Battery Chargers vs. Maintainers

[tahoe healey]

Interestingly, Battery Tenders do not list autos in the applications?

 

[Editor_Reid]

Interestingly, Battery Tenders do not list autos in the applications?

Probably some legalese escape-responsibility thing, so if you hook it up wrong and walk away, only to return a week later and find your electrics fried, they can say, "I told you so."

It's kind of like the Lucas-brand "Octane Booster" that states, on the back label, "Not Street Legal." Sure. No one would use it in a street car. Of course not.

 

[JHaydon]

I see "Automotive" right on their home page... ?

Ah, after clicking on "Automotive" and only seeing the highest-output chargers and jump packs, I think the reason is that they assume every auto needs a massive charger for a huge honkin' battery. They assume that their low-amp chargers are only of interest to those with a little powersports / motorcycle battery.

And I guess... the racecar batteries were technically motorcycle batteries. But I've used the same Tenders on street car batteries with zero problems.

 

[JHaydon]

Apparently I've owned mine for longer than I realized. They have a bunch of new models, and mine look a little different.

For semi-rescue charging and maintaining, I use the Batter Tender Plus (12V 1.25 Amp), SKU 021-0128:
> Battery Tender® Plus 12V, 1.25 AMP Battery Charger <
This will recover a flat battery in a matter of hours, and you don't need to worry about the amperage overpowering any size automotive battery.

For long-term maintenance, particularly on small (motorcycle) batteries, the Battery Tender Junior (12V 0.75 Amp), SKU 021-0123:
> Battery Tender® Junior 12V, 750mA Battery Charger <
This will take almost twice as long to recover a flat battery, but it is perfect for maintaining smaller motorcycle and lawn tractor batteries.

They also make a 6 volt / 12 volt selectable version of the Plus (1.25A) model, SKU 022-0211-DL-WH, in case you have any 6v cars:

Battery Tender® Plus 1.25 AMP Selectable 12V / 6V Battery Charger and Maintainer

One charger for both 6V and 12V batteries. Battery Tender® Plus 1.25 Amp — automatic 4-stage ISM charging for vintage cars, motorcycles, and powersports.

www.batterytender.com

They also have multi-bank versions of the 1.25A charger so you can charge your whole fleet with a single unit.

 

[tahoe healey]

Thanks, It IS posted on their home page, but I did not find it on their ads on Amazon, AutoZone, or other sites I had checked out.

 

[John Turney]

Thanks, It IS posted on their home page, but I did not find it on their ads on Amazon, AutoZone, or other sites I had checked out.

> Amazon.com : Battery Tender <