Trickle battery charger

[tstex]

Hello to all,

I have 2-3 tractors & ATV's that periodically have weak batteries. My brother uses trickle battery chargers. I was seeking your advice on makes & models that work well and aren't trash in x yrs.

These are covered sheds, but not climate controlled for temp or humidity, but protected from direct rain & winds.
Any soecisl requirements or cautionary measures would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
tstex

 

[Quaffer]

I have had trickle chargers/maintainers boil batteries even though they should never do that. So I use a combination of timers and trickle chargers.

 

[bmaverick]

I have had trickle chargers/maintainers boil batteries even though they should never do that. So I use a combination of timers and trickle chargers.

Exactly. Timers on for 1-hr per day, sometime in the afternoon when it should be the warmest part of the day in the winter.

I would chime it, also have the unit plugged into a GFCI outlet.

 

[tstex]

Obviously they should not boil any batteries, but i get what your saying. Do you remember that brand so I'll avoid or was that only one time it cooked the battery?

Currently, i run long Ex cord & charger to recharge my JD Gator's battery when it's too low to start engine. Looking for a more steady source? I also might not drive my combustion-based engines for 2-4 wks. I have power at each of my 11 sheds and can add a std 120V outlet if needed.

Thanks agsin

 

[tstex]

Thanks maverick.

What do you mean by "chime it"?

 

[bmaverick]

Obviously they should not boil any batteries, but i get what your saying. Do you remember that brand so I'll avoid or was that only one time it cooked the battery?

Currently, i run long Ex cord & charger to recharge my JD Gator's battery when it's too low to start engine. Looking for a more steady source? I also might not drive my combustion-based engines for 2-4 wks. I have power at each of my 11 sheds and can add a std 120V outlet if needed.

Thanks agsin

Many of the old school units with transformers will overboil the batter. Those do not have smart technology.

 

[mrmikey]

I used to swear by Schumacher maintainers but the latest one I bought boiled a new AGM battery dry on my bike. They sent me a replacement that tried to do the same thing but this time I had a volt/milliamp meter on it. Showing almost 16 V and over 1A on a totally charged new battery, you could hear it and smell it. I wrote them complaining about it, all I got in return was the sound of crickets so never again Schumacher.
Saying that, I have 2 Schumachers that are over 10 years old and weigh a ton, compared to the new all electronic crap.
My go to now are Battery Tender brand so here's hoping they're better.

 

[tstex]

Thanks mrm, sorry your battery was fried.

When i fill my pool w hose, i always set my ph alarm..saved my butt many times. I'll do the same w any of these tools

 

[John0829]

I have had trickle chargers/maintainers boil batteries even though they should never do that. So I use a combination of timers and trickle chargers.

I had the same thing happen so now every maintainer is on a timer and all my batteries seem happy. Only have had one battery go bad since I started doing this and it was a 7 year old lawn mower battery that in years past I would be lucky to get 2 years out of.

 

[shooterdon]

I have had good luck with Battery Tender. I have a cheap $20 Wally World battery on a rider that is going on its eighth year.

I have one on the tractor, F250 work truck, Mule and ZT.

 

[Advil]

We have had exceptional luck with the Battery Minder 1510. They are made specifically to have low output and to maintain batteries, they don't boil or charge. Their other claim to fame is their desulfating mode which helps keep the batteries good for many extra years.

We keep them on everything with lead acid batteries. Tractor, forklift, sports car, camping trailer... Just plug it in and forget about it for a year.

Amazon.com

 

[Racer4]

We have had exceptional luck with the Battery Minder 1510. They are made specifically to have low output and to maintain batteries, they don't boil or charge. Their other claim to fame is their desulfating mode which helps keep the batteries good for many extra years.

We keep them on everything with lead acid batteries. Tractor, forklift, sports car, camping trailer... Just plug it in and forget about it for a year.

Amazon.com

I have a couple of these as well and have had good luck with them.

 

[HamishMacCheap]

Another recommendation for Battery Minder 1510.

I have bought a couple of them at Northern Tool at a competitive price.

 

[grsthegreat]

Look into Noco chargers. Noco is a huge company dealing with battery charge and maint equipment. Just type noco into amazon.

I use them on my trickle chargers and i have their 10 amp genius charger that is amazing at bringing totally dead batteries back to life.

 

[John_Mc]

The old-school trickle chargers which just constantly fed power to the battery could be a real problem if left connected. Some of the cheaper modern smart chargers suffer from quality issues. (Harbor Freight seems to have problems with this: even within the same model, some of their smart charger/maintainers work exactly as they are supposed to, but reports I've heard from several users are that some float the battery at well above the voltage they should be, boiling off electrolyte.)

I'll second the recommendation on the BatteryMINDer 1500/1510 battery maintainers. Actually, BatteryMINDer makes a number of different chargers. I own about 6 different ones, and all of them work great. My oldest is over 20 years old. My most recent is about 3 years old, their model 1215C, which is more weatherproof than some of their other models (suitable for on-board mounting under the hood).

These are well-designed smart chargers and can be left connected to the battery long-term. They will not damage the battery. I have a riding mower-sized battery from an antique Coot ATV that has been on a maintainer continuously for 3 years (waiting for me to finish rebuilding the transmission). Out of curiosity, I had it load tested a few months ago: it tested perfectly.

All of their chargers are temperature compensated, adjusting the charging and float voltages to optimize charging for variations in temperature. All of them also include a desulfation feature.

The other brand I've had good luck with are NOCO. I have a small one connected to the AGM battery on my wife's motorcycle: it's left connected continuously for the winter months. I have another NOCO dual-bank charger/maintainer connected to the two batteries in my antique pickup truck (mounted on-board and plugged in any time I think I may not be using it in the near future). I've had good results from both of those. We were lucky to get 2 years out of the motorcycle batteries. We're over 4 years on the current one and it's still in good shape.

 

[Topzide]

I've had good luck with the HF Viking maintainers. Have had one in service for 4 yrs now. It's a 4 amp unit. Can't say how low it may last, but so far, done its job!

 

[tstex]

Excellent information guys, thank you for the make & model recommendations

 

[EddieWalker]

I have two of these for each of my riding mowers. Amazon.com

Mower batteries always seem to last about one year, and the next year, start giving me issues until I replace them. I put the first Battery Tender on my zero turn 3 years ago, and so far, every time I go to start it, it fires right up. I did the same 2 years ago with my wife's riding mower.

I've been thinking about buying more for my other tractors, but so far, I usually use them enough in the winter to keep the battery charged.

 

[Willman]

I have a combination of Battery Tenders, Battery Minders and one from Harbor Freight, all on timers set for a couple hours twice a 24 hour day

 

[scootr]

I have had good results with CTEK like this model here > Amazon.com
I use them for cars that sit and for a 12v battery used with my shop diesel heater.