Battery Tender

[punkncat]

Do you have any opinion on a decent cheap trickle charger for use in the elements?

IE, I need to stretch the extension cord out to under the hood of a car to keep the battery up for what will likely turn into late fall unless some miracle come up (nope, no white horse).
I found a couple of them on Amazon, but all the same brand. I have an actual battery charger and (high amp mode) starter, so don't need much. If I let the battery on this vehicle go dead, aside from the cost, the damned thing won't open afterward. If I disconnect the battery and the trunk accidentally gets closed again I am really fucked. So....

[Grendel]

I have had a 4 amp Battery Tender installed in my truck for about 4 years and has worked well for me. It is the Battery Tender Brand, this is the part number of the label 022 0209 BT WH. When I was living up in Mass I had a truck (1993 F350 Diesel) that sat in a bay of my shop most of the time because I also had a car. I got tired, especially in the cold months, going out and having a dead or near dead battery and a cold diesel engine and having to drag out a battery charger and wait until I could get it started. I installed this so I could keep the battery charged even when it was cold and I had not driven the truck for a while. [I also installed battery blanket and made a single plug connation so I could run the battery warmer, battery tender and block heater control them independently with switches/contactors.]

[punkncat]

Do you think the 1.4A tenders are worth messing with for a car battery? I just basically need to keep it from dying and will be summertime.

Probably will use it for the lawn mower after this.

[Grendel]

I do not see why not depending upon application. I went with 4amp due to my truck uses dual deep cycle batteries with an old electrical system that has current leaks. On a more lower demand situation (most healthy newer cars/non-diesel trucks) 1.4A tender or even a 1A should do a relatively good job of floating a charged battery. The caveats are you have a good electrical system, with healthy battery. Having more available current capacity is always good and will not hurt anything if you are willing to endure the cost differential. In my chase I new I had higher than typical parasitic drain on my battery, it spent weeks without running and was stored in an unheated bay in my shop in Mass. So I opted for the higher current capacity to make sure it had what it needed to keep my battery ready for when I needed the truck. I know it was overkill but I had not made a car payment in over 10 years it was a very small investment to be confident. I am now in SC and that truck is my "daily" driver (well maybe weekly I barely leave my property right now) so conditions are milder and the battery is kept fresher through driving so I have not used my tender for almost a year. I am slowly working on my electrical system so the parasitic losses are being slowly remedied and my need for the tender is waning but I already have it it will stay there so I have its availability. I wish I had put it in years ago and helping my son in-law set them up on his project cars. What ever you do just make sure that you use a true "tender" that appropriately floats your battery vs. a trickle charger. Trickle chargers without automatically floating after full charge will prematurely age your battery.

Sorry for the wall of text.

Lawn Mower I have been using these cost about $50 total but works great to keep the lawn mower battery fresh. Even stopped removing battery and bring inside the house in winter. I just stuck the charger in an east facing window of my shop and clamped onto the battery while still in the lawn mower. I got in the habit of hooking it up after cleaning up the mower year round because of ease and always had a full battery. This setup would work most likely for your car. My son in-law is using on his Talon that is being stored next to my shop right now to keep the battery fresh. The Talon gets started maybe every couple of months at best and does not seem to be having a problem. We did first make sure Jesse's car's battery was fully charged before putting it on, not sure it would be enough to charge a low battery but seems to be keeping it topped off between starts.

Schumacher SPC-7A Solar Charge Controller 12V - For Lead-Acid Batteries and Solar Panels
Schumacher SP-200 Solar Battery Charger and Maintainer - 2.4 Watt, 12V

[BLachance75]

I have this



I use it to keep a charge on my riding mower batteries during the winter. I have 2 batteries so I switch which battery is hooked up each week. I use it this way from November to late April. I’ve been doing it for a few years and haven’t had a battery die.

I use it in my garage and I live in MA. The garage isn’t heated but it is attached to the house so it generally doesn’t freeze in the winter. It’s not uncommon for it to get in the mid 30s during the height of the winter.

[JeepDVLZ45]

I think your “Danger” sticker should be placed on everything I own

[punkncat]

That seems to be THE brand than "jungle site" sells and the one I was considering.

[TouchofGrey]

I have been using a CEN-TECH for years with no issues. $18

[Grendel]

Cen-Tech is a good company they make many good Electronic devices for home/DIYer.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I have a bunch of trickle chargers from Harbor freight they have worked for years. Some of my sports cars need a float charger due to the type of battery in the cars. But if it’s just a standard car battery just grab a cheap trickle charger. You could always hard wire it in that way you never have to worry about not being able to get that trunk open.

On my SLC the battery is tucked down in the center of the car under the front nose and It takes two people to lift it off so I ran leads down to the front air dam so I can just clip the charger on without having to reach down into the vented hood and over the paint. I can just clip it on now right at the front vent.

I buy the cheap ones for standard car batteries. I have ones that are 10-15 years old. Charger is a charger unless your working with those light weight dry cell batteries.

[Seajay]

I picked this up recently. Got a car battery and a lawn tractor battery back into working order. Small, light, and convenient. NOCO Genius 1.
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS1-...ef_=ast_sto_dp

At 1 amp it is not a fast charger but it supposedly can bring a low charge battery back to life, and has a force option to try and re-energize a less than 1 volt battery.

[Thorny]

I have always used NOCO with good luck. Leave them charging stuff overnight in snowstorms plenty of and for marine applications pretty often