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which battery tender

11K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  KLRGunn 
#1 ·
With winter just around the corner & less riding,which battery tender is a good one?
Thanks!
 
#3 ·
I use the Battery Companion by Schumacher. I paid about $18 for it at Wal-Mart. It has the float-mode for monitoring. It the battery drops it kicks in til its topped up again. No need of worry about overcharging. In fact I have two of them. One for the boat battery and one for the KLR.
 
#5 ·
I have the - available everywhere - Battery Tender Jr. by Deltran. Works fine. It will keep a battery at the same level, but it does not 'charge' a dead or low battery. If you have a half charged battery and plug it in; Six months later - you'll still have a half charged battery. FYI.... Most bat tenders only keep a battery at the same level, they don't charge up any more than the battery's current state.
 
#7 ·
X6_Hustler said:
I use the Battery Companion by Schumacher. I paid about $18 for it at Wal-Mart. It has the float-mode for monitoring. It the battery drops it kicks in til its topped up again. No need of worry about overcharging. In fact I have two of them. One for the boat battery and one for the KLR.
Just to clarify, this model does "charge". I have used it on marine batteries that had been sitting for 3 to 4 months without being charged. The "tender" only charges at a rate of 1.5 amps and it took about 16 hours to peak the battery. Then it goes into a "float mode". I can run electronics such as a depth finder or a bilge pump for a few seconds just to test the "tender" and the green charged light goes out and the yellow charging light comes on as it again peaks the battery to top charge. So it does charge but isn't designed to charge large batteries from "dead" although it would after a few days I suppose. Make sure that the unit you purchase says "charger/maintainer" and you should be fine.
 
#9 ·
DSjunky said:
I have the - available everywhere - Battery Tender Jr. by Deltran. Works fine. It will keep a battery at the same level, but it does not 'charge' a dead or low battery. If you have a half charged battery and plug it in; Six months later - you'll still have a half charged battery. FYI.... Most bat tenders only keep a battery at the same level, they don't charge up any more than the battery's current state.
I have to differ with your description........the BT Jr. WILL charge a battery, albeit, slowly. This from the MAW Online site:

Battery Tender Junior
Full automatic two-stage lead acid battery charger. Lightweight, compact size. Trickle charger with a brain assures batteries are maintained after charging. Ideal for all lead-acid, sealed maintenance free and gel cell batteries. After full 14.4 VDC charge is reached, converts to float charger and moniters battery at 13.2 volts. When voltage drops below 12.6 VDC, charger resumes charging back to 14.4 VDC. Two-color LED indicator. Spark-proof; reverse polarity protected. 12' output cord and quick-connect harness. Battery Tender(R) Jr. comes with a set of quick disconnect clamps and rings.

The BT's will also charge the AGM (glass matt) and sealed batteries, no probs.
I have the BT Plus ($37.95 at MAW, http://www.mawonline.com/batteryt.htm ), in fact, I have two of them.......one is in my garage on my 1800VTX and the other is on the KLR in my shop. The VTX battery is now 4 yrs. old and working fine. BTW, I also use the one in the shop on my lawn tractor battery...it DOES charge it. At 1.25 amp charging rate, it takes a long time to charge a really low battery, but, it won't boil one dry like a heavier charger that is not automatic.
 
#10 ·
Roland said:
DSjunky said:
I have the - available everywhere - Battery Tender Jr. by Deltran. Works fine. It will keep a battery at the same level, but it does not 'charge' a dead or low battery. If you have a half charged battery and plug it in; Six months later - you'll still have a half charged battery. FYI.... Most bat tenders only keep a battery at the same level, they don't charge up any more than the battery's current state.
I have to differ with your description........the BT Jr. WILL charge a battery, albeit, slowly. This from the MAW Online site:

Battery Tender Junior
Full automatic two-stage lead acid battery charger. Lightweight, compact size. Trickle charger with a brain assures batteries are maintained after charging. Ideal for all lead-acid, sealed maintenance free and gel cell batteries. After full 14.4 VDC charge is reached, converts to float charger and moniters battery at 13.2 volts. When voltage drops below 12.6 VDC, charger resumes charging back to 14.4 VDC. Two-color LED indicator. Spark-proof; reverse polarity protected. 12' output cord and quick-connect harness. Battery Tender(R) Jr. comes with a set of quick disconnect clamps and rings.

The BT's will also charge the AGM (glass matt) and sealed batteries, no probs.
I have the BT Plus ($37.95 at MAW, http://www.mawonline.com/batteryt.htm ), in fact, I have two of them.......one is in my garage on my 1800VTX and the other is on the KLR in my shop. The VTX battery is now 4 yrs. old and working fine. BTW, I also use the one in the shop on my lawn tractor battery...it DOES charge it. At 1.25 amp charging rate, it takes a long time to charge a really low battery, but, it won't boil one dry like a heavier charger that is not automatic.
Roland: Thanks for the info. Maybe that's how they are supposed to work, but mine however; does not. Maybe mine is defective. But it does what I paid it to do, and that is, to keep the batteries alive. I have a charger for charging, and a tender for saving them while not in use.
 
#11 ·
Much of harbor freight stuff is junk... and their electronics are sketchy at best... but for 5.00 I didnt think I could lose so I bought 5 of them for my equipment.. 60 day warranties
I have them on my klr, drifter.tractor, steam cleaner, and truck...

I let my electronics wife guru test them with a meter to see if they would charge... and if they would "float" as advertised
We tried them on a fully charged optima... and 1/2 discharged delco maint free

The fully charged optima.. took an amp for about and hour and went to "float"... (I havent seen it go to charge again yet ,only a day)
The delco is still charging at 1.5 amp.. again still only a day has passed...

Ill try to remember to do an update here

BTW.. I converted all of the spring clip pigtails to plugs
I have the males permanently mounted on the bikes... so I can just plug them in,.. not spring clips to deal with.. IIRC battery tenders can come this way from the factory

cam
 
#13 ·
I have to agree on the Battery Tender Plus. It also comes with 2 cords, one with clip style hook ups, and one that fastens to the battery, with about 1' of cord. I have it tye strapped below the side cover, this way you don't have to take the seat off. Dad just hooks his to the starter and frame.
 
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