Who's Using a Trickle Charger / Battery Tender?

[GreensvilleJay]

re: Anyone used one tender with multiple vehicles by parallel connecting them?

That is totally WRONG way to wire them up unless ALL batteries are the same make/model/condition. even then they'll only be charged up to whichever one is the worst.
One battery tender(only has 2 wires from factory ) cannot properly charge more than one battery at a time.

 

[RCW]

I have 6 hooked up as we speak - 1 boat, 3 jet skis, 2 kubotas.

Been using this brand for years:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...st_dp_nofrnas_sto&ref_=ast_dp_bln_nofrnas_sto

Those look to be good battery tenders. I'd like to get a couple more so will try one of those models next time. I have no complaints with the one I have but I'm always interested in trying other brands ... unless it's a tractor of course.

I agree - - like those. Other OTT folks mentioned NOCO as well.

Smart charge down to 0 volts and other nice features.

 

[Botamon]

Every vehicle I own but one - motorcycle, ATV, UTV, tractors, trucks - all have a battery maintainer connected. Only one not connected is my F150 and that's because it is a daily driver.

Been using them for years. Especially with the smaller batteries like in the motorcycle and ATV, my records show using the maintainers has essentially doubled battery life. I have leads permanently connected to the batteries so plugging in the maintainer just takes a second.

 

[TheMurf]

I have three hooked up .One on the Bx, one on the Gravely and one on my Harley. All are plugged into a surge protector then into the wall socket.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Those look to be good battery tenders.

I've heard good things about them on several forums. Same with the BatteryMinder brand.

 

[fried1765]

Thanks, that's what I figured. Never really thought about it much before but like many here, we've got some really cold temps coming in the next few days. I didn't have regular electric service in our barn last year so it wasn't even a consideration then. I haven't driven my car lately (need to swap my summer tires for the winter tires and haven't had the time) so I'm afraid the battery may be drained down too low and that all made me think of the tractor and our Polaris Ranger now that I have power in the barn. Think I'll order three of them from Amazon today.

If you have a COSTCO nearby, they had them on sale two weeks ago.
Not sure about now!

 

[RBsingl]

My new Kubota F2690 was delivered last Friday in a light snowstorm and it came with a connector for the Ctek maintainer already connected to the battery, very convenient for me!

I need to change the connector on my standby generator to the same permanent style.

Rodger

 

[DaveFromMi]

I use a couple of Diehard Brand maintainers. They claim to have desulfating capability.

 

[hagrid]

Optimate.

 

[KKBL]

My L3560 LE is only a year old and thus has a newish battery still. I don't really use the tractor much during the winter and winters here are relatively mild, at least compared to those way up north. I am wondering if I should get a trickle charger / battery tender to maintain my tractor battery over the longer periods of inactivity? Thoughts or suggestions from long time tractor owners please. Thxs.

I have two Schumacher fully automatic battery maintainers. One is used for a 8 or 9 year old battery on an antique car that is stored 6 months each year - that battery works fine every spring. The other one can be used on the tractors and other batteries that are not used regularly to keep them ready to use. I have even been able to rejuvenate several batteries that would normally be considered to be beyond saving with them.

 

[mattwithcats]

Battery Tender…

800 milliamps

Weather Resistant 800mA, 12V Battery Charger

The rugged Battery Tender® 12V, 800mA weather resistant battery charger and maintainer has all the features of our best selling Battery Tender® Junior, in a mountable water resistant package. This 800 milliamp battery charger is also shock and vibration resistant, perfect for all types of ATVs...

www.batterytender.com

 

[Nicksacco]

Definitely.
I use a Harborfreight trickle charger on a timer with a diode in the positive wire to prevent current drainback when the timer is off. I've used this system for years on my motorcycles as well.

Whatever charger/trickle you use, check the acid-water level regularly on battery types on which you can access this. On those completely sealed types (glued all together), I'm not aware of a way to check the fluid.

It's a good practice to check a battery for corrosion, and fluid level anyway to prevent heartache!

 

[BAP]

Has anyone actually figured out if you save any money using a battery maintainer on your machines? You have the cost of the maintainer plus, the power to run it. That adds up to quite a bit of money over time. Does it actually save any money versus just changing batteries out when needed with a higher quality battery.

 

[William1]

Optimate and Battery Tenders here.
Though my little tractor is stored far from the house and no power, so I have a solar panel and charger. Better than nothing.

 

[ve9aa]

Has anyone actually figured out if you save any money using a battery maintainer on your machines? You have the cost of the maintainer plus, the power to run it. That adds up to quite a bit of money over time. Does it actually save any money versus just changing batteries out when needed with a higher quality battery.

I won't answer that (too much math first thing this morning), but when I want to go use my:
tractor
classic car
motorcycle
or
lawn mower

the CONVENIENCE of knowing that it'll start is worth a lot to me, rather than making a 1.5hr run into town and back, hauling a battery with me, finding the one I need(maybe several stores), plunking down $100-$200 (depending) and the long customer lineups, then back home, install the thing, hope I didn't get a dud.

Meanwhile, I could've been
tractoring
Sunday driving in my classic car
carving the twisties on my bike
or
mowing the lawn

It's an easy calculation for me (without using any math)

 

[mikester]

My L3560 LE is only a year old and thus has a newish battery still. I don't really use the tractor much during the winter and winters here are relatively mild, at least compared to those way up north. I am wondering if I should get a trickle charger / battery tender to maintain my tractor battery over the longer periods of inactivity? Thoughts or suggestions from long time tractor owners please. Thxs.

I've hard wired trickle charger quick connects to my bikes and ZTR. I make it a habit to plug in each machine at the beginning of each month for top ups. If you can't get to the machines for months on end you might want to consider pulling the battery and storing it appropriately. You will still want to do top ups.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Seems most of these 'maintainers' are rated for around 2 amps and cost $50 more or less. 'Magical' numbers,super cheap to make, very high profit.
$50 is about 1/2 the cost of a new ,small battery these days. But if you share it with say 3 vehicles , the cost goes down even after buying the extra cabling.
Actual 'cost of use' is really pennies per month as they do not draw a lot of power. Even if on full (2 amps..), 24/7, it'll take 2 days to use 1kWh of energy,which for me is 25 cents, so operating cost is 1/2 cent per hour. A 'maintainer' is never on 'full' all the time, so real cost will be far less. You could use a 'Kill-a-Watt' meter for a month to see energy use.heck the meter will use more !
I pull the batteries out of the 'not in winter' machines, store in 45*F garage and 'round robin' charge them with my 20 year old, homemade SCR based charger. You have to understand that a 'maintainer' is NOT a 'battery charger'. It's designed to keep a fully charged battery 'topped up'.

 

[lmichael]

Costco had the 4.5 amp Battery Tender on sale a couple weeks ago for $36. Kicking myself I did not buy 2. Especially after getting home and looking them up on Amazon and the like and finding out they're $100 plus! Still regular price is good $46. I keep one on the G2160 all winter on a remote (wifi) controlled socket out in the back garage. I have another wired into the battery on my generator so when I want to set it up for a few days to top off the starting battery I simply plug it in. But it's one of the nicer ones from Harbor Freight

 

[Mowbizz]

I have a solar Battery Tender on my shed that I keep my daughter’s riding mower battery on all winter. My Kubota Z422 battery is on my basement bench hooked to a 5 bank charger that I bought when I had more toys. That one was made in England 🏴󠁧 if I recall.
my BX 25DLB has its original 2013 battery that JJ’s keeps on keeping on…I do use a block heater for the BX so it turns over no problem.

 

[Lil Foot]

I have a slew of vehicles, so I have a slew of chargers/tenders/maintainers.
To start, I have had two HF maintainers fail completely, so I stopped using them.

My Rhino & Lil Foot both have old Optima batteries, 12 & 14 yrs old, that were acting pretty tired, so I bought these on the advice of a neighbor. They "recondition" the battery, and now they act like new.

https://www.optimabatteries.com/products/digital-400/