Battery Tender

[MichaelHoward]

Thinking of buying a Battery Tender. They are on sale locally here in my town.
Has anyone ever used one or own one? They claim to charge the battery up and then cut off, then only come back on occasionally to keep the voltage and charge up and etc..

Are they safe, I mean to stick it on the battery and then walk away for weeks at a time during the winter storage?

Thanks for your input!!!

Michael

[Anonymous]

I bought my battery tender some years ago, and has been very effective. As I write this, my Hybrid GK is sitting in the garage with the battery tender hooked on. The left sidecover is off, the leads are bolted on to the battery, and I can easily disconnect them from the tender. I know that the next time I push the starter button, the motor will turn quickly and the engine will catch right away (after priming the carbs, of course...)

I have a spare battery which is on the tender any time I don't have it hooked onto the bike. Perfectly safe and effective. Caution: check the battery fluid level; our small batteries can easily go dry.

It's important that the battery on these bikes be kept fully charged, to keep the stator from working overtime. The tender is one way to ensure battery and electrical system health.

[MichaelHoward]

Thanks Nick, I appreciate your comments. I will go at lunch and grab one while they are on sale!!

Michael

[G man]

I've used one for about 5 years and have nothing but good things to say about it. I put all 3 batteries in my basement for the winter and move from one to the next every week or so. A little inconvenient, but works just fine. The sealed Yuasa battery that came with my ZX-9 has been going strong since '97 and shows no sign of deteriorating performance.

The cheapest I have seen is at www.accwhse.com at $33.95 for the 12 volt unit. I'm going to get another one after the holidays if Santa doesn't help me out.

[MichaelHoward]

My local Car Quest has them on sale for 30.56 today only!
I just went and grabbed one.
Michael

[G man]

That is a good deal. Maybe I should just go pick one up and if I get one for Christmas I'll return it. Thanks for the heads up.

[MichaelHoward]

I just called back down to CarQuest and asked how many was left, and guess what?? The local Honda dealer a block away caught wind of the sale and by now have them on their shelf for a nice 40 or 50% mark-up I am sure!!

I would not of sold them to them but,,, guess they call that buisness?????? :roll: :roll:

Michael

[Anonymous]

Re: Battery tender experience

FWIW, I've had my battery tenders for several years now and thought I'd mention a couple of things. I have the quick disconnects hooked up so they're easily accessible. I just reach behind the side cover and pull it out when the bike is going to be parked for awhile. During the Winter months, I pull my batteries out and leave them hooked up but on my owrk bench so I can tilt them from time to time and check on the electrolyte level.
I have had problems with 2 of the battery tenders about 3 yrs after I bought them. Even though the warrantee had expired, Deltronics replaced them without the slightest of hassles. They even apologized for the inconvenience. If I could get a deal on the larger amp model for my boat batteries, I'd buy 2 more without giving it a second thought.
Speaking of which, has anyone out there used their bike Battery Tenders to keep full sized batteries charged? If so, did you have any problems?
Thanks

[Anonymous]

I saw some of you were talking about getting additional Tenders or needing to charge more than one battery, and I thought you might like to read this. Straight from the BatteryTender site.

How to chare more than one battery at a time, in parallel or series.
Might be more convenient for you.

http://www.batterytender.com/catalog/Connecting_and_Parallel.pdf

[Anonymous]

You could connect your trickle charger to an electronic timer too.

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage.html

[TheNose]

Walmart has them everyday for $24.95.

Terry

[G man]

Al:

I use mine on the battery in my Ranger and it works great. Takes a lot longer to get to float mode but otherwise you won't know the difference.

[Anonymous]

I use a knock-off of the Battery Tender Jr. I bought three for my bikes at $7.50 each on sale. Three years now with no problems. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=41288

[Anonymous]

Battery Tender prices

FWIW, I dropped by WalMart this morning hoping to pick up a couple of Battery Tenders at the price mentioned in an earlier post. Evidently, not all WalMarts carry the Deltron brand Battery Tender. The one that the local WalMart carries around here was $24.95 but not the "Battery Tender" I was hoping to see. Their's is made for WalMart by a Chinese company. Oh well.

[TheNose]

Re: Battery Tender prices

FWIW, I dropped by WalMart this morning hoping to pick up a couple of Battery Tenders at the price mentioned in an earlier post. Evidently, not all WalMarts carry the Deltron brand Battery Tender. The one that the local WalMart carries around here was $24.95 but not the "Battery Tender" I was hoping to see. Their's is made for WalMart by a Chinese company. Oh well.

Sorry, I was speaking of a generic battery tender. I didn't realize that Battery Tender was a trade name. Sorry for the confusion. But, doesn't Chinese electricity work the same as American electricity?

Terry