Want info on battery CHARGER / MAINTAINER

[MikePA]

Do you feel that using the "maintainer" all the time, is far superior to using a regular "recharger" set on low trickle every month or so??

Yes. Perhaps it was my charger (Shumacher), but it never kept the battery charged regardless of the setting I used. The meter read the battery in my tractor was charged but it would not start the tractor. Ever since I started using the Battery Tender, no problems starting. Plus, the Battery Tender is smaller and, for me, easier to hook up.

 

[Bedlam]

pharm
yes i do its a known fact that i was taught in college thta a slow charge is best.I ahve several batteries and a few in the winter from the small tractors that i have on a special bench and the move the trickle charge from one to the other.
Bu my answer would be a YES..If you can remember to switch off ..lol

 

[ultrarunner]

I left a Western Auto trickle charger on one winter attached to a boat battery... was about 12 at the time...

When I came back a couple of months later the battery had no water in it.

 

[BobRip]

I left a Western Auto trickle charger on one winter attached to a boat battery... was about 12 at the time...

When I came back a couple of months later the battery had no water in it.

The newer chargers charge to a specific voltage and do not affect water very much. Don't use a "trickle charger" use a float. Trickle continue to charge even if not needed.

 

[LMTC]

I need to keep 12-20 tractors ready to run through winter, and they often sit 3 months or more without being started. Over 15 years I have tried numerous solutions, some rather costly (invested $600+ 8 or 9 years ago in some solar float chargers....they did not hold up well). For three years I use these - Battery Tenders, weatherproof. Leave them on a tractor for a week, then rotate, so a tractor gets one for a week every 3-4 weeks. This has been my best solution so far. I also keep one on the battery on my generator...and it does not get rotated!

 

[RavensRoost]

You want to keep the voltage to 13.6 or lower or you begin to boil off electrolytes. The newer electronic ones are much better at controlling the upper voltage than the older ones.

RavensRoost

 

[RonMar]

I believe Black and Decker bought out the Vector charger corporation.

A good LONG TERM float voltage for a 12V wet lead acid battery is 13.0-13.2VDC. They can pretty much set with this voltage applied indefinitely and be held or floated at near peak charge. The longer the time, or the smaller the battery, the more I tend to like the lower end of this range to avoid electrolyte loss issues.