battery tender, good or BAD?

[69redrunner]

I have one and use it during the cold northern winter months.
I don't leave it on any battery for more than a day or two at a time.
I cycle it through all my summer/ limited use stuff about one every 4 to 6 weeks. I think it helps to top off the charge and it also warms the battery.
Never had any adverse conditions that I could trace back to a battery tender.

 

[MarPar]

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.

i've got that exact same one, and have had it for 4 years now, and no problems. I leave it on all the time on the GTx'er and it's never failed me. best $50 bucks ive spent.

 

[satman72]

I bought one back in '94 when I got my Harley. Every winter once the bike was put away the battery tender was hooked up and stayed that way until March. I never had a problem. I just wrecked it this past spring on a bad car battery.

 

[shag766]

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!

ron i use 3-4 of them over the winter and no problems. they are quite reasonably priced now. on sale around here you will pay 30-40.00 bucks and that adds up to 1/2 a battery price, 1/4 of a good one. rick

 

[Sonny Black]

Well, sonny will use the B T this year (winter)...my new one works fine, Got it on sale....cheap about $25.bucks.

 

[41husk]

I have four battery tenders. I keep a charge on all my cars any time they are parked. I have had one battery for well over 5 years with no issues.

 

[soundhd]

I have & use about 7-8 of them (have them on 4 classics, two tractors, house back-up generator and on a newer PU that I is not my daily driver)...both the regular & junior type......have used them for about 10 years....no problems yet.......really like the battery harness.....don't need to open the hood to connect.....just hook em' up and leave......

 

[D575]

I use them for my motor home, Bass boat and car. A battery that sits tends to sulfate, http://www.boatelectric.com/sulfation.htm

I'm kinda of ashamed to admit after reading all the fancy name brands that you guys are using, I Just buy cheap ones from Harbor Freight about $10.00 never had an issue . Haven't had to buy a battery in years.

 

[Moparsmitty]

I've used a couple of NAPA 85-201 automatic chargers for a long time and they have worked great. I have used one on my Prowler since it was new and I just had to replace the original Mopar battery this summer. Not too bad for a battery to go 13 years in a car that isn't driven very often. Any battery guy will tell you that a fully charged (not overcharged) battery will last a lot longer than one that is cycled (discharged and recharged) all the time.

 

[snakeoil24]

Battery tenders are good! Auto Restorer Magazine did a review on these units and you can expect your battery to last 30 percent longer if you use one.

 

[kdtjb]

I have the B.T. plus, I rotate it from car to car. I have had it for years, and haven't lost a battery over winter since i got it. I use to lose one about every other year before. I have 13 cars in the coop for our long winters here.
Just a bit south of West Yellowstone, Mt.

 

[snakeoil24]

Wet cell batteries get contaminated with sulfur by products that fouls the plates. Computer batteries like lithium or nicad dont respond to full charges unless they are fully exhausted. I read that they only have limited re charge cycles. "memory"

 

[eric383]

You are correct snakeoil on the difference in batteries. Some of the newer battery chargers/maintainers have a desulfate option built into them to extend battery life further. Technology moves on.

 

[tallhair]

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.

cool idea

 

[451Mopar]

The Battery Tender Plus has a 1.25 Amp output, the Junior is rated at 0.75 Amp if that matters to anyone.
I have the Batter Tender 4-Bank charger and it has been working great, but I've only had it for about a year.
Bought it from Amazon for about $150. The cables on it are fairly heavy duty. Bought the extention cables so I could have it charge multiple vehicles at once.

 

[D575]

I use them for my motor home, Bass boat and car. A battery that sits tends to sulfate, http://www.boatelectric.com/sulfation.htm

I'm kinda of ashamed to admit after reading all the fancy name brands that you guys are using, I Just buy cheap ones from Harbor Freight about $10.00 never had an issue . Haven't had to buy a battery in years.

Since this post in 2012, I still haven't had to buy a battery.

 

[krowbar]

I use them for my motor home, Bass boat and car. A battery that sits tends to sulfate, http://www.boatelectric.com/sulfation.htm

I'm kinda of ashamed to admit after reading all the fancy name brands that you guys are using, I Just buy cheap ones from Harbor Freight about $10.00 never had an issue . Haven't had to buy a battery in years.

I've got one like this also. Haven't used it much,but when I do it seems to work fine. Bought mine for $5 at Harbor Freight.