Battery tender,..do they work?

[RatFink]

So, I turn the key over and nothing. Do they battery tenders work, or can a car sit so long that they really don't help?

 

[Scott87]

I have one it does the job when I dont get a chance at starting the car over a long period of time. .

The continuous monitoring is a cool feature. .. I havent heard of any battery tenders failing and overcharging. ..

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

[charlief1]

They do work and I've used them before. Basically they put a small trickle charge on the batter to keep it up. Matter of fact, I was cleaning my storage space out today and found mine again.

 

[Paul Lohr]

Good responses, thanks guys.

I like the Battery Minder model 12248 which has a desulphating mode. I have a couple of Optima batteries that are both over six years old and still plenty strong, thanks to the Battery Minder. It is not cheap but it works very good.

The only problem with the 12248 charger is it occasionally switches to gel mode on its own. This has not been a problem for me. The manufacturer says this is due to poor connections but that does not seem to be the case. No big deal.

I always disconnect the battery from the vehicle's electrical system before charging.

http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer...qid=1379489935&sr=8-7&keywords=battery+minder

Make sure to get the temperature probe:
http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Volt-Battery-Temperature-Sensor/dp/B001DZNDKK/ref=pd_sim_auto_4

You may find both the charger and temperature probe at a local Northern Tool store.

Paul Lohr

 

[turbogronk]

Yes, battery tenders do work! But DO NOT TRUST the cheap Harbor Freight ones or equivalents. Spend a little more & get a quality unit. We had the unfortunate experience of 3 batteries burning off from overcharge with the cheapos. One battery was salvageable, the other 2 needed replacement.

Batteries are sensitive to many parameters. If managed well, they'll live a long life. If not, their service life & discharge depth drops off quickly.

Battery tender or not, it's a good idea to start a vehicle at minimum once per month & run it for 12-15 minutes. If equipped with A/C (R-12 or R-134A systems alike), run that too for the same period to keep the seals up & oil circulated. Saves having to replace a seized compressor later, and keeps you from leaking out freon.

 

[oliver12]

The only one i would use is the deltran battery tender. I have one for every car. They work great!

 

[we4Mateo]

Yes, battery tenders do work! But DO NOT TRUST the cheap Harbor Freight ones or equivalents. Spend a little more & get a quality unit. We had the unfortunate experience of 3 batteries burning off from overcharge with the cheapos. One battery was salvageable, the other 2 needed replacement.

Batteries are sensitive to many parameters. If managed well, they'll live a long life. If not, their service life & discharge depth drops off quickly.

Battery tender or not, it's a good idea to start a vehicle at minimum once per month & run it for 12-15 minutes. If equipped with A/C (R-12 or R-134A systems alike), run that too for the same period to keep the seals up & oil circulated. Saves having to replace a seized compressor later, and keeps you from leaking out freon.

x2 on the a/c; hard to keep them working when you don't use them enough.

 

[87boostedbuick]

I have a c Tec one I leave plugged in all winter with no issues at all


Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[turbo nasty]

I use battery tenders on my Buick and two motorcycles and never had a issue

 

[garyk1970]

I recommed one here to ....detran original battery tender keeps my optima ready to go...

 

[Boston GN]

I have a small draw on my car that I can't find. I use a battery tender frequently and ALL winter as it's stored (in the cold) throughout. Best investment I've made.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0128-Plus-Charger/dp/B00068XCQU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1379526045&sr=8-3&keywords=Battery tender

 

[notacarlo]

Every car we sold came with one from the factory. The funny thing is they were/are Ctek with a little yellow badge on them with a prancing horse. Harbor freight sold that model for $30-40 and the factory replacement units for these cars were $300!

They failed frequently. We ended up selling the big green machine instead and it is a worthwhile investment for any motor vehicle.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[GNICETRY]

Deltran Battery Tender is awesome. It brought back my Optima Red top (gel) when it was at about 3v. They are great for maintaining batteries too. Seriously I would probably pay double what they cost. I even dropped it once, about 4ft onto a concrete floor, and it's still working.

 

[aminga]

I had one fail but I was trying to revive a dead redtop with it. It was 8 years old at the time and Deltran replaced it for shipping. But I kept the same battery on my buick for 9 years with one.

 

[RatFink]

Thanks for the replies. Maybe my battery was on the way out anyway. I've read one other person who had a tender and his battery failed.

 

[Silver Fox]

I've had the same Battery Tender since 1997. Have used it on cars, motorcycles, and jet skis. Well worth the money as others have stated. I also dropped mine hard enough to put a big dent in it in the early 2000's, but it didn't even phase it.

Rob

 

[Jerryl]

Just purchased this setup.
http://www.pulsetech.net/Xtreme-Charge-4Station-QuadLink-Battery-Charger-Kit-7393.aspx

 

[dwall]

I've been using Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Maintainer - available local and on the e-universe.

I misplaced a set of aux. cables I used for a small battery (it came with two swappable extensions - with alligator clips or ring terminals) and called their 'customer service' never thinking I would get real service. I said I had been using this model for a long time and recommended it to others. I was ready to cough up some geetu$ for a replacement when the rep said, "I'll send you one." Damn - four days later - waa laa...

No guarantee they would still do that but this thing has worked fine for 5+ years now.

 

[Red C5]

I use them on cars that sit and motorcycle batteries too. Work great.

 

[wiseman]

I can't speak for all trickle chargers/ maintainers, buti can speak for the one I purchased below from Walmart :

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-XM1-5-Maintainer-1.5-Amp/15140193

I purchased this maintainer 1-1/2 years ago for my GN and I love it. It works flawlessly. It's a maintainer that has an auto charge feature that supplies power to the battery when it is needed and when fully charged it cuts power and remains in a standby mode and monitors the fully charged battery. It cycles on and off as needed, automatically to keep the battery charged. It has a sensor in it so your battery will never get overcharged. It is quite, small, nice looking, has a great price. It also is from a name well known manufacturer.