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Car Battery/Battery Tender

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Snapped-off

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
4,799
Location
Indiana
Anybody know any good brands of battery tenders? Also, how long would you leave one on for?

Got a 6-7 month deployment coming up, so the car will be sitting for awhile.

Thinking about it I don't have anywhere to plug a tender in.. Any solar powered tenders?

I'll probably just disconnect the battery but figured I'd lose all the presets.

The car is a '05 Cadillac CTS-V.
 
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redmondjp

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Joined
Nov 25, 2014
Messages
2,318
Location
Redmond, WA
A solar-powered one will work if it's hooked up to the battery itself and the battery is disconnected from the vehicle. Otherwise, fully charge the battery beforehand and then leave it disconnected. Or can you remove the battery and store it somewhere where you have access to AC power for the tender?

If you leave the battery connected in the vehicle for that long without charging it, it will be stone dead when you get back and the battery may not even come back (most people don't realize that it permanently damages lead-acid batteries to leave them in a severely discharged state for a long time, and can cause cells to short out). Will the vehicle be stored somewhere secure so you can leave the doors unlocked? I don't know about Cadillacs, but on some other cars such as Corvettes, you can't even get into the car with a dead battery (a real pain in the #$%).

I'd also inflate the tires to 50psi (even if it's that's higher than what it says on the sidewall) as this will keep them from flat-spotting. You may want to add some fuel stabilizer to the tank, and depending upon the climate, you may want to put a Dri-z-air or similar product inside the car to absorb excess humidity/moisture. Some mothballs scattered around underneath the hood if you have rodents where it will be kept as well. Good luck and stay safe during your deployment!
 
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K

kctyphoon

Banned
Joined
Jun 9, 2014
Messages
9,102
Location
Jersey/Staten Island
either a good solar powered tender or pull the battery.. do not even consider harbor freight one, their chargers killed both batteries a tried it on.. honestly, youre probably better off just pulling it and say **** the presets.. the charger will cost you the price of a new battery anyway (most likely).
 
M

MattPersman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Messages
1,656
Location
Indiana
You can get a battery tender at Costco for $40 if you are a member. They are obviously available other places too. I would have a plug in one attached if it was me.
 
C

cajunfirehawk

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
Messages
2,566
Location
Ms Gulf Coast
Deltran is the name that really started the "battery tender" craze AFAIK, I leave mine on all the time other than summer when I dive my garaged car.
 
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SARG

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Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,002
Location
Northeast
The Schumacher XM1-5 is the new model I prefer and they are under $20. at Walmart.

I leave them hooked up through the winter. I've got at least a dozen with about half hooked up now with no problems.
 
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Badger 13

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Joined
Aug 28, 2010
Messages
407
Location
Northern Idaho
I have used battery "tenders" for many years. I find that the "Battery Tender" made by Deltran is the best in my opinion. Some other brands only lasted a couple of years, but my Deltrans are still going strong.
 
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BoostAddiction

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
885
Location
Western North Carolina
I have an old Schumacher on my trailer tug- it stays on 24/7 all year long, and the batteries last for over 5 years.

On my project car, I have a newer Ctek. That car has a significant drain on it, and has to be plugged in and on the maintainer all the time unless it is being driven (or at a show, etc).

I also have two Deltrans, one of which came DOA. I use the good one to charge up a small battery I use in the shop for diagnostics and general tomfoolery.

And I have a solar maintainer/charger on the trailer battery (that battery is used to run a winch to move the project car in and out carefully). When I check it, it shows good voltage, so...
 
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MemphisR32

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
155
I really like my CTEK and have not had any problems with it. For whatever reason I feel more confident leaving it constantly hooked up and powered than I do the "Battery Tender" version I had in the past
 
R

redmed

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Messages
276
Location
Michigan
BatteryMinder has restored a couple of weak/dead batteries for me. One of them was sitting unused for almost a year waiting to be traded in as a core for a new battery. When the BatteryMinder restored my first battery I connected it to the dead/unused battery and within a week it was alive again. I'm still using that battery. BatteryMinder has paid for itself. The Noco Genius is supposed to be as good or better so I got it and use it to maintain my batteries also. Between the two BatteryMinder & Noco Genius I have not had a bad battery to restore since.
 
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