Battery Tenders......

[sargex595]

I rotate one Battery Tender Plus amongst 3 bikes, 1 plow truck, and 1 tractor. Occasional charging is really all that is needed. I've been doing it this way for years with excellent results.

I just bought myself one for Christmas. I almost went with the Battery Tender Jr. but after doing some reading and researching, I went with the Battery Tender Plus due to the cold weather we have in Northern N.Y. I did buy a HF battery maintainer for $7.99 but after reading about some issues with over charging, I said why take the chance and never used it. I also bought 2 extra ends so I can use it on several vehicles. I just installed in on my JD Gator HPX diesel this afternoon. Tomorrow I will install one of the extra ends on my JD X595.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
Curt.

 

[crbr]

Any advice on a nice perminant install is wanted

ALAN

I use these year-round. I have each one of mine sitting on a shelf nearby, in no particular logic nor attached to anything other than gravity. So that leaves one to run the cord across the walkway right to the battery as the cord is only so long. I have purchased a 25' extension for each, running the cords overhead (where necessary) to eliminate a cord across my pathway. These things are fairly tough, and my garage gets as hot as the next guy's garage, I have never had an issue. As for the 110v last, it is to (theoritically) prevent an intermittent surge onto the babyboard (a microchip) that is inside the unit doing its job, or as the other poster said, it could prevent a spark. If I had a battery that was fuming and leaking as such, I'd get rid of it.

In my opionion, I'd mount it, hang it, or set it in an adjacent area, string an extension overhead if necessary or preferred, plug it in and leave it. I use the connectors that mount to the battery terminal and connect / disconnect as I come and go.

The only thing I have experienced as a failure with the BT is from lightening. I lost three in one strike and then another one a few months later to the same thing. BatteryMart replaced each one, no questions ask. I sent the fried unit back, they immediately sent me new ones.


The $7.99 gadget was not a maintainer. It was a cheap trickle charge that has no way of knowing when the battery is at full capacity, thus the over charge and detrimental condition of the life of the battery.

 

[whistlepig]

I went with a battery charger/maintainer combo this year. My 25 year old Craftsman battery charger died this past spring and I wanted a new charger and also something to maintain a battery. I'm not one to leave several battery tenders hooked up. My tractor and two ATV's get used a bit in the winter months. I wanted something that would give me a very good idea of the battery condition when I hooked it up. I got tired of something not starting as an indication of the battery condition. I bought a Granite Digital #1702 Maintainer. This is mounted to my work bench. I purchased the optional battery extension leads and can reach anything parked in my garage. This set up works best for me. It charges, desulfates in necessary, instantly gives me the battery condition, and automatically switches to tending mode when the battery is charged. Save A Battery - All-In-One "Standard"

 

[Coyote machine]

Here's what I would do to hook-up the battery tender:
Attach a multi- outlet to the ceiling outlet and switch it on and off after attaching the charger to the battery being charged. The reason for attaching the 110 V power last is to keep from causing a spark when attaching to the battery terminals, and as already stated, to keep from possibly frying internal components in the charger. Additional cautions are to NEVER charge a frozen battery or one that is off-gassing in any way- both conditions can cause an explosion the likes of which few people would ever forget or want to experience more than once. The greatest danger is that an exploding battery can spray sulfuric acid all over the place, and cause severe burns and possible blindness to say nothing of the possibility of flying battery case shards. So always do the charging away from any source of ignition, including furnaces, gas or oil burner fired hot water heaters, stoves with pilot lights, etc. And, if possible supply a source of fresh air to diminish any possible fumes in the charging area.
It is best to keep one's batteries charged than to try to bring them back from a highly discharged or even moderately discharged state. The owner's manual contains useful information regarding the best way to accomplish getting the most life out of one's batteries.

 

[two_bit_score]

Battery Tender Is the brand Name you want, been using them for years on My Harley and both of my Kubota's.I start them in December and run them till about April, they work great and never over charge.
DevilDog

+1 or more

 

[mbrule]

Wallyworld had the 1.5amp charger/tender Schumachers on sale for $20 last week, may still be, check in their battery department. Deltran also makes a great tender. Most of these monitor the battery and supposably 'do no harm'. I have one running on all my summer vehicles all winter, and believe in them.... Especially on the two big honker batteries in my Dodge/Cummins....

I have 4 of these running right now, I have acouple of cheaper ones that work fine, but for 20 bucks, these have a nice long cord and useful LED indicators.

Also no spark worries as they do not output until properly connected (as indicated by an LED).

Come with battery clips or a connector that can be permanently mounted.

 

[Shmudda]

Well, I ended up buying (4) of these 1.5amp charger/tender by Schumachers. Bought them from Amazon.com for $19.99 each, no tax or shipping! Pretty good deal.

I put them on and they are just humming away!

Thanks for all the suggestions!

This place is great to get information.......

Craig

 

[JDgreen227]

I'm looking to purchase a battery tender for my BX24. I know there are some out that will cook the battery because they never shut off based on the battery's charge level. I don't want one like that!

I'm looking for one that will monitor the battery and then automatically cycle itself off and on based on the battery's level of charge.

What suggestions do you have?

Thanks,

Craig

I have been using four small Sears Diehard battery charger/maintainers that develop 2 amps @ 12 volts to maintain motorhome, car, ATV, and my JD batteries for 3 years now, they cost about $20 each on sale and work just great. ATV batteries are very sensitive to overcharging but the Sears I use seems to do a great job, since I have had to replace a number of $75 batteries in the past I do not leave the chargers connected to ATV's for more than a day or two, when the battery has a full charge it signals with a green light. I give all my batteries a charge with them at least once every two weeks.