Battery Tenders

[chim]

I have a solution.
Send it to me!

I looked at it tonight nestled there in a basket with some painting stuff. A Harbor Freight unit. My guess is that I picked it up for a small plating or electrolysis cleaning experiment that never happened. It was probably a coupon special at half off the $9.99 price, so the postage would cost more than the charger I could mail you five bucks and you could watch for a HF sale?

 

[California]

Save yourself $5, send him this coupon instead.

 

[California]

Actually the $5 HF charger is what I put on the tractor described above (where the Battery Minder had died) overnight. 10 minutes after detaching it I measured over 13 volts, so reading it several hours later will hopefully show its fully charged.

I learned a couple of batteries back that you can't leave these on all winter. It cooked out enough water to damage that battery. I suppose a week would be harmless. But after using this cheapest charger for a while, check the water level.

 

[chim]

Save yourself $5, send him this coupon instead.

Now THERE's an idea

 

[fried1765]

I looked at it tonight nestled there in a basket with some painting stuff. A Harbor Freight unit. My guess is that I picked it up for a small plating or electrolysis cleaning experiment that never happened. It was probably a coupon special at half off the $9.99 price, so the postage would cost more than the charger I could mail you five bucks and you could watch for a HF sale?

Thanks,..... but no thanks!
I misunderstood what you have.
Plus, I was kidding about "send it to me".
I don't buy, or use, electrical stuff from HF

 

[John_Mc]

Actually the $5 HF charger is what I put on the tractor described above (where the Battery Minder had died) overnight. 10 minutes after detaching it I measured over 13 volts, so reading it several hours later will hopefully show its fully charged.

I learned a couple of batteries back that you can't leave these on all winter. It cooked out enough water to damage that battery. I suppose a week would be harmless. But after using this cheapest charger for a while, check the water level.

I leave all of my BatteryMinder chargers attached to one battery or another any time the equipment is not being used - on some batteries, it has stayed attached for 6 months. I've never had a problem with boiling off the water. (I did have that problem with a cheapy trickle charger, which is why I no longer use them.

 

[California]

It finally occurred to me why that Battery Minder is dead. Last summer - before harvest, so June~July, we had a power surge. The neutral line in from the pole broke. The lights went bright then dim. I turned everything off, then measured 70 to 140 volts at outlets. No damage to computers (on surge protectors) or appliances. The clock radio in the house and a similar one out in the barn's shop were the only things smoked. And .. that likely took down this Battery Minder. The tractor where I use it is run intermittently and was charging itself sufficiently, so I never noticed the Battery Minder on it has been doing nothing, for months now.

A note re the lights on the Battery Minder, the manual says the red light is on any time the unit is plugged in. No red light showing on this dead unit. My green light shows when its connected to a battery regardless if the unit is plugged into the wall or not. That fooled me into thinking the battery was charged. Only recently did I think to test the battery with a voltmeter - I found 12.3 volts.

Now that I've concluded that the power surge killed my Battery Minder I'll buy another.

 

[Ford850]

It finally occurred to me why that Battery Minder is dead. Last summer - before harvest, so June~July, we had a power surge. The neutral line in from the pole broke. The lights went bright then dim. I turned everything off, then measured 70 to 140 volts at outlets. No damage to computers (on surge protectors) or appliances. The clock radio in the house and a similar one out in the barn's shop were the only things smoked. And .. that likely took down this Battery Minder. The tractor where I use it is run intermittently and was charging itself sufficiently, so I never noticed the Battery Minder on it has been doing nothing, for months now.

A note re the lights on the Battery Minder, the manual says the red light is on any time the unit is plugged in. No red light showing on this dead unit. My green light shows when its connected to a battery regardless if the unit is plugged into the wall or not. That fooled me into thinking the battery was charged. Only recently did I think to test the battery with a voltmeter - I found 12.3 volts.

Now that I've concluded that the power surge killed my Battery Minder I'll buy another.

As much as they cost, I'd contact them about a possible repair.

 

[chim]

1. Thanks,..... but no thanks!
2. I misunderstood what you have.
3. Plus, I was kidding about "send it to me".
4. I don't buy, or use, electrical stuff from HF

1. You're welcome
2. Didn't try to misrepresent it
3. I was kidding about sending it
4. As evidenced by the picture, I did buy something electrical at HF. However, judging from how long it's been languishing in the original package, it doesn't look like I use their stuff either

I enjoy someone with a good sense of humor

 

[dnw64]

The appropriate term is ........quality control.

There are actually two terms.

Quality of Design, and Quality Control.

If your Design is inferior, measuring to ensure that the build quality meets that inferior design will not make it any better.

 

[Gem99ultra]

My 5 Battery Tenders are dying off fast. They're all about 7 or 8 years old but dying one by one. I sent the first one that died back to the manufacturer for repair. They replied "repairable" with no other explanation. Three more have since died, all showing a red blinking light, but not putting out any charge at all on a weak battery.

I also bought a couple of Schumacher maintainer's and a larger big 'un, but have no idea if they're good or not. Only thing I know for sure is that they're generally a bit cheaper. But, if I need a 50 amp starting mode charger I go to the big Schumacher.

I haven't tried Battery Minder yet, but have a couple of Noco's. Those seem to be working, but I only have a couple of years experience with them so far. I do like the fact that they're good for 6V and/or 12V, of which I have some of both. The Noco's tend to be a bit expensive, so I think I'll try Battery Minder's next. With 18 batteries, both 6 and 12 volt, here to keep up, there's always room for one more charger.

 

[fried1765]

My 5 Battery Tenders are dying off fast. They're all about 7 or 8 years old but dying one by one. I sent the first one that died back to the manufacturer for repair. They replied "repairable" with no other explanation. Three more have since died, all showing a red blinking light, but not putting out any charge at all on a weak battery.

I also bought a couple of Schumacher maintainer's and a larger big 'un, but have no idea if they're good or not. Only thing I know for sure is that they're generally a bit cheaper. But, if I need a 50 amp starting mode charger I go to the big Schumacher.

I haven't tried Battery Minder yet, but have a couple of Noco's. Those seem to be working, but I only have a couple of years experience with them so far. I do like the fact that they're good for 6V and/or 12V, of which I have some of both. The Noco's tend to be a bit expensive, so I think I'll try Battery Minder's next. With 18 batteries, both 6 and 12 volt, here to keep up, there's always room for one more charger.

I have 15 batteries, and all are on chargers, most for 6 months each year.
I have used Battery Tenders exclusively, but they are beginning to fail.
2 of the Battery Tenders failed after only 3 years, but were replaced under warranty (I paid return shipping).

I now have 4 Battery Minders, and as the Tenders fail I am replacing them with Battery Minders.

 

[ebbkubota]

I've used Battery Tenders for years and have also had them die. There is a method to repair them which I've used successfully on a couple. Here's a link to a page on the ADV Rider motorcycle site where repair was discussed. I'm also using a NOCO Genius tender that I like so far.

Battery Tender Jr. Fix | Adventure Rider

 

[fried1765]

I've used Battery Tenders for years and have also had them die. There is a method to repair them which I've used successfully on a couple. Here's a link to a page on the ADV Rider motorcycle site where repair was discussed. I'm also using a NOCO Genius tender that I like so far.

Battery Tender Jr. Fix | Adventure Rider

I have a bunch of both Battery Tenders, and Battery Tender Jr's.
As they die I am replacing them with Battery Minders.