Battery Tenders

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For those thinking of stocking-stuffers, Amazon is selling Juniors (via Motorcycle Superstore) for under 20 bucks. Enboldened by the discussion here, as usual, I bought two.
 
dynodave said:
Since we're talking about british bikes/commando...probably with zener diodes, then the battery should always be disconnected from the general harness (connected to Zener) or the battery tender will just continue to bleed through to ground once the zener boundry voltage is achieved.
:roll:
http://atlanticgreen.com/images/zener.gif
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Hi Dave,

If you pull the fuse would that resolve the zener issue? I always do that just to make sure none of the circuits are engergized by the charger...read none of the potential shorts can cause a fire.

Thanks,
 
Hi Dave,

If you pull the fuse would that resolve the zener issue? I always do that just to make sure none of the circuits are engergized by the charger...read none of the potential shorts can cause a fire.

Thanks,

Hi Dave
Yes on the std pre MKIII harness just pulling the fuse is the right thing to do.
There is more than one Deltran Battery Tender of course, and the newer one specifically for newer agm go to a higher voltage (though not much) and dwell longer at voltage and WILL exceed the zener boundry. I think I read this in their literature....
Most people don't even know that the zener system is actually inadequate for AGM....and I also believe most aftermarket british rectifier/regulator are a bit "soft" for AGM.

Some of this is getting fuzzy since I did most of this research 6-7 years ago

DD
 
So what is th actual difference between a "trickle" charger and a tender. I thought they both shut off or went to float after a battery was charged. My batt tender weny bad last winter so I need to buy a couple more, but want to know what to buy.
 
So what is th actual difference between a "trickle" charger and a tender.
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Trickle chargers are usually low amperage chargers with a maximum output of around 14 volts. No fancy electronics, just a small transformer and rectifier. Tenders are designed for long term maintenance and usually have some sort of regulation. Although at the low end of the price spectrum, I'd guess that there's no real difference.
 
I'm not even sure the tenders have any exotic circuitry. If you hard regulate the voltage at 13.75VDC, a lead acid battery will take all the current the supply will give until the battery voltage starts approaching 13.75V and then the current will automatically drop to trickle current. Of course there are some tenders out there that do have exotic circuitry and adjust the current vs. the battery voltage. I'm not sure you could tell one from the other without opening them up. Ni-Cad and LI-Ion are different and need different charging circuits. Of course I may be wrong about all this and I'm sure someone will let me know.

Dave
69S
 
[qoute]By definition of this post we are talking tenders, so they should NOT overcharge anything. Otherwise the statement above is true, one must be careful in trying to breing a dead AGM up to charg{e, trickle is best.[/quote]

Actually if you examine the detailed specs on Odyssey batteries (To name just one) a battery tender or trickle charger with an output less than 2.0 Amps will not charge a discharged Odseey battery. A qoute from Odyssey batteries owners manual.

'To get long life from the ODYSSEY battery, it is important that the battery is kept near full charge, approximately
12.8 volts. If there are electrical loads during storage, then the negative battery cable should be disconnected or an
independent float charger used. Low power 2.0 amp chargers for storage charge will keep a fully charged battery
fully charged but cannot recharge if the ODYSSEY battery becomes discharged.'
 
lrutt said:
http://www.accessnorton.com/posting.php?mode=quote&f=1&p=84724
By definition of this post we are talking tenders, so they should NOT overcharge anything. Otherwise the statement above is true, one must be careful in trying to breing a dead AGM up to charge, trickle is best.
Click to expand...

I wish that was true but I have looked at several maufacturers spec sheets and have come across statments regarding what the maximum voltage should be for a battery tender.It has ranged from 2.275 to 2.35 per cell, so for a 6 cell 12 volt batterythat gives maximum voltages of 13.65 to 14.1 volts. So being very pedantic a tender putting out 13.8 may be OK according to one battery manufacturer but not another. Eventually I gave up worrying and just accept that I may have the wrong combination of battery and float charger. :) which may truncate the battery life but as I have a bike I can kickstart its not such a big deal. (Never try bump starting a BMW R1100s !!!!)
 
britbike220 said:
So what is th actual difference between a "trickle" charger and a tender. I thought they both shut off or went to float after a battery was charged. My batt tender weny bad last winter so I need to buy a couple more, but want to know what to buy.
Click to expand...
That's a common misconception. A trickle charger typically puts out one amp - all the time - regardless of the battery's voltage or state of charge. If left plugged after the battery is at 14.5 volts, it'll just keep pumping 1 amp into the battery and could drive the voltage to 17 volts or a bit more. Not a good thing. A 3-stage maintainer (tender, smart charger, etc.) starts off charging at a constant current equal to its max output till the battery reaches somewhere around 13.75 volts. Then it switches to a constant voltage mode and tapering current so as not to make the battery gas or overheat. After the charge has tapered to 200 milliamp at around 14.5 volts (typical), the charger holds that current output. If the voltage doesn't continue to rise, the charger goes into float mode. What it does in float mode depends on the brand and model of the charger. Some are more effective than others. Wal Mart sells the Schumacher Speed Charge 6/12 volt for around $18. A good performer and a great price.

Stu

Battery Tenders
 
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