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I remember reading a post on here a short while ago, but I cannot find it anymore, about recommendations for an automotive battery tender/charger/maintainer whatever one calls it.
I believe there are some with desulphur options, and even smart charging.
My family and I have a couple of passenger vehicles and a few semi commercial level lawn and farm equipment e.g. a tractor, that uses batteries.
As we do not use the vehicles/and equipment every day, we want to be able to maintain the batteries, and believe these smart battery chargers are the way to go.
I think the good one are in the $100-$150 range? maybe I am way off the mark?
I am sure that many of you have experience with these and can share a recommendation please
I have been using Battery Tender Plus Tenders by Deltran on both my 12 year old Chevy SSR and my 31 plus year old Jeep CJ-7 for about ten years now primarily because they usually are only driven about once or twice a week.
So far not one problem and the battery lifespan in each vehicle has more than doubled so definitely a good investment.
As for price . . . Amazon has them for less than 50 bucks plus about 5 bucks for the AUX plug option.
The current BT Plus version has some disclaimer or some side bar commentary about not using it with an ext cord, but I use an ext cord for a couple vehicles that are not close enough to a wall outlet, with no problem.
For longer term connection, I use an old mechanical appliance timer and have the BT come on a couple times a week for several hours. I also tape the alligator jaws onto the under hood poz and neg lug connections. For my m'cycles, I did the harness attachment with quick disconnect that come with the product, vs the alligator jaw clamps.
My 6 batteries range from an old lead acid to AGMs and from small m'cycle batts to large batt in our old '01 X5...
The Big A sells both products, about as well priced as one will find.
Common sense and careful firm connections, and keeping an eyeball on it during first use, is rec'd.
GL, mD
I've used Deltran and CTEK chargers. Both have worked as expected. Currently have a CTEK Multi 7002. It's probably the best on the market right now, very versatile, and not too expensive, you can probably get one for around $100.
FWIW, CTEK is the charger that Porsche, Mercedes, Lamborghini, and Ferrari all use and rebrand as their own.
I've cooked off batteries with the old "Battery Tender" style dumb chargers. The way their "float" charge works means that a battery never stops charging, something I tested with a multimeter on several different units.
I use Noco Genius and CTEK chargers now, exclusively. 2 decades doing motorcycle/atv mechanic work (meaning lots of old/drained batteries that aren't used much) and these chargers show their qualities quickly and easily. Not really much difference between those 2, I just buy whatever I can get the best deal on.
I think Deltran is the way to go. And if you just want a tender there are some great inexpensive options... I have two of these in different locations...
I've got two Deltran Battery Tenders Plus units that I've been using for years and they have always worked perfectly. I used these units on my motorcycle and summer use vehicle in the off season and I get years more out of my batteries than most people do.
The current battery in my motorcycle is 7 years old and still going strong.
I think it's a good choice to use a Deltran Battery Tender Plus!
There are some options. For example, in the interior of Alaska where it gets extremely cold, drivers install either a battery trickle charger/maintainer, or a battery heating pad on their automobiles. While the heating pad does not charge the battery, it prevents it from freezing if the battery is not fully charged. Anyway, if the vehicles the OP is talking about are parked and not ran for a few days at a time, the best option is to install a trickle charger maintainer on the vehicle's engine bay (that's what we do up here).
in this case I recommend a Schumacher 1.5 Amp battery maintainer, Model SE-1-12S. The negative lead is connected to a ground point on the vehicle, and the positive lead is connected to the + battery post. Route the trickle charger/maintainer's electrical cord through the vehicle's grill, and tie it on the grill with plastic wire ties. All you have to do now when you aren't running the vehicle's motor is to use a long extension cord, to plug the charger to an electrical outlet. The charger takes a couple of days, maybe 3 to fully charge the battery, and then it goes into a trickle charge/maintainer. It costs $25.00 or $30.00 at NAPA.
And keep in mind that you should always disconnect any type of charger you have on your vehicle from the electrical outlet before you start the motor.
Schumacher speed charger 1.5 amp auto trickle Bought at auto zone a few years ago. Works great.
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