Keeping a battery charged

meburdick · Sep 17, 2012

Solar panel and battery tender all in one.

Battery Tender 021-1163 5W Solar Maintainer : Amazon.com : Automotive

whitechevy · Sep 17, 2012

I use a HF solar cell on a truck that stays parked. Can't tell you if it helps, all I know is I haven't had a dead battery yet and the battery is 10 years old. I dove the truck daily for about eight years. I parked it two years ago and bought the solar charger. I drive it to the store about every two weeks and use it arround the house about once a month now. I may add 60 miles a month. The directions tell you to disconnect it prior to starting the truck. So far so good. No harsh winters here in Alabama. Not sure what this adds to your decision making but for less than $15 it was worth a try for me.

meburdick · Sep 17, 2012

Battery tenders are meant to bring a slightly discharged (or, in many cases, a heavily discharged) battery back up to full charge and then "keep them there". Batteries will naturally lose a little charge from sitting, and any computers (PCMs in cars, for example), clocks, digital radios, etc will also put a slight drain on them. The tenders will allow the battery to discharge a small amount from full then kick in to top them back off. They work with the natural cycle of the battery to keep them healthy.

When batteries lose charge and *stay* discharged, they will also lose their ability to properly charge back to full capacity or hold that full charge.

I know someone that used to replace the battery in his quad every one to two seasons. He now uses a tender on it all the time and hasn't replaced a battery in at least five years.

deere5105 · Sep 17, 2012

meburdick said:
Battery tenders are meant to bring a slightly discharged (or, in many cases, a heavily discharged) battery back up to full charge and then "keep them there". Batteries will naturally lose a little charge from sitting, and any computers (PCMs in cars, for example), clocks, digital radios, etc will also put a slight drain on them. The tenders will allow the battery to discharge a small amount from full then kick in to top them back off. They work with the natural cycle of the battery to keep them healthy.

When batteries lose charge and *stay* discharged, they will also lose their ability to properly charge back to full capacity or hold that full charge.

I know someone that used to replace the battery in his quad every one to two seasons. He now uses a tender on it all the time and hasn't replaced a battery in at least five years.

Do you happen to know what specific brand/model he used? I am having issues with my Suzuki King Quad 700 eating batteries. I have tried every different brand I can find. I am at best getting 8-10 months. Only complaint I have with this unit and seems to be common with this model. Had to pull start it yesterday with pull rope. Not fun!

meburdick · Sep 17, 2012

I *believe* he's using Battery Tender brand. Not sure which exact one.

mvwicker · Sep 17, 2012

Here's what I learned off the web: A charged battery actually lasts longer in the cold. If discharged, it may freeze and burst. In hot weather it will lose charge faster.

From personal experience: a car or motorcycle battery will last 10 years driven once a week and kept on a battery tender. My guess is that a tractor battery will behave the same.

meburdick · Sep 17, 2012

For what it's worth, here's the ones I use for the sleds and will be using this winter for the tractor too...

Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Maintainer : Amazon.com : Automotive

You can get extra pigtails to attach to your different toys and swap the maintainers among them (each maintainer comes with a pigtail). Super cheap way to keep the batteries charged up.

94BULLITT · Sep 17, 2012

Here is my maintainer, I thought they look a little better than a battery tender.

deere5105 · Sep 17, 2012

Thanks for the quick responses and suggestions. Not meaning to take over the thread, but was related to my current issue. Will study a little more but this seems to be a good option.

Jkott · Sep 17, 2012

Personally, I keep a Deltran Battery Tender on all my power toys. I have a few of the 800 water proof ones because I used to keep them outside. Now I mainly use the 1.25A because it comes in a multiple unit. I am not familiar with yours, but on my Polaris, the battery is actually discharging at idle because of the cooling fan and fuel pump drawing power. Like my tractor, the 500/600 (50amp @ 12 v is 600 watts) watt alternator/generator doesn't go very far. My cooling fan is about 200 watts and cycles probably 30-50% depending on temp. Tail lights/brake light are about 60, headlights about 90. Use the winch for plowing or add a couple of extra work lights and a bit of idling and it is very easy to overload the system pretty quickly. A couple of 55 Watt high beam work lights will overload a system pretty quick too if you have a couple facing forward and one back.

Unlike my compact tractor that has a 60+Amp*hour battery and a direct drive fan, most ATV's only have 20-28Amp*hour. The reserve power is pretty small, so if you use them hard and put them away wet, the batteries will not be charged and that is the fastest way to kill them. That is where a maintainer comes in.

Unless you have a faulty charging system that isn't able to keep up (or over charging), you may want to try a different type of battery, not just brand. There are really only 3 companies that make batteries anymore so there aren't much difference between most brands. They do make different grades though. The standard is a wet cell. They don't like vibration as much and *really* dislike being stored or kept discharged. A better battery is an AGM, which is sealed, and because glass mats sit between the lead plates, they are less likely to short out with vibration and jolts from using a snow plow or tow strap for work. I always use at least an AGM in my ATV's.

If you tend to use a lot of battery, a better choice (and more expensive) is a starved electrolyte AGM. They are much more vibration and bump resistant and supposed to be able to tolerate deep discharge more often than a standard battery. Odyssey is one example.

Of course, keep them charged and they will last a lot longer.

k0ua · Sep 17, 2012

I used to have some dead battery trouble on the riding lawn mower, which can sit from oct. to april without any use around here. Now I use a simple solar maintainer, and never have any battery trouble now. I have never used anything on my large tractor batteries. as I start and move the tractor a fair amount thru the winter, and of course use it a lot in the summer spring and fall. The solar maintainer is just a 1.5 watt unit and it sits at an angle facing the sky in a southern facing window. It seems to be enough to overcome the self discharge.

James K0UA

meburdick · Sep 18, 2012

94BULLITT said:
Here is my maintainer, I thought they look a little better than a battery tender.

Looks interesting... Especially with having a little more power output capacity. Other than the higher amperage (which means it could do a charge a little faster), what are some of the other benefits to that one in particular? Mine seem to work well, and I bought three for the price of one of those - so, I'm wondering what I would get if I were to add one of those to the mix of ones that I already have.

Geneha · Sep 18, 2012

I have a Battery Tender Jr that I keep my ZTR and B7500 hooked to.
They have quick disconnect power cords and these are battery maintainers so when I get ready to use just unplug and go.

Gary Fowler · Sep 18, 2012

meburdick said:
Looks interesting... Especially with having a little more power output capacity. Other than the higher amperage (which means it could do a charge a little faster), what are some of the other benefits to that one in particular? Mine seem to work well, and I bought three for the price of one of those - so, I'm wondering what I would get if I were to add one of those to the mix of ones that I already have.

It looks like a very expensive, low amp( 3.5A) battery charger. Why would someone need a 3.5amp maintainer. That kind of discharge is not parasitic, that is a short and should be corrected. I cant see needing more than the $20 1.5 amp maintainer chargers for overwinter or otherwise idle protection. Some folks seem to think that spending money foolishly on something that is more than they need is the thing to do. I guess their thinking is that if it cost triple, then it must be much better. That thinking is like buying a package deal on a tractor with trailer, cutter, box blade etc and paying $3K more but saving $2K by buying lumped together when all you really need is a tractor.

Gary Fowler · Sep 18, 2012

meburdick said:
Looks interesting... Especially with having a little more power output capacity. Other than the higher amperage (which means it could do a charge a little faster), what are some of the other benefits to that one in particular? Mine seem to work well, and I bought three for the price of one of those - so, I'm wondering what I would get if I were to add one of those to the mix of ones that I already have.

It looks like a very expensive, low amp( 3.5A) battery charger. Why would someone need a 3.5amp maintainer. That kind of discharge is not parasitic, that is a short and should be corrected. I cant see needing more than the $20 1.5 amp maintainer chargers for overwinter or otherwise idle protection. Some folks seem to think that spending money foolishly on something that is more than they need is the thing to do. I guess their thinking is that if it cost triple, then it must be much better. That thinking is like buying a package deal on a tractor with trailer, cutter, box blade etc and paying $3K more but saving $2K by buying lumped together when all you really need is a tractor.

Geneha · Sep 18, 2012

I picked up the Battery Tender Jr for a little over $20.

meburdick · Sep 18, 2012

Gary Fowler said:
It looks like a very expensive, low amp( 3.5A) battery charger. Why would someone need a 3.5amp maintainer. That kind of discharge is not parasitic, that is a short and should be corrected. I cant see needing more than the $20 1.5 amp maintainer chargers for overwinter or otherwise idle protection. Some folks seem to think that spending money foolishly on something that is more than they need is the thing to do. I guess their thinking is that if it cost triple, then it must be much better. That thinking is like buying a package deal on a tractor with trailer, cutter, box blade etc and paying $3K more but saving $2K by buying lumped together when all you really need is a tractor.

I agree that spending money to save money is often foolish since you won't use the extra stuff you get. I also think this appears to be a bit pricey, and that's why I'm wondering if it has any value beyond what mine have. The fact that it has a 3.5A output (which may only be for 6V, and 12V it may be 1.75A, not sure) could mean that it is *both* a full battery charger and a maintainer. Personally, I don't have a need for anything beyond a trickle charger since I'm never looking to do much more than "top off" a battery and then hold it there.

94BULLITT · Sep 18, 2012

meburdick said:
Looks interesting... Especially with having a little more power output capacity. Other than the higher amperage (which means it could do a charge a little faster), what are some of the other benefits to that one in particular? Mine seem to work well, and I bought three for the price of one of those - so, I'm wondering what I would get if I were to add one of those to the mix of ones that I already have.

I got the 3.5 amp charger to use on my vehicles which sit outside, I try to top off the batteries once a month. It has 8 steps it goes through when it charges the battery. I got the 3.5 amp because it is the largest one that does 6 volt. It has a cold mode or mode for doing AGM's like a optima or odessy because they have to have a higher voltage to charge them properly. I also like that it shows the percentage charged. The 3.5 amp was not much more $ than the 1.1 amp. I also got a adapter where I can charge it through a 12 volt power port. I have had 3 Black and decker maintainers, I was lucky to get a year out of them. They would get hot.

herringchoker · Sep 18, 2012

My Case 450 crawler often sits for 3 to 4 months at a time at my woodlot. It's an old tractor and has no modern parasitic drains (as long as I remember to turn the switch off ). I used to have a terrible time with the battery; it would last 2 or 3 years. It's a big one and it's not cheap. On May 3, 2004 I replaced the battery yet again, but that fall I installed Power Pulse desulfator by Pulse Tech Corporation. A couple of years later I connected a 5 watt solar panel. Now, after more than 8 years the battery remains fully charged. The desulfator wasn't cheap either : $125, and the solar panel I got on sale at Princess Auto for $30 (IIRC), but they have now paid for themselves several times over.
The first photo shows the Pulse Tech unit in the battery box (the white wire leads to the solar panel). The other pics show the solar panel mounted on the ROPS screen.

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meburdick · Sep 18, 2012

herringchoker said:
My Case 450 crawler often sits for 3 to 4 months at a time at my woodlot. It's an old tractor and has no modern parasitic drains (as long as I remember to turn the switch off ). I used to have a terrible time with the battery; it would last 2 or 3 years. It's a big one and it's not cheap. On May 3, 2004 I replaced the battery yet again, but that fall I installed Power Pulse desulfator by Pulse Tech Corporation. A couple of years later I connected a 5 watt solar panel. Now, after more than 8 years the battery remains fully charged. The desulfator wasn't cheap either : $125, and the solar panel I got on sale at Princess Auto for $30 (IIRC), but they have now paid for themselves several times over.
The first photo shows the Pulse Tech unit in the battery box (the white wire leads to the solar panel). The other pics show the solar panel mounted on the ROPS screen.View attachment 281237 View attachment 281238 View attachment 281239.

What does the "desulfator" do? Is it "just" a battery maintainer? And, is it designed to work off of a 12v or 24v solar panel or did you need to use a power inverter? I'm curious how different your complete solution is from the all-in-one solar panel / battery maintainer that I bought for about $65. I know mine is going to be a low-watt solution, but that should be all that's necessary with little or no parasitic drains.