems I jumped the gun a bit. Nothing wrong with both a heater and a battery tender. We use them on our snocat (work not play) so it will be ready without surprises.

 

[k0ua]

I don't have a good answer to your question. BUT I can offer that a simple relay with a 120vac coil could be installed on the tractor so that when you plugged in the 120vac cord its coil was also energized making the DC connection from the battery tender to the battery. As soon as the 120vac cord was unplugged the relay coil would be in the relaxed state and the battery tender would no longer be connected to the battery.

 

[DFB]

I would think the reverse current feature would protect it.

 

[Coyote machine]

I would think the reverse current feature would protect it.

Isn't that a reverse polarity function to stop from hooking up to the wrong post?