battery tenders

How do folks keep their lead acid batteries alive over the winter ? I've a cheapo charger (red light/green light) that i've used to revive the battery every month or so but was thinking a modern "smart" charger might be a better bet. Can these things be safely left alone on trickle charge for 4 months or better to try revive the battery in the spring ? Can a lead acid battery be successfully brought back to full charge from dead ?

Hi Stu, I have a CTEK mxs 5.0 battery charager/conditioner, it works on 1.2-110ah batteries and can be left plugged in indefinately, it comes with a socket that you can wire permanently to the battery/bike and then just plug in without removing seat/side panels etc, or you can just use the crocodile clips. It has reconditioned the flattest of batteries when I've been in a bit of a pickle last winter, have a look on the ctek website, another good thing is if you use it on your car it doesn't interfere with the electronics or can bus etc.
Almost any battery can be brought back from the dead if the plates aren't bent, rinse it out and add new electrolyte before charging it, most tyre and exhaust shops have it in store.

hi brxpb
thats interesting - i might just go for a top up and recharge in the Spring then. My bike is sealed up in a vacbag out in the shed (long damp winters up here in scotland)- battery is in the house so prob better reviving it rather than plugged in on a trickle charger for 5 months :shock:

Stu,
+1 on the Ctek. I have the 7002US model. It works for cars and motorcycles. It will also do AGM batteries. It has a recondition setting and supply mode too. I use the supply mode to run my timing light and to test 12 volt components. My Battery Tender was boiling batteries over the winter so I switched it out.

Pete

I am no expert .... but I think best choice for battery life is to keep on the smart charger all the time .... that way battery life is not affected by big swings ... not positive on this just what I think and do ....I keep both bikes on the chargers all the time when not out for a ride ... it has prolonged battery life at least 3 fold in the Commando ...
Craig

I used to make trickle chargers for my batteries out of IC's that would put out 13.7VDC, but was never real satisfied with them, they didn't seem to do much more than using the battery once in a while. I got some Yusas 750ma smart chargers for about $20 each about 5 years ago and have been using them on everything from the JD2020 dual batteries to the Norton AGM/ the Miata AGM, lawnmower,generator and the gel cell batteries my wife uses for dog fans. They work great, I just leave them hooked up all the time. My 8 year old AGM in the Norton still holds 12.7V after sitting a day uncharged. That's a full charge. I'm a fan of the new smart chargers.

I have used my battery Tender Jr. for many years on a variety of motorcycles with excellent results. It's cheap and it works:

http://www.revzilla.com/product/battery-tender-junior

ElTigre1 said:

I have used my battery Tender Jr. for many years on a variety of motorcycles with excellent results. It's cheap and it works:

http://www.revzilla.com/product/battery-tender-junior

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Do you leave it the charger on all winter? A Jr. came with my Harley XR and evidently the HD guys do leave them on all the time. I don't, mainly because I'm so used to old fashioned chargers which fry batteries. With the Norton I now have battery tender leads hooked up so I can "Tenderize" that too. But I haven't left it on more than a few days. The manufacturer says it's OK to leave it on but to check every couple of weeks. I take the Norton battery completely out for the winter and leave it in the 50F min. temp garage and charge every month or so. The Harley battery usually stays in the bike. I use a battery load tester to see how well they are doing every once in a while too. Very useful tool.

I can't resist a deal and have a couple of the Harbor Freight ridiculously cheap $5 chargers but have heard that they will fry a battery if left on charge too long. I use them for goofy garage experiments and testing unknown light bulbs, etc. :roll:

Russ

Schumacher SC2.
http://www.batterychargers.com/sc2/
Available at Walmart for only $20ea.
UL tested and approved. Works great. Easy to read.

I leave my smart chargers hooked all the time (except when using the battery). No problemo. OOOH, that's a nice 2A one from Wallyworld, I'll have to get a couple at that price. Never have enough battery chargers.

I use to have Battery Tender Jr.s on 3 motorcycles, a quad and a lawn tractor continuous during the winter months and a good part of the summer. I had two fail in less than 2 years and all of them evaporate water from the batteries. Now I just use my Ctek once a month and rotate between toys. I got the Ctek for the AGM on my Norton. The Ctek also have a winter charge setting for regular lead acid in addition to a 12v supply mode.

FWIW another low tech method people used to use on boats, etc. (before affordable smart chargers were available) was to connect a lamp timer to a small battery charger and let it run a short time each day...

I too have several of the Battery Tender Juniors and two of the Schumacher's mentioned above and I leave them plugged in 24/7/365. I also use one on my airplane which gets infrequent use to keep from losing the $220+ battery just from sitting. I think the Schumacher is a better unit, but they both work fine and keep all my batteries fully charged and extend their useful life. There is one thing that I learned the hard way about the very handy SAE attachment pigtails on my positive earth Brit bikes... DON'T FORGET TO INSTALL THE INSULATED COVER AS SOON AS YOU UNPLUG THE CHARGER FROM THE PIGTAIL! Otherwise the exposed negative terminal on the SAE connector will touch your frame and the wiring harness will literally be toast... or if you are really unlucky the bike will catch fire. A fuse on BOTH sides of the battery is also a good idea.

Terry

Terry is correct .... I just remove seat and use the clips provided to avoid this type of mishap ....
Craig

Like an oil thread.
I use floaters on most of all my bikes. I have used cheapO's and expensive models. I've burnt up two C-tech chargers, a larger smart charger for agm ,lead acid and a desulafting function called recondition or recon (on the unit). I have a small floater from C-trek which I had to replace after 3 yrs. Both were replaced free of charge lol, by Ctek with no issue.

I have 3 or 4 small genius chargers, one large 4 bank unit that is agm and Lithium Capable. The 4 bank unit never worked right out of the box as one bank didn't charge. The Amazon vendor was a pita, sent it back they returned the exact same unit, still broken. Eventually I dealt with the manaufacturer who sent me another unit, but not Lith mode.... Back again

My advice: buy a good unit from a local shop and if you've got problems let the shop make it right. Genius has been good for floating as far as I'm concerned and I'll keep buying their stuff. C-tek is good but not worth the $ I don't think. Their machines can't cycle a really dead battery as IMO doesn't provide enough Volts and amps. The only way to charge up a really knocked out car battery is with some juice, I've used car starter units to soak a battery with 100amps and 16+ volts then used a smart charger once the battery is around 8 volts. I've never lost a battery less than 5 yrs old (car).

I hooked up the battery tender to my AC generator one day and unknowingly shorted the plus to ground and it ate up all the ground wires in the unit. I thought it was fried, but I ended up replacing all the ground wires (green wires) and it was fine. Talk about a heart stopper.

Be careful when you use those clamp connectors!

batrider said:

ElTigre1 said:

I

I can't resist a deal and have a couple of the Harbor Freight ridiculously cheap $5 chargers but have heard that they will fry a battery if left on charge too long. I use them for goofy garage experiments and testing unknown light bulbs, etc. :roll: Russ

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cheapo battery chargers are all very well, but likely to prove problematic if left continually switched on /connected.
I use a double switch 6/12 volt 8 amp standard car battery charger, but leave it on TRICKLE charge all the time, the charger will cut out when battery reaches the standard 14.5 volts, so it is safe to leave connected to the battery as long as it is not on full charge.
BTY don’t ask me why but on some bikes leaving the battery whilst charging it while connected on the bike will fry the electronic ignition spark box, so, for safety’s sake , disconnect the battery :!: :idea:

I always disconnect my batteries before putting the maintainer charger on. Something about having 12 volts constantly running through the 45 year old harness when I am not arround doesn't let me sleep well at night.

elefantrider said:

I always disconnect my batteries before putting the maintainer charger on. Something about having 12 volts constantly running through the 45 year old harness when I am not arround doesn't let me sleep well at night.

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Hate to burst your bubble but when you're battery is connected you do have 12 volts running through your wiring.

I wouldn't leave a charger connected to a lead acid battery for longer than a day. Lead acid batteries are not suited to float charging which is what these chargers do once they're done with the initial charging.

Ian

I wondered 'bout that too ... also wondered how he felt while riding with 45 year old wire harness ... :wink:
Craig