meburdick
Platinum Member
Solar panel and battery tender all in one.
Battery Tender 021-1163 5W Solar Maintainer : Amazon.com : Automotive
Battery Tender 021-1163 5W Solar Maintainer : Amazon.com : Automotive
Keeping a battery charged
- Thread starter gunnner
- Start date
- Views: 11348
whitechevy
New member
I use a HF solar cell on a truck that stays parked. Can't tell you if it helps, all I know is I haven't had a dead battery yet and the battery is 10 years old. I dove the truck daily for about eight years. I parked it two years ago and bought the solar charger. I drive it to the store about every two weeks and use it arround the house about once a month now. I may add 60 miles a month. The directions tell you to disconnect it prior to starting the truck. So far so good. No harsh winters here in Alabama. Not sure what this adds to your decision making but for less than $15 it was worth a try for me.
meburdick
Platinum Member
Battery tenders are meant to bring a slightly discharged (or, in many cases, a heavily discharged) battery back up to full charge and then "keep them there". Batteries will naturally lose a little charge from sitting, and any computers (PCMs in cars, for example), clocks, digital radios, etc will also put a slight drain on them. The tenders will allow the battery to discharge a small amount from full then kick in to top them back off. They work with the natural cycle of the battery to keep them healthy.
When batteries lose charge and *stay* discharged, they will also lose their ability to properly charge back to full capacity or hold that full charge.
I know someone that used to replace the battery in his quad every one to two seasons. He now uses a tender on it all the time and hasn't replaced a battery in at least five years.
When batteries lose charge and *stay* discharged, they will also lose their ability to properly charge back to full capacity or hold that full charge.
I know someone that used to replace the battery in his quad every one to two seasons. He now uses a tender on it all the time and hasn't replaced a battery in at least five years.
deere5105
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 1,086
- Location
- South Mississippi
- Tractor
- 2008 John Deere 5303 MFWD, 2004 John Deere 5205
meburdick said:
Do you happen to know what specific brand/model he used? I am having issues with my Suzuki King Quad 700 eating batteries. I have tried every different brand I can find. I am at best getting 8-10 months. Only complaint I have with this unit and seems to be common with this model. Had to pull start it yesterday with pull rope. Not fun!
meburdick
Platinum Member
I *believe* he's using Battery Tender brand. Not sure which exact one.
mvwicker
Silver Member
Here's what I learned off the web: A charged battery actually lasts longer in the cold. If discharged, it may freeze and burst. In hot weather it will lose charge faster.
From personal experience: a car or motorcycle battery will last 10 years driven once a week and kept on a battery tender. My guess is that a tractor battery will behave the same.
From personal experience: a car or motorcycle battery will last 10 years driven once a week and kept on a battery tender. My guess is that a tractor battery will behave the same.
meburdick
Platinum Member
For what it's worth, here's the ones I use for the sleds and will be using this winter for the tractor too...
Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Maintainer : Amazon.com : Automotive
You can get extra pigtails to attach to your different toys and swap the maintainers among them (each maintainer comes with a pigtail). Super cheap way to keep the batteries charged up.
Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Maintainer : Amazon.com : Automotive
You can get extra pigtails to attach to your different toys and swap the maintainers among them (each maintainer comes with a pigtail). Super cheap way to keep the batteries charged up.
deere5105
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 1,086
- Location
- South Mississippi
- Tractor
- 2008 John Deere 5303 MFWD, 2004 John Deere 5205
Thanks for the quick responses and suggestions. Not meaning to take over the thread, but was related to my current issue. Will study a little more but this seems to be a good option.
Jkott
Silver Member
Personally, I keep a Deltran Battery Tender on all my power toys. I have a few of the 800 water proof ones because I used to keep them outside. Now I mainly use the 1.25A because it comes in a multiple unit. I am not familiar with yours, but on my Polaris, the battery is actually discharging at idle because of the cooling fan and fuel pump drawing power. Like my tractor, the 500/600 (50amp @ 12 v is 600 watts) watt alternator/generator doesn't go very far. My cooling fan is about 200 watts and cycles probably 30-50% depending on temp. Tail lights/brake light are about 60, headlights about 90. Use the winch for plowing or add a couple of extra work lights and a bit of idling and it is very easy to overload the system pretty quickly. A couple of 55 Watt high beam work lights will overload a system pretty quick too if you have a couple facing forward and one back.
Unlike my compact tractor that has a 60+Amp*hour battery and a direct drive fan, most ATV's only have 20-28Amp*hour. The reserve power is pretty small, so if you use them hard and put them away wet, the batteries will not be charged and that is the fastest way to kill them. That is where a maintainer comes in.
Unless you have a faulty charging system that isn't able to keep up (or over charging), you may want to try a different type of battery, not just brand. There are really only 3 companies that make batteries anymore so there aren't much difference between most brands. They do make different grades though. The standard is a wet cell. They don't like vibration as much and *really* dislike being stored or kept discharged. A better battery is an AGM, which is sealed, and because glass mats sit between the lead plates, they are less likely to short out with vibration and jolts from using a snow plow or tow strap for work. I always use at least an AGM in my ATV's.
If you tend to use a lot of battery, a better choice (and more expensive) is a starved electrolyte AGM. They are much more vibration and bump resistant and supposed to be able to tolerate deep discharge more often than a standard battery. Odyssey is one example.
Of course, keep them charged and they will last a lot longer.
Unlike my compact tractor that has a 60+Amp*hour battery and a direct drive fan, most ATV's only have 20-28Amp*hour. The reserve power is pretty small, so if you use them hard and put them away wet, the batteries will not be charged and that is the fastest way to kill them. That is where a maintainer comes in.
Unless you have a faulty charging system that isn't able to keep up (or over charging), you may want to try a different type of battery, not just brand. There are really only 3 companies that make batteries anymore so there aren't much difference between most brands. They do make different grades though. The standard is a wet cell. They don't like vibration as much and *really* dislike being stored or kept discharged. A better battery is an AGM, which is sealed, and because glass mats sit between the lead plates, they are less likely to short out with vibration and jolts from using a snow plow or tow strap for work. I always use at least an AGM in my ATV's.
If you tend to use a lot of battery, a better choice (and more expensive) is a starved electrolyte AGM. They are much more vibration and bump resistant and supposed to be able to tolerate deep discharge more often than a standard battery. Odyssey is one example.
Of course, keep them charged and they will last a lot longer.
