Battery Tenders, good or bad?

[ringadingh]

Thats a new one to me too.

[gtxr]

My thoughts.. Yes they work and yes they are worth it.. You need to get the proper brand and a qood quality one that will not only maintain a charge, they will also desulfate at the same time.. It has saved me hundreds in battery $ for my rv-trailer and other motorcycles/toys.. The little ones i own have been able to recover some of my friends rv batterys and mc batteries to the point that they got another couple years of good use out of them.. Just my thoughts

[rickyboy]

All I can say is that I still have the orig. battery in my '06 Nomad and I've been using the battery tender since day one. So I'd say the tender is a good thing.

[Mongo PHUMC]

Going by that logic: i have never used one and my batteries last about 6 years. Never saw a need for one.

[smokey]

Originally Posted by Mongo PHUMC

Going by that logic: i have never used one and my batteries last about 6 years. Never saw a need for one.

depends a lot on where you live as well, up here with the bike being in hibernation for 4 months at times, a battery tender is needed if you want to leave the battery in the bike, which I do. Another note is to use a tender for the type of battery you have, I have a Lithium cell battery and can use a normal tender but have to be careful I do not use the de-sulfate mode as it puts out a higher voltage and will cook the battery.

[Bamabrat]

Originally Posted by tonik

Depends on what kind of oil you have in your bike.

and what type of tires you use.

[tonik]

You guys are missing my sarcastic wit! Battery Tenders, Oil, Tires and Tire Pressure always lead to these giant debates. :)

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by tonik

You guys are missing my sarcastic wit! Battery Tenders, Oil, Tires and Tire Pressure always lead to these giant debates. :)

When their testosterone kicks in to show their knowledge they leave their humor at the door...

[Bamabrat]

Originally Posted by Bamabrat

and what type of tires you use.

I knew what he was doing. Anytime there is a "what's the best oil" type of thread, break out the beer and popcorn. same for the effectiveness of addetives, which tires are best, what style (if any) of helmet, ATGATT, loudness of pipes (you're welcome TC), etc.

I was being sarcastic too (hence the BS flag).

[davidhollinger]

Battery went bad in Nomad even with using the tender every day after riding it and using when it was parked. I use the tender on my ATV now since its rarely ridden.

[cnc]

And now a short message from our sponsor.

Originally Posted by glwilson

When their testosterone kicks in to show their knowledge they leave their humor at the door...

[dshelly]

Originally Posted by davidhollinger

Battery went bad in Nomad even with using the tender every day after riding it and using when it was parked. I use the tender on my ATV now since its rarely ridden.

A battery tender won't revive a battery that been neglected just to get more life out of it.

[gtxr]

Originally Posted by dshelly

A battery tender won't revive a battery that been neglected just to get more life out of it.

Thats funny? Ive had my tender that does desulfate and pulse charge etc. Recover 6 Rv batteries and 2 Mc batteries that would not take a charge. As long as they have not been boiled or cooked and still have some level of fluid in them it works fine. Put on normall charger till you get around 11.5-12v then hook up the tender and let it sit for a couple weeks. Normally after being charged for a month or less the battery is fully usable again. I use the BatteryMinder Lots of different versions for different uses etc.

[Silent Sam]

..I just took my bike battery down to NAPA two days ago, and had a load test done..they tested it twice..with the new digital load tester..it tested as good as a new $104 battery...
The battery was in the Big Assed Bike (2002 1500fi Nomad) when I bought it..in 2006, I keep it hooked to a 'Battery Tender JR", at all times when Im home..(I ride "away from home" aprox 4-6 months a year, when its never on a tender)

I have a Back-Up electric start,Yamaha Emergency Generater with a battery in it that I bought in 1996...it has a desulfinator hooked in -and a Battery Tender JR..starts like new anytime.

I have two big WALMART battery's in my 97 F-250 Power Stroke Diesel Truck, it sits 95% of the time...the batterys are aprox 10 years old...after a monthly 50 mile drive to lube the interrnals..the Battery Tender JR ....(one tender-hooked to both batterys), goes to steady green about 3 minutes after plug-in

I installed the "old battery's" from the truck, into my travel trailer when i bought the new one's for the truck...they have been on a Battery Tender JR ever since...still floating on a Steady Green..after a few minutes of recharge anytime I use juice while not hooked in to 115 volt supply.
... I do "battery maint" on all of them at about every 6 months.

I'v saved a lot of $ by keeping everything on Battery Tenders

I'v had two battery tenders fail..in the last 10 -12 years, cost about $50 to replace them

[Idaho]

I've never used a tender on the bike. I always start the bike every couple of weeks and let it idle until warm then shut it off.

This year I did buy a tender for my camper battery which I also have stored in the laundry room downstairs. So I will know next spring if my new deep cycle camper battery still lives.