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battery tender, good or BAD?

Sonny Black

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ok , I "use" a battery tender, it's E Z to use and a "no brainer" .
I do not have to set up my charger , just plug in!
BUT; I have nothing but greef with my "2nd"(been through 2)
B.T, (this time I have the Jr.) I am sure it is a POS.
with out going in detail, from my experience......

The "B.T." = what do you think?
:argue:
sonny
 
Sonny;I had one that finally died after 8 years of use-and a few drops! Hated the fact that it was made "over there",but the bloody thing worked well. I need to get another,but now I'm leery after your experience. They definitely help maintain battery life;was able to get 5 years usage out of a Harley gel battery in the old Softail using one.

Anyone else?
 
ok , I "use" a battery tender, it's E Z to use and a "no brainer" .
I do not have to set up my charger , just plug in!
BUT; I have nothing but greef with my "2nd"(been through 2)
B.T, (this time I have the Jr.) I am sure it is a POS.
with out going in detail, from my experience......

The "B.T." = what do you think?
:argue:
sonny

Are you talking about one of these? I've got 3 of them and love 'em. They have a 10 year warranty, you can't go wrong.
 

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no, not that style....
the 2 that I have are the deltran battery tender Junior. never dropped, missused, abused, or improperly harmed.
I did phone deltran....no response yet.......
sorry if i did not clarify.

just wanted feedback...

sonny
 
no, not that style....
the 2 that I have are the deltran battery tender Junior. never dropped, missused, abused, or improperly harmed.
I did phone deltran....no response yet.......
sorry if i did not clarify.

just wanted feedback...

sonny

OK, mine are the BT Plus, sounds like you have the BT Junior. I have not used that model, so can't vouch for them. Sorry!
 
I had Jr. it stayed cycled on and fried a new Harley battery while I was at work. I just took it in stride. I did replace it with the bigger Battery Tender though. It's nice to know about the warranty.
 
I did hear back from deltran.... and yes, I will mail it back..
($10.)...exchange for new.

my B.T. jr stays on "charge", I was freaked out 'cause it was
always on "red" or "charge" not unlike last time.
BTW; my battery is fine, volt wise.

sonny :eusa_think:
 
The Battery Tender brand is very good. It will not over charge the battery if it's used for a long time. It's the only brand I use and I have never had a problem. Good luck 383MV
 
I remove my car batt for the winter. Cleaning it off well and placing in the basement has worked well....

X-2 But ive been seriously thinking of one, be nice to leave it in, only real reason is i like to start it a few times in the winter... Good info thread!
 
I have the Schumacher version and I love it.

My 73 Charger runs and drives, but has no wiring other than ignition.

I keep it on the tender, and it starts every time.

I even zip-tied it to the rafters, so the leads can hang down in the vicinity of where the battery is when I park.
No more trippin over the cord.

Next, I'm buying the solar version.
 
I have been using a battery tender for about 16 years and it does extend the battery life by 2 to 3 times. I have a sears unit I hard-wired and mounted under the battery area and I plug it in all year and never a problem. I had one on a mid 90's camaro that I never drove and up until I put one in a battery was needing replacement every couple years. The computer use to eat batteries. They are a great investment.
 
I have a snap on unit.It works with AGV and gell cells.Love it,used it for two years with no problems.Fairly inexpensive!
 
You guys have me about convinced, I really didn't know much about them and that they really worked this well. I do forget my radio (after market CD) uses the battery to keep whats programed that combined with starting it up thru the winter months, Im going to get me one. Next thing for me is just figuring out which ones you guys use would be the best one for me, My one regular battery charger is a Schumacher and it works well, The battery tender is what they came out with on TV to start this type of battery maintenance, maybe i should try it, last winter i had to charge my battery cause it was almost dead once, has to be that radio.. Thanks for starting this thread Sonny!
 
Never needed one.Two reproduction batteries in my Superbird in 20yrs,first wet lasted 9yrs,the current one sealed and still going strong.It is driven usually from May through October,garaged over the winter,put the charger on overnite every couple months,never have a problem.Both batteries were from the origional New Castle Battery Co.
 

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Living where I do allows me to drive my cars all year long but my diesel sits a lot so I keep my 10amp charger on it and flip it on once a week. The output reduces as the batteries become fully charge up so there's no over charging. Keep in mind that a battery will lose voltage just sitting on the bench and will cause electrolysis if left hooked up in a vehicle. Most engines have dissimilar metals AND water to help cause this so I would advise you disconnect your battery if you leave it in the car that is not being driven.
 
i use one on my boat two trolling batteries and a house battery. don't remeber the brand , but its a plug in at washdown and unplug next outing. i drive my car weekly year round (fla) . your just using these up north, right, and when the car sits iddle for long periods.
 
Not arguing the point, but I am just throwing this in the mix for discussion.....as I myself don't know the difference, maybe someone who does can school me.

Why is it that battery tenders are seemingly good for automotive batteries? Take my little netbook, for instance. I know from personal experience that leaving the charger on it all the time will get the battery to where it will no longer hold a charge. I will then have to cycle it to completely dead several times to break that cycle.

It works best if I charge it from dead, then use it until it needs charging again, charge and repeat. So, why is that different? Does it have to do with they type of battery? It's a lithium ion battery if that makes a difference. I always thought a battery was a battery. Evidently I am wrong.......again. lol
 
sounds like a big expense on the electric bill....im with '62 max on this one...i never needed one.....my bike fires up after months of sitting....but my cars and truck are always running.....never had a problem with dead batteries before....maybe im just lucky in that respect!
 
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