Battery Tender vs Charger ?

[Corvette-Pilot]

I have read a bunch of people use this 'battery tender' thing for the winter.
How is this different than a battery charger ??
Especially when it costs as much

 

[vettedoc]

Try a Battery Buddy They cost about $20-25 and can be found in automotive or boating supply shops

Doc

 

[JonM]

I use this one...mounts behind the battery...it slowly trickle charges the battery and shuts off when its done. It will also start back up as needed. Cost about 25 bucks and cost hardly anything to run

 

[BassPro2]

Is this what you guys are talking about? If so I need one.

 

[BassPro2]

Where can I get a Battery Tender Plus ? All we have around here is Walmart, Cap, etc..

 

[BassPro2]

Thanks

 

[Ctfoodguy2000]

I bought the Battery Tender Plus last year at Pep Boys for around $59. I am sure you can get a better price but I wanted to be sure I had it.

 

[mangusta1969]

Battery Tender Plus supplier

These guys look to be a pretty good source for Battery Tender Plus, Battery Minders, and Optima batteries. I have not tried them myself, but the prices look pretty good and the web site has lots of information on it.

See: http://www.batterymart.com/

 

[BassPro2]

Quick question

Bought it from Battery Mart Thanks Guys!!! Can this be left on the car when in storage ? I don't have to remove the battery correct? Because you never know when I might want to go for a ride on a decent winter day..

 

[atmmac]

i just bought a trickle charger today. Guy at lappens told me to run it once a month. it was 20 bucks. Im all set and the vettes in storage. I washed the car about 3 weeks ago but have no driven in the rain so it clean (too cold to wash a car now anyhow) Have my exhaust tips filled with paper to prevent mice. and i have moth balls under the car to prevent mice and a car cover. She wont be out of the garage for a while. =(

 

[paintdaddy]

I use two battery tenders and like them alot.One is a jr and the other is the full size one.Eastwood sells them if your interested.

 

[mangusta1969]

These battery tenders and battery minder devices actually monitor the output voltage of your battery, so they seem to have solved the problem of overcharging and boiling the fluids out of your batteries.

I have used a couple of them for the last two years and have carefully monitored the voltage level of the batteries with a digital voltmeter. The chargers seem to keep the battery fully charged (about 12.8 volts when you pull the charger off) and do not have any problems with over charging.

You can leave the battery in the car and the charger hooked up 100% of the time. If you don't use some sort of a smart charger, then you will need to put the charger on some sort of a timer (maybe 30-60 minutes a day). I would recommend the newer generation smart chargers such as the Battery Tender or the Battery Minder.

 

[Corvette-Pilot]

Thanks for all the advice !!
I am looking at them on Battery Mart. About $50 shipped, cool site, might have other stuff I need

I see them all over ebay for $40 + SH.

I guess the reason I brought this up was that I bought an electronic multistage sort of charger for 50-60 bucks and this little tender cost as much. Wanted to see if I made a mistake in the one I bought??

 

[jester]

I bought a battery tender (I don't recall the brand) a few years ago at a local farm and home store for around $25. I plug it in when the car is being parked for an extended period (Minnesota winters) and leave it on until I take it out of hiibernation in the spring. It has indicator lights that let you know what it's doing. If there is a current draw such that the tender can't keep the battery up to full charge it will turn on a red LED to let you know something is wrong.

 

[Rich96c4ce]

I use this one...mounts behind the battery...it slowly trickle charges the battery and shuts off when its done. It will also start back up as needed. Cost about 25 bucks and cost hardly anything to run

I have two of these Schumacher fully automatic on-board charger/maintainers. One came on my Vette when I bought it last year from Kirban Performance. It is fully automatic and does not damage the battery. In essence, it seems identical to the Battery Tender, but its fully sealed/weatherproof. Just install it in your Vette behind the battery and plug it in. Happy battery all the time. Dennis Kirban likes them for all the Buick GN/GSs that he brokers. They must be okay!

The first one I got, is installed on my boat with dual batteries. It works just fine, and has done so for about 10 years. Its hassle-free.

 

[Corvette-Pilot]

Spent lunch time reading about the Battry Tender + and the BatteryMINDer. Looks like they do the same thing??? Battery Mart has the Minder for 4 buck less !! Also found a camera battery I need at 1/2 what the local stores want so this should offset the shipping.

Now just to decide which one ?

 

[Radar]

I have used the Battery Tender for the last two years and it works great. I paid about $50.00 but I forgot where I ordered it.

Radar

 

[Corvette-Pilot]

Thanks for all the replies !!

I just ended up ordering the Battery Minder from Batterymart for $39.