| Author | Message | ||
     Midnightrider |
Battery chargers. I’ve seen models from $17 to $250. I’ll get one with a trickle charge feature, but besides that, whats the difference? What do you use? Don | ||
| Jerseybuell |
I have used the "Battery Tender" for years and never needed to look elsewhere. It runs about $35 and can be found at most automotive shops and the usual Kmart/Walmart... Bob | ||
| Tramp |
For the amount of time it takes to get in your car and drive to the store, you're far and away better to disconnect your battery for the off-season. Youy'll get longer batt. life by disconnectiing it for the protracted periods when you don't ride, than you would by keeping a tender on it. with the tender, there's the wear & tear of constant charge, whereas when it's disconnected, it just goes static with a good, constant charge. | ||
| Spiderman |
Wear and tear of a constant charge?? That's like sayin stop riding your bike cause the charging cycle is killing it! Midnight, The proper way to keep a battery alive and well for years is to remove it from the bike and bring it in the house. Set it on a shelf and attach a floating charger like a Batt Tender. My dad did this on his FatBoy battery and it lasted well over 7 years. NOW I would not recomend keeping a Buell batt that long. I always replace mine every 2 to 3 years depending on it's load. (My dad didn't abuse his Fatboy as much as I do my Buell LOL) | ||
| Road_thing |
I won't argue with the Trampster on the "to tend or not to tend" issue, but I will say that I've had great service from my Tenders, and the company that makes 'em really backs 'em up. I blew one up with an overdose of stupidity (who'da thunk a Tender wouldn't have enough juice to jump a Ducati M900 with a stone-dead battery?) and they replaced it, no cost, no questions asked. So, Tramp, you coming to Texas next month? rt | ||
| Tramp |
spidey- every moment that a machine runs IS, technically, 'wear and tear'. Me, personally, i never stop riding long enough to need a tender or a removal, and i seem to get a good 5-6 years outta my interstate batteries. if it's taken off the machine nad brought inside, though, it shouldn't require any charge. could be that the tender is really good for it, in that it ensures a consistent level of charge, so i never argue this point too hard. I just know that after I've had batt.s off of bikes for 5 months or so, they hadn't lost any CCA or voltage at all while they sat with no continuity. there are good arguments for both sides, and intelligent techs (spidey, you're on that list) on this site. this board is full of engineer-folks who know WAY more than I do about automotive electronics, and I'm curious to see who all else weighs in, as I learn a lot here. | ||
| Rocketman |
I use tenders too. They are the only type of charger recommended for GEL batteries. The Optimate III is the best and most popular in the UK. Once the battery is fully charged a tender such as the Optimate maintains the battery with a .2 millivolt charge using a chip to monitor the batteries performance. They can't over charge a battery every. I just bought a charger for nearly £200 for the workshop. Snap-On of course. It too has a computer controlled chip which constantly monitors the battery as it's charged, therefore always administering the correct amount of amps. It's a smart piece of kit because it turns itself off when the battery is fully charged, and back on again if it loses charge. A little similar to a tender but not really meant as a tender. Rocket | ||
| Niceharleystuff |
CLICK HERE - This page will provide you with as much information as possible to understand the fundamentals and basics of charging & electricity, connecting batteries to chargers, how to select the proper battery charger, and what actually happens when you use a Battery Tender. The following links are in Adobe PDF format: The Basics of Electricity Introduction to Lead Acid Batteries Battery Charging Basics Connecting Batteries & Chargers in Series & Parallel Frequently Asked Questions Operating Instructions & Safety Information Jeff Blake added PDF links for Jeff. Thanks Jeff!  (Message edited by blake on December 14, 2005) | ||
| Tramp |
...'course, being that that IS batterytender's own site, I sure they'll discuss all the reasons why you might NOT need one, as well  (jessss joshin'. but it is needless draw to leave any battery hooked up when the machine is out of use for protracted periods, tender or not. you're always better to totally disconnect the battery and kill continuity. Spidey's Dad's idea seems to incorporate the best of both worlds- Battery disconnected, brought indoors where it's warm, and then connected to a tender) | ||
| Niceharleystuff |
I found the details and info on the Battery Tender site to be very informative. It is my understanding that removing the battery, bringing it inside, and connecting it to a Battery Tender is the best way to do it. I personally use a Battery Tender but I do not remove my battery because I still try to get out for a “Polar Bear” run every few weeks throughout the winter months. | ||
| CJXB |
This is the first year I"ve used a tender, 1.5 amp tender automatic (forget what brand). It's my understanding that it can't overcharge the battery, it's ok to leave it plugged in all the time ?? I normally take my battery out, but it's so hard to get back in (strap and location) I always need help, and I might want to start it up to move it this winter so I didn't want the hassle of having to put the battery back in !! | ||
| Csg_inc |
Even battery tender sells different models for different applications. I have six but to tell you the truth I can not tell the difference. They say they have different algorythms in the chip that has to do with the charge, float and store rates. Anyway I have too much parasitic power comsumption on my BMW so it stays plugged in all the time. It is the alarm, clock, remote locks, or some other farkle that is always ready that is to blame. | ||
| Tramp |
It can't overcharge, don't worry. But remember- removing your battery is not nearly as important as disconnecting your battery. I usually leave the batteries on machines i have stored, but I DO disconnect them. even just disconnecting the ground wire is fine. your best bet is to disconnect both leads, even if you intend to use a tender. | ||
| Tramp |
six battery tenders, an alarm and remote locks....ahhhh...the simple life of motorcycling  | ||
| Bomber |
before a tender arrived in the entropy lab as a gift (or bribe to just shut up, not sure which), I had a Rube Goldberg kinda deal hooked up -- regular old cheap Sears charger, with the positive lead connected to a brakelight bulb which was connected the the pos terminal of the battery, negative charger lead connected to the negative terminal, and the charger plugged into a current tap on the lightbulb of the garage door opener (circa 1970, OEM to the Lab) . . . . being hooked up to the garage door opener light meant the charger was energized about 10 minutes a day, and running the positive lead of the charger through the 1157 bulb reduced the power from the charger to the battery sufficiently to render it a trickle charger . . . . . worked just nicely, thankyouverymuch, with up to 4 batteries hooked up in parallel -- either that, or my battery karma is just extraordinary ;-} | ||
| Road_thing |
Man, I'm really getting a charge outta this thread... rt | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I usually leave my batteries in the bikes over the winter (2 months typical). I manually tend them over the winter though. I will periodicly measure the voltage and if it dips below 12.5, I will charge it at .2A for 24 hours. I don't think that the glass-mat batteries can freeze since there isn't liquid electrolyte in there. | ||
| CJXB |
If I disconnected both leads and one touches metal, won't there be an explosion, I tell you the instructions on batteries is pretty scary to me !!?? Took me 2 phone calls to a friend to ask how to put the battery tender on, one to ask how to do it, and one to say "are you sure this is what I do, are you sure I won't explode this thing" !! | ||
| Bomber |
CJ -- disconnect the ground wire first -- keep it from touching the frame/engine (mebbe cover it with an old sock or sumpin), then disconnect the positive lead -- you'll be fine ;-} | ||
| CJXB |
Bomber, I can disconnect the leads and leave the battery in the bike ?? Once both leads are disconnected do I still need to worry about the ground wire touching ?? Will I still need the battery tender, I'm guessing yes ?? I did remove the black ground lead first and made sure it didn't touch anything, then the red one and put the little washer leads from the tender on the red first, then the black when I put it on, I am learning !! Funny you say put a sock on the ground lead my friend suggested putting a condom on it when I was connecting the tender JIC and I thought that was strange, I wasn't trusting a thin rubber object !! LMAO Just an FYI, I didn’t have a condom anyway even if I had been inclined to trust that advice, I used a piece of foam found in the garage instead, worked fine !! | ||
| Blake |
Foam instead of condom? Personal preference it would seem. Use both to be extra safe in protecting against unwanted discharge? I kill me. ![: ]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) | ||
| Bomber |
CJ -- yes'm, you can disconnect the battery and leave it in th escoot -- won't hurt a thing -- and, no, once both leads are disconnect, you don't need to worry about them touching anything except the battery terminals need the battery tender? well, some say no, and I'm sure they have good luck without one -- you've already got it, so I'd suggest you disconnect the battery from the bike, and connect the tender to the battery -- I will bow to your greater expertise regarding the untrustworthy nature of thin rubber objects -- the foam is likely just fine ;-} | ||
| CJXB |
 I kill me. You just killed me too !! Dang !!! | ||
| Tramp |
tramp said ( 10 posts up) : "Posted on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 09:28 am: It can't overcharge, don't worry. But remember- removing your battery is not nearly as important as disconnecting your battery. I usually leave the batteries on machines i have stored, but I DO disconnect them. even just disconnecting the ground wire is fine. your best bet is to disconnect both leads, even if you intend to use a tender." * * * but don't take my word for it  | ||
| Tramp |
Bomber said: "CJ -- yes'm, you can disconnect the battery and leave it in th escoot -- won't hurt a thing -- " * * whew! wish I'd said that. | ||
| Road_thing |
Is there an echo echo echo in here? | ||
| CJXB |
Well bomber does southern speak, easier for me to understand !! LOL Actually you said: I DO disconnect them. even just disconnecting the ground wire is fine. your best bet is to disconnect both leads, Then my question in response to your post was: If I disconnected both leads and one touches metal, won't there be an explosion At which point in your absence bomber answered that question with the old sock trick and a little more detail about how to avoid that explosion (I kill me): CJ -- disconnect the ground wire first -- keep it from touching the frame/engine (mebbe cover it with an old sock or sumpin), then disconnect the positive lead -- you'll be fine ;-} So let’s blame bomber this time, K !!??  | ||
| Glitch |
I bought a battery once. | ||
| Bomber |
it's ALWAYS bomber's fault ;-} it saves so much time arguing . . . . . . . . Ceej -- your last post was positively Blake-like in it's completeness and in the way it tracked all those other exchanges! | ||
| Tramp |
actually, it was: "Bomber, I can disconnect the leads and leave the battery in the bike ??" after I'd posted: " removing your battery is not nearly as important as disconnecting your battery. I usually leave the batteries on machines i have stored, but I DO disconnect them. even just disconnecting the ground wire is fine. your best bet is to disconnect both leads, even if you intend to use a tender" * * you know- just so we're all on the same page. i find that blaming bomber is typically the prudent path to take in most of these situations, however |
