Battery Tenders

[Imold]

"Battery Tender" is a registered trademark (patent?) of Deltran Corp. in DeLand, Fl.
Those pictured are not Battery Tenders!
Maybe Harbor Freight?

Yep HF, I call all my battery maintainers battery tenders, i am normally not referring to one particular brand, forgot I had this little solar one in my basement not being used also.

 

[Imold]

Well....to show you how little I know.... I didn't realize (given your comment) that there might be a choice!!!

So, yes...solar powered.

Buy a good one if your going to do solar, I bought 3 from HF and two are in the garbage and one is still in the box, I know there is one made for boat lifts that is real nice, think it is Extreme solar?

 

[Richard]

The thrust of my question however, is.... would a higher wattage be needed or is a lower trickle charger type sufficient?

Presumably the battery would be at a decent/good charge when parked verses dead.

I suppose these automatically shut down?

 

[fried1765]

The thrust of my question however, is.... would a higher wattage be needed or is a lower trickle charger type sufficient?

Presumably the battery would be at a decent/good charge when parked verses dead.

I suppose these automatically shut down?

Whatever type you buy, make certain that it is UL/CSA approved.
A fire caused by cheap electrical devices can destroy a tractor, as well as the building it is stored in.
I do not buy any unattended electrical items from HF.

 

[John0829]

I have battery maintainers on all my equipment and vehicles but I do not let them stay on all the time. I have them on timers that turn them on and off once or twice a day for 30 minutes depending on what it is attached to and how old the battery is. Before I started using them I had read many accounts of them cooking batteries (even the high priced brands) and even some blamed for starting fires so I decided using a timer was the way to go. The added benefit has been longer battery life since I started using them. Never tried a solar unit since all my goodies stored inside near to power.

 

[Imold]

A good battery fully charged with the positive cable disconnected will hold its charge for at least 6-7 months, the boat dealer I used to work at stored around 600 boats over the winter months and the only ones that had battery issues were either not fully charged, bad to begin with or were left fully hooked up when put into storage and were slowly draining over the winter, boats are stored indoors in unheated turkey barns, or unheated storage buildings, maybe 50 or so are left outside.
Batteries are unpredictable, might last 7 years or might last 1 start, I did Exide battery warranties for over 13 years.

 

[Imold]

I have battery maintainers on all my equipment and vehicles but I do not let them stay on all the time. I have them on timers that turn them on and off once or twice a day for 30 minutes depending on what it is attached to and how old the battery is. Before I started using them I had read many accounts of them cooking batteries (even the high priced brands) and even some blamed for starting fires so I decided using a timer was the way to go. The added benefit has been longer battery life since I started using them. Never tried a solar unit since all my goodies stored inside near to power.

I do like you do except I will just unplug them for a day to a few days depending if they are inside or outside and what they are on, if it is below zero outside I will just leave them on. A few years ago I forgot to put the charger back on my golf cart and had two batteries freeze and crack open, what a mess on my garage floor.

 

[shovelmike]

Whatever type you buy, make certain that it is UL/CSA approved.
A fire caused by cheap electrical devices can destroy a tractor, as well as the building it is stored in.
I do not buy any unattended electrical items from HF.

Whatever the brand, use a bit of caution, I had a Deltran Battery Tender, I hooked it up to my Harley's battery, plugged it in, and smoke started rolling out of it. I unplugged it and threw it into the trash. I have bought two Schamacher smart chargers, so far so good, unlike the Battery Tender, the cases are plastic...if a component overheats they will be more of a fire hazard than the Tender. I use them with caution.

 

[oosik]

I have a two Deltran, and one CTeK. On the pickup, motorcycle & tractor. All are on all the time. Never once had any type of problem. They do a great job of keeping the batteries fully charged. At thirteen years on my previous tractor - had the battery checked at Les Schwab. Still in great shape. I had a Deltran on that battery from the day I bought it - 24/7/365.

Buy a quality battery tender - use it correctly - very little chance of any problems. All three run at around 1.25 V.

 

[goddom]

I have the same issue with my truck. It must have a slight electric leak and the batteries are getting old. Instead of worry about trying to park close to the house or barn then running an extension cord, I just use this solar charger. It works great. I have been using it for about a year now. I keep it in the center console and it plugs into the cigarette lighter. It also comes with clamps that I have used on my riding lawn mower.

https://amzn.to/32EW24T