Ok, so after struggling to get all the cars fired up and moved to the new garage (mostly due to battery issues) I am in the market for some sort of charger to keep the batteries up during storage. What have you used, and what do you recommend? I have the big jump box/charger on wheels, but need something I can leave plugged in for long periods without cooking the battery. Thanks!
I use the small "battery tender" brand lower amp chargers for a few of my vehicles, you can leave them hooked up. (edit) Yeah, the same one Doublepumper mentioned, the 1.25 amp version
I'm getting to the point where anything that doesn't get driven often enough to keep up the battery, is getting sold.....
I use a C-TEK for last 5 years. Works great. My car is 12V. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=c+tek+ba...653595&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_1z5kfvnfa8_e Here's more info. from Fordbarn on another charger. https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=285562&highlight=battery+charger
I've used the Deltran battery tenders for years. I'm on year 8 of a battery on my Grasshopper diesel zero turn mower. The battery is a 500 cca much like a battery in a small car. Usually lawn batteries last a coupe of years or less so it must make a difference. I keep the hobby cars on them, as well. Great product.
I've had good luck with the HF float charger like CME1 posted. Also have a C-Tek that can be left plugged in and connected. In general, if you can hook a regular 10 amp or similar charger up about 1x/month that is sufficient to keep a good battery charged up. But the maintainers are easy to just leave on all the time.
Battery Tender Jr. on everything 12 volt around here. I have several Schumacher 6/12 volt units for the 6 volt stuff and they do fine. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
To offer conflicting evidence , sometimes I think we " do" just to be doing , I.e. ,the factory battery in my of 09 DD lasted 11 years ,car sits a lot . my work truck battery has been performing for 9 years , both vehicles sit outside & " maybe" get driven 3-4000 miles per year , same scenario , (except the storage )with my Tbucket , no special tenders/ chargers , just good quality batteries ..
batteries seem to be luck of the draw sometimes. I've had high end stuff that didn't last two seasons and budget(low end batteries) generically label that stood up to several years of usage. You do the research and find a "good " battery, spec-wise that fits your needs and sometimes they work well, which is all we're really looking for. The very nature of a storage battery is self-consuming. What we pay for is shelf-life and a measure of hopeful reliability. That being said I've had an old Schumacher,that I've had for a long time. Proper battery maintenance and that old charger have got me by and a combination of the two will hopefully continue to serve
I've got a 45 year old Craftsman charger, A charger/maintainer that came as standard equipment with my 91 BMW motorcycle when I bought it, and an old Schumacher of unknown age and origin. A lead acid battery will self discharge approximately 5% a month. If you're not using modern electronics on the car it can easily sit for several months and still start the car. If it's sitting longer than that you could just pull the negative cable or install a battery disconnect switch. Which isn't a bad idea anyway if it's sitting that long.
Picked up an 80A Schumacher 'smart' charger a while ago, works pretty well. Was impressed with their 100A unit that brought a deader than dead battery back for a neighbor, so bought my own. But I really need to just gain the same fortitude as Mr Forbes.
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