Battery Tenders

Has anyone bought one of these Battery Tenders? And if so, are they worth the 60 dollars? I have a big old battery charger that I use from time to time, but I heard these tenders are hooked up and left on the whole winter/ any suggestions.
Mac

 

I bought one a few weeks ago but didn't pay $60. Wal-Mart has a Schumacher float charger for $18. Schumacher is a reputable name so I didn't hesitate to buy it. I usually hesitate to buy Wal-Mart stuff since so much of their stuff is now made in China. In Canada I would check Princess Auto or Canadian Tire.
My charger is model #SEM-1562A. Shows a yellow LED for charging and a green one for charged. Also has a red LED to show when the battery is hooked up wrong. I have been using it on my lawn tractor and it is nice to know I can leave it hooked up with no worries.

 

I have a Black & Decker unit I bought from Walmart. It has the same features BlueMaxim mentioned, including a switch to select 1 or 2 amp charge.. It was about the same price. It comes with three types of end connections that plug on to the end of the cable. One has normal spring clamps for battery posts, one that can plug into a cigarette lighter socket and one that you connect permanently to the battery.

I use mine all the time in the winter to keep the battery at top charge when you need good spark to start. Nice when you can just plug your bike in to the charger by simply plugging up the polarized connector. I do recommend these... my bike cranks right up now even when very cold.
It will never overcharge the battery.

 

respectfully suggest that 1 amp is WAY too high for a constant charge.. a third or a quarter of that, with an auto detect circuit to 0nly charge when a voltage drop is dectected would be apprpriate for longer battery life.

 

Danilo you are right but that is the purpose of a float charger. It drops it's charge rate as the battery comes up. So mine may start out a 1.5 amps but will use less as the battery charges. Most hold a battery at charge with about 0.5 amps.

 

My experience,
Battery Tender-constant, reliable, works on multiple batteries, mine's been ticking for years, awesome, BUY ONE!

 

Yes. Battery Tenders work and preserve the life of your batteries. It's a fact.

 

Thanks guys, I think I'll look into buying one. It was the fear of spending 60 bucks on something that may or may not be worth it. Thanks again for the suggestions.
Mac

 

Avoid the cheap ones. I purchased the $15 special and had them boil out a few cells as well as die a very swift death. My Schumacher has been splendid (at three times the cost).

 

Hey again, Don't want to keep this going forever, but does anyone have thier Battery tender (battery charger) permently mounted to the bike, or do most just hook it up during the down season when they remove thier battery? Bought mine today, and I have the option of hooking it up directly to the bike? Just wondering what's best for the battery?
Mac

 

I put a permanent hookup on every bike I own. I routinely plug my Battery Tender Junior in when I get home from a ride & leave it plugged in until I go out again.

It is also plugged in all winter.

 

A timely discussion. I have been thinking of purchasing a small reputable battery tender for the upcoming winter and now I think I will go ahead an do it.

Up till now I've been hooking the battery up to the charger when I get up in the mornings and leaving it on for an hour or so while I get ready for work. It's a bit of a pain on some cold mornings but it's a sure start everytime no matter how cold the morning.

Simply hooking up to a tender in the evening means I can leave it on all night without a worry and simply disconnect and ride off in the mornings.

 

got a Schumacher as well... worth every penny. 1.5A trickle charger. The only thing I did was cut off the retarded stock connectors and soldered on a quick connect plug. same on the bikes -- got some all-weather connectors and wired them straight to the battery, with a 5A fuse inline. they can be mounted somewhere easily accessible (I haven't done that yet cause I'm lazy )

I trade the charger between the bikes every night. eventually I'll just get a second one.

 

Sat down last night and tried to figure out what way I was going to mount the new Battery tender. And after I read the instructions (can't believe I'm admitting that)I started having second thoughts about hooking it up all the time. The instructions said that if your bike has a positive ground, you take your neg cable to the positive terminal and the pos to ground, and vice versa for a negative ground system. Am i'm reading this wrong, I thought that you could take the leads and hook them straight up to the terminals. Any one care to explain this to the stupid newbie please!
Mac

 

If you read it correctly (and then typed correctly) there is an error in the instructions. What they are telling you to hook the + to the + on the battery and the - to ground (which can be the - on the battery). In a positive ground system (which yours is NOT) you would hook the - to the - on the battery and the + to ground (or the + on the battery).

So, just hook the + to the positive on the battery and the - to the negative on the battery or to ground.

 

I have the Schumacher charger from Walmart and it works great. I had the Black & Decker brand float charger (sells at Walmart for the same price as the Schumacher) and it just quit working a couple weeks ago. I'd go with the Schumacher brand if you want a good one. PD

 

Hey guys, I re-read the instructions today after reading your e-mails, and yes I am ILLITERATE BIG TIME! I think I should stop drinking water before I read instruction manuals and go back to beer! I think I will take the advice and just hook it up to the battery posts, and not worry about the chassis. So once again MY BAD ! But thanks for helping anyway.
Cheers Mac.

 

I'm reading this & scratching my head. Where has this guy been for the past 3 months I have been having winter

Then I realized where you live

 

Oldgoat...Montreal sounds pretty far north, cold and snowy - probably even more so thatn Rick Massey's description of his New England winter.

Warning...do not read further if description of endless warm weather causes distress!!

Yep...at latitude 37 degrees south of the equator December through to February/March is warm and temperate.

Montreal, being 45 degrees north sounds too cold at this time of year.

But, look on the bright side. Spring is coming for you guys.

 

Gonna resurrect this thread real quick.

I've got the Schumacher charger, and it works fine. I took the set of ring leads and attached them to the 700X. I'd like to get another ring lead quick disconnect to hook up to the 750J, but WallyMart doesn't seem to stock them, and Schumacher doesn't list them on their site. Cycle Gear has some for the Deltran Battery Tender, though... any idea if the two are interchangeable?

 

Yes, I have an idea, and NO, they're not. I own both. The Schumacher has white nylon AMP-type connectors; my Deltran (and Sears) have the offset rubber-clad bullet connector type, kinda like a trailer wire connector.

If your Schumacher has the white nylon AMP style connector, I have an extra ring-lead set you can have. PM an address.

My own personal fave out of the Schumacher, the Sears "Die-Hard" and my baby Deltran is... the Deltran Battery Tender Jr. I like it because it's a teeny wall unit and I have all three bike batteries indoors on a shelf, so I just switch it between them every couple of weeks during winter layover. The Schumacher does a fine job in the garage.

 

This model doesn't... SEM-1562A if you feel like looking it up.

...which is what this model has. Maybe I'll take the clip leads down to the store tomorrow and compare.

 

So I did look it up; You'll love this:

This one, on Amazon, has the connectors I was describing that my Schumacher has http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM-15 ... B0009IBJAS

This one, on their company website, has connectors that DO match the Deltran I have http://store.schumachermart.com/sem-1562a.html

???

 

Curiouser and curiouser.

I still haven't made it down to the cycle shop to compare the Deltran leads with the Schumacher, but I did get a reply back from Schumacher that says theirs are $3 +shipping. The store wants twice as much, but I don't have to wait for them to arrive.

 

Just to clarify how a float charger works. They are a voltage regulated charger not a current regulated charger. Mine put out a constant 13.2 V output which is the voltage on a fully charged wet cell battery. The instructions for mine say to hook them up to a fully charged battery only. If you don't when it applies 13.2V to a partially charged batter the current draw will exceed the ability of the charger to apply enough current to charge the battery. At which point it is liable to fail.

Ride your bike, slide to a stop in your garage and hook up your float charger.

As far as connectors ago, just use any polarized connector that is easy for you to find. Connect a lead to each of the terminals on the battery with ring connectors and put the female connector on the other end of the wires going to the battery. Make the wires long enough you can just extend them outside the side cover. Use the male plug on your battery charger. Buy enough female plugs to fit all the bikes you want to charge and you're in business.

Every wide spot in the road has a Radio Shack. They will have satisfactory two conductor connectors for a reasonable price.

Wamaxim

 

I could do that, although I'd rather have something similar to a factory stock connector. I'll swing by there tomorrow and see what's available. If not them, then Fry's.

As for the Deltran leads at the cycle shop, near as I can tell they're wired into the connector completely opposite of what Schumacher has -- in other words, were I to plug them in, the lead labelled as positive would actually be negative. Yes, I could reverse them on the battery. No, I'd rather not do that, either.

 

Deltran and Schumacher use the same lead but "+" and "-" are swapped? GOTTA LOVE IT.

I'd go to an electronics supply house or a trailer parts place and get some connectors and make my own.

 

Check the BatteryminderBattery Minder Plus charger/maintainer/conditioner. They work great, I bought 2 last fall and will probably buy some more.

 

(nod) Trailer wiring connector from a local industrial parts place and the ring connectors from Ace hardware. Crimped, soldered, done.

Hey, Len, something else for you to stock... :mrgreen:

 

Went to Rodeo Shack and found the following 2 conductor polarized connector set for $1.99. Part number 274-222 Male/Female interlocking connector. Just snip the ears off the connectors to use. I wired mine with the positive terminal in the nose of the connector.

Nice little connector rated 12A @250V.

BTW I HATE Radio Shack but I often recommend them in a forum like this because RS is so widespread.