Battery Charger / Maintainer, What are you using?

[bluecoupe]

What are you using to keep your battery charged on your infrequenty driven C5 (garage queen)? I was thinking of getting the Battery Tender Jr. to keep the battery maintained. It is a 2001 with a stock AC Delco AGM style battery.

 

[Ctfoodguy2000]

I bought the Battery Tender Plus for around $59. I hooked it up in December, never started the car until the beginning of April. Started right up, no problems. I like the fact that it is low amperage and goes into a safe mnode when the battery is fully charged. Reduces the risk of cooking the battery.

 

[KOPBET]

I got the Battery Tender Plus because I wanted to be able to CHARGE a battery from a low to dead state, which a trickle charger like the Tender Junior cannot do.

 

[JonM]

I use this...mounts to the battery and can't be seen...just plug it in when you want it.

 

[Ctfoodguy2000]

KOPBET - I do not think the Plus will charge a battery if it is dead or almost dead. If I recall, it is designed not to charge a battery if it is dead.

 

[KOPBET]

KOPBET - I do not think the Plus will charge a battery if it is dead or almost dead. If I recall, it is designed not to charge a battery if it is dead.

It is designed for and does work well for motorcycle batteries, see-doos and etc. As far as the larger batteries are concerned I can only go by what is on the battery tender web site. I am not disputing what you say only quoting the site:

USING THE BATTERY TENDER AND THE BATTERY TENDER PLUS TO RECHARGE LARGER BATTERIES: Both chargers are designed to recharge and maintain batteries commonly used in motorcycles and power sports equipment. The typical size of those batteries is 16 to 20 amp-hours. The cold crank rating of that size battery is typically 250 to 350 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). If either charger is used on a much larger battery, like a typical car battery rated at 650 to 900 CCA with a capacity rating of 40 to 70 amp-hours, then the time to fully recharge may be very long. Particularly on AGM batteries, the last 5% of recharge is the most difficult to deliver to the battery. That is why it is important to extend the absorption charge period longer than is possible with either charger. Even with the 6 hour safety timer used on the Battery Tender Plus, a larger battery may have the higher, constant absorption voltage removed while the battery is still drawing much more than 0.1 amp. Once either charger switches over to the lower float voltage of 13.2 VDC, the voltage potential available to force the charge current into the battery is very low. By this time, the rest state battery voltage is probably at 12.7 to 12.8 VDC. That leaves only 0.5 to 0.6 VDC to push the current. Near the end of the absorption mode, with the rest state battery voltage at the same levels, the charger voltage is at 14.4 VDC, leaving a voltage potential of 1.7 to 1.8 VDC to push the current into the battery. That’s almost 4 times the push available, compared to what’s available in the float mode. That’s why it takes so much longer to recharge a battery, once the charger switches over to float.

 

[Remo]

Plug It In and Forget It.

bluecoupe,

Don't you just love it. You ask a simple question and it starts a techno discussion. Here's the deal. Just like Ctfoodguy2000 says - get a good quality battery tender. They're sold by many popular auto parts stores and cost anywhere from $49. - $69. Plugs into a 110V outlet in your garage and clips onto your battery. Then relax - the battery will be kept fully charged over the winter. Think of it as a trickle charger with a brain (it knows when to stop charging).

Remo
:cool

 

[vetu4ya]

I use a disconnect switch on my battery so it doesn't drain (available from corvette central or midamerica for a few bucks) and start it up once a month during the winter storage months.

I have been doing it for years without adversely impacting the battery.