Battery Tender or trickle charger

[danbike]

I keep my X series tractor in an insulated garage that has a heater. I just don't run the furnace 24/7. Since the tractor is not run regularily during the winter, only when I need to plow, does anyone have an opinion on putting a unit like a Battery Tender on the battery terminals? The BT is a trickle charger that cuts in and out to keep the battery at full charge.

Your opinions have been good so far, so let me know your thoughts.

 

[MikeD74T]

Since the battery is usually fully charged when you shut down I recommend a very low amp charger ie for motorcycle batteries, 2/10 amp etc. I'm in an industrial situation with our own ambulance that is infrequently used. We had a 2 amp charger that was boiling the batteries dry. Finally put it on a timer limited to 4 hours per day at 2 amps. Ambulance has dual batteries.

 

[jturpin]

Check out a battery maintainer. The best I have found is made by "Battery Tender". I use it on my all my motorcycles and it keeps them juiced up with no problems.

JT

 

[kennyd]

I use a Battery Tender on my motorcycle, I have a friend who uses 3 of them for his Corvette, John Deere B, and his motorcycle.
I would recomend then in a heartbeat!

 

[California]

The little HF trickle charger works fine and is under $8. It is voltage limited to avoid overcharging.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42292

I plug it in when I expect the tractor to be idle a week or more.

I also have a 10/50 amp charger/starting helper for when this (or any) battery becomes weak, but the day I use it will be the day I buy a replacement battery.

As I understand it letting battery voltage fall below full charge, 12.85 volts, is what ages a battery. If you maintain full charge either by daily use or by a trickle charge, you are doing all you can and more expensive 'tenders' are not cost effective, at least for a $60 - $120 automotive type battery that is going to last about the same amount of time regardless of how you keep it charged.

 

[RalphVa]

What I did to maintain my battery when we went to Singapore for 6 months was to remove it from the vehicle and then connect it to a trickle charger through 2 of those 24 hour timers in series. I just set each timer for approximately 2 hours each.

When I returned, I disconnected the battery from the timers/charger and put it in the vehicle. Ran the glow plugs for the required time and then turned the key to "start". The engine started immediately, after about 1/2 turn of the engine crankshaft. The wonders of a diesel.

Ralph

 

[rvtech]

Don't use a regular trickle charger. Any battery can be overcharged by any charger other than an automatic. Overcharging will destroy any battery. Battery Tender will work fine. I've used and sold a number of them over the years. We've had a few fail, but over all the quality is ok and they do a good job of maintaining a battery.

 

[HomeBrew2]

I got a Battery MINDer based on an old TBN thread. It's like the Tender but is also advertised as a battery conditioner which is supposed to breakup the sulfation on the plates when it's in maintenance mode. It can be left on forever and can be hooked up to 4 batteries at once. I like it.
Cheers!

 

[ruglad03835]

I'll second MikeD74T with the chargers. The Fire Dept I'm on has 2 ambulances that over time boil down the batteries. We have taken to putting the chargers on timers. I have never had issue with starting diesels in the winter. I have used block heaters and will be installing one on my 790. I'm also going to heat the barn that I park my tractor in seeing how it also doubles as my workshop and I almost have that finished except for adding some insulation.

 

[CBox]

Danbike,
I can relate to your situation. I keep my tractor, 1968 Mustang and my motorcycle in an insulated garage. Since the garage is attached to the house, the temp. never falls below @45 degrees. But, since these batteries don't get used much in the winter I have still had some problems. Last year I invested in a couple of Battery Tenders and they are great! I purchased them off of a motorcycle web-site called Motorcycle Accessories Warehouse . The Battery Tender Plus was @ $35, I use it on the Mustang and the tractor. The Battery Tender Junior was @ $21, I use it on the motorcycle. Before winter I top off the water level with distilled water, plug in the Tender and it does the rest. You might try another web-site too, it is Competition Accessories . They are from Ohio, and their prices are about the same. Both places are the cheepest I found, even better than e-bay. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

CBox