engine and drivetrain Battery Tender Recommendations

[Dutchie3719]

Phew, three brand spanking new topics in one day's a lot of work! Last one I promise.

I've been a bit of a doof, and have stored my car for a while (no cars on campus) without a battery tender, needless to say my cranking is a bit.... cranky... (roll on snare).

So bad pun aside, anyone know of a cheap good quality battery tender, any features I need to have to keep my car alive and kicking when I come back from school in May? I saw a few on harbor freight, any horror stories? Also, what features can be useful in diagnostics? Some had engine start modes, worth the money?

[John_in_VA]

but I'm still happy with the Battery MINDer. Others recommended removing the negative cable from the battery terminal, or even taking your battery inside while your car's resting.

[Dutchie3719]

Oh dear, hope I haven't killed any Kittens, did a quick search.

[02for2]

I maintain 4 batteries during the winter storage season and have used a single battery maintainer for all 4 for the past 5 yrs. w/ excellent results.

I use the Schumacher Battery Companion (<$30) w/ free shipping from Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=schumacher+battery+companion&tag=yahhyd-20&index=aps&hvadid=31011393511&ref=pd_sl_4ubx48qy36_b

I swap it weekly between all four batteries and it's always done the job - all batteries in top health. All 4 batteries are removed from their respective vehicles and sit on my bench throughout the season - 4-5 months each year. There are more expensive ones out there, but this one has proven more than adequate at a reasonable price.

Cheers!

[jgerock]

I purchased a 2-car Battery Tender made by Deltran along with (2) extension cables for maintaining the battery in my tii and the VW. Very simple and effective.

See here: http://batterytender.com/chargers/2-bank-international-charger-usa-western-hemisphere.html

Just remove the negative cable from the post before connecting the charger unit.

[ingraham]

I have several of these: http://www.batterymart.com/p-batteryminder-plus-12v-1_3a-battery-charger.html They've been working great for me for the past few years.

[02Nut]

I've been using a Battery Tender Plus for 5+ years without any problems and I recommend them. There are other brands on the market but it seems like Battery Tender is "THE" brand.

FWIW - I think BMW USA has Battery Tender provide the Dealers with BMW branded chargers.

[72Golf]

I have been using an El Cheapo Harbor Freight unit on my 6 year old Porsche battery for three long cold Minnesota winters and it has done just fine. The car starts right up every time in the spring. I'm sure the higher priced spread is better in some respects but this little devil only cost $6.00 and hasn't burned the garage down yet.

[BillWilliams]

Why remove the negative cable?

[02for2]

This is so you remove any possibility of creating a circuit through the battery tender and the car. Some systems, relays, radio station-set memory etc. create a constant albeit minute current draw even when the car is off.

This current draw can be interpreted by the battery tender as a battery not fully charged and so instead of cutting off as it should once the battery is charged, it continues to throw current to the battery which can cause loss of electrolyte and subsequent sulphating of the battery's internal plates.

Cheers!

[02for2]

One other point about wet cell car batteries. Allowing them to discharge is very bad for the battery and will ultimately lead to premature failure of the battery.

The SAE did a study and found that each time a battery is discharged, it loses 15% of it's ability to hold a charge. This means that any battery which has been discharged is compromised and that after 5 or more discharges in it's life, the battery is essensially useless.

Cheers!

[jgerock]

Why remove the negative cable?

Along with the other responses here - the instructions that came with my charger said to do so. Before I purchased the charger, I would always disconnect the negative cable in both cars if they were to sit for extended periods.

[John_in_VA]

One other point about wet cell car batteries. Allowing them to discharge is very bad for the battery and will ultimately lead to premature failure of the battery.

Another reason I chose the Battery MINDer - its ability to desulfate the battery.

http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/files/pdf/sulfation%20articles/Sulfation040109Auto.pdf

http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/press_room/battery-charger-maintainers-which-is-the-best.pdf

[mcaden]

I am currently using the battery tender junior by Deltran and have been very pleased. It is inexpensive and has worked nicely for me this winter.

-Marc

[BillWilliams]

I wonder why the disconnect negative thing. I use them on the bikes and if I had to do that, I would never use a tender. Batteries are just too hard to get to on bikes.