Battery Chargers/Maintainers

[mobiledynamics]

Let me hear it. Real world usage.

I've got 2. Batteryminder 12248 and a Ctek 7200. Both trickle/float my garage queens fine. I was looking at the Noco and it seems like alot of the reviews are schills/fakes on Amazon.......

Just curious what ya'll are running.

 

[Outlander]

Battery Tender for my ATV maintainer. Canadian Tire charger (not the best but does the trick)

 

[YupIllFixItLater]

I have 2 Cteks, a small one that is just a charger/maintainer and a larger one that has a reconditioning mode.

They're both great and I have 0 complaints. The larger one has revived many batteries that have sat in project cars and frozen and periodically jumped to move the car and partially thawed before freezing again. They've worked very well after the Ctek was done with them.

I have seen many Cteks on-board trawlers and many of the smaller boats I've worked on. They flatout just work.

 

[mobiledynamics]

I've never needed to use the recondition mode.
I'll have to read the manual, but in the interim, when does it put a high voltage out and for how long ?

 

[Notgrownup]

I use them on my Harley and Cub cadet, they are cheap craftsman I got fir $20 each.

 

[krc328ic]

During the summer, I'm using solar trickle chargers that you would see used for RV's and boats. One sits on the window ledge and the other I actually mounted to the roof and ran the cord through the door. Work great for me.
But there's a "real" charger in the basement for winter storage.

 

[TomB19]

I would never buy another charger without automatic reconditioning. C-TEK or OptiMate.

Batteries can last almost indefinitely. 10 year old batteries that have been weak for years and you thought were shot can be reconditioned to perform strong for several more years.

 

[MrBreeze]

I've got 3 Battery tenders - 2 duals, one single. Been using battery tenders for 15+ years. Started with a single for the motorcycle, then as my motorcycle collection grew, I added tenders. Also plug in my Jeep when I know I won't be driving for a day or two. My father runs them on his lawn tractors, boat and motorcycle. I can't recommend them enough.

 

[Cruzomatic]

I have battery tenders all over.

lawn tractor
HD 1
HD 2
battery jump pack
4 wheeler

They have worked well for me. Though I have had to replace one of them that died on me. I called battery tender and they said it was out of warranty, so I just threw it in the trash.

 

[devoncoolman]

Snap-on fast charger for recharging and battery tender for storage and Maitenence. Battery tender on my atv and lawn mower.

 

[Vettman]

Was using a battery tender on the 'Vette as I may not drive it for weeks. Worked well, but I bought two 5 watt solar panels. One to leave on the tractor (outside) and one for the Corvette. It's garaged, solar panel is on the garage roof.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Battery Tender Jr.

You really don't want to leave a battery o a maintainer for long term (months). Buy a cheap mechanical lamp timer. Plug your maintainer into that and set it to run 1-2 hours per day.

 

[Ray916MN]

I have 6 Deltran Battery Tenders. 3 singles and 3 four banks. My only complaint is that they will keep a marginal battery well enough charged to start a vehicle when it is pulled off the tender, but the battery will end up being too weak to start the vehicle later in the day....

 

[brtsvg]

Battery Tender Jr.

You really don't want to leave a battery o a maintainer for long term (months). Buy a cheap mechanical lamp timer. Plug your maintainer into that and set it to run 1-2 hours per day.

Battery Tender Jr x 2 for the last 5 years. Great units. Completely agree with the statement above

 

[ttpete]

Battery Tender Jr.

You really don't want to leave a battery o a maintainer for long term (months). Buy a cheap mechanical lamp timer. Plug your maintainer into that and set it to run 1-2 hours per day.

Not necessary. They shut themselves down when the battery voltage reaches a predetermined value, and continuously monitor it. When the voltage drops enough, they turn on and bring it back up.

I've been using Deltran Battery Tenders for about 20 years. Currently, I have 4 motorcycles, a generator, and a booster pack on them. The generator battery is now 15 years old and still in good shape.

Those using solar panels to maintain a battery should always use a charge controller. Operating without one will boil a battery dry eventually.

 

[devoncoolman]

Not necessary. They shut themselves down when the battery voltage reaches a predetermined value, and continuously monitor it. When the voltage drops enough, they turn on and bring it back up.

I've been using Deltran Battery Tenders for about 20 years. Currently, I have 4 motorcycles, a generator, and a booster pack on them. The generator battery is now 15 years old and still in good shape.

Those using solar panels to maintain a battery should always use a charge controller. Operating without one will boil a battery dry eventually.

Agreed been using battery tenders for years and no issues. My atv has a glass mat battery in it and never one issue.

 

[Strouty]

I bought a battery tender for my 24 volt military truck, now I want to buy a charger with the desulfation feature to use on that and my 24 volt forklift.

You guys ever used the stand alone desulfators? I am not sure how they work, seems like they would draw the battery down if you don't use it all the time.

 

[kball]

We have the top the line NOCO charger at work and it has brought several batteries back to life that we would have normally junked. I'm no expert on the desulfation process but the charger definitely works. They have much smaller versions than this but this is the one we have.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LX14Z2/?tag=atomicindus08-20