Battery Tenders - Any comments or recommendations?

[29UJohn]

Has anyone used a Battery Tender to keep their 6 volt car battery charged?  Do these work well?  Any recommendations?

[Doug]

I use one, Switch it back and forth from the Model A to the 30U. works great. Keep them on my bikes and fork lifts and I have a couple that I switch around on customers bikes. Nothing is worst than someone coming to pick up their bike and it want start. The battery in the A is about 7 years old and still works great.

[mopardave]

I have Battery Tenders for all my cars, both 6 and 12 volt.  Used them for years with no issues.

[SDGlenn]

Hey, I'm interested. This is something new to me. What are you all talking about. Is this something I can buy off the shelf?
Thanks Guys
SD Glenn

[Gary 30U]

Have had one on my 30U for at least three years and it seems to work well and neve had a low battery and not had to replace it (the battery) yet.

Gary R. - Happy Motoring

[Old Man]

Have been keeping my 6 volters charged up when they are sitting idle and they last up to 12 years. Dont' EVER let a battery go low charge. It will start to sulfate and each time you do this the battery will never charge up to it's original maximum. Slowly but surely it will have a lower and lower terminal voltage resulting in 'brown' headlights and grunting hard starts. Keep it in a cold place if you can. A battery discharges by 50% per month at 70 degrees. At 32 F it discharges by a rate of 1% per month. So the colder the storage the better. You don't have to remove it from the car. But disconnect one of the leads. And keep the battery clean to prevent more self-discharge during storage through the dirt and leaked acid,if any.      

[SDGlenn]

Come on guys, tell me where I can get a "Battery Tender".  It is a new item for me.  I never heard of that one before.
SDGlenn

[kimmc]

Hey SDGlenn.  I know Harbor Freight carries them and I'm pretty sure just about all the auto parts stores (O'Reilly's, Auto Zone, Kragen's) have them too.  It's a small item and they only run about $15.  Harbor Freight currently has a 1.5 amp 3 stage (?) onboard battery maintainer (#99857) on sale for $19.99 (reg. $29.99).  I have used them too and they do keep a battery charged without cooking it in the process.  Kim

[SDGlenn]

Thanks Kim. I am going to have to run down to the Stores tomorrow and check those out. I also ran across an old Mustang convertible that need some restoration last week. I think I will get that tomorrow too, My daughter always wanted one, maybe I'll surprise her with it. Some thing to keep me busy this winter. We are starting to get a bit of snow today, hasn't amounted to much yet.
Later,
SDGlenn

[Doug]

I have one from NAPA like Kim is talking about, The rest of the ones I use including my 6 volt one are Battery Tender name brand. You can go on ebay and find them reasonably priced. If you want more than one you will find them in lots of 2 or more and no shipping.

[29UJohn]

I found this web page for Deltran Battery Tenders

http://batterytender.com/

The 6 Volt models are $39.95 (0.75 Amp) and $64.95 (1.25 Amp). 

[SDGlenn]

I sure do appreciate all the help. I think you have me covered. Now (I thinK) I know enough about these to get something, or other. lol  Thanks all. On my pontoon I put a solar charger on the roof, it keep all three 12V batterys up real good. I wish I could find a solar one for 6V systems.. My 1929 model is stored in a covered trailer, parked away from an 110 V electric source all winter.
SD Glenn

[Tinkeys]

Look up 6v solar charger try this link http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=6v%20solar%20charger&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.sundancesolar.com%2Ftrchforcatrr.html&ei=nZKXULH6I8aNiAeKqYHIDg&usg=AFQjCNH5WgmvKop5MfkPXaJfz6D0Tqwouw&sig2=18ZHNsTRAimJO4IWty0maA
Hope this works if it don't. Type in 6v solar charger in your search bar on computer !

[Old Man]

SDGLENN I see you are in South Dakota? I'm surprised you have not had a burst baterry by now. Below a certain point in it's specific gravity a battery's electrolyte will freeze because it's returning to plain water. Sulphuric acid,if the solution is strong enough, read 'battery is at or near full charge', will not freeze. As all those who live in the freezing north of the U.S. and Alaska know. As you walk through auto wreckers you see discharged batteries split with their guts showing as the last winter finally froze them. I'm just surprised you were able to get through a winter. I guess my comment that a battery only discharges at a rate of 1% per month at 32 F. is true. If there is no leakage in the car's electrical system and the battery is essentially isolated then it would not discharge enough to freeze it. Assuming it was at a state of full charge before storage. Interesting.................... However I will still keep my trickle charger on as ANY discharge whether in the warm weather or cold will tend to sulphate the battery and shorten it's life. And as I say I get up to 12 years out of my 6 volters. Which are now $100 a piece.
  Also I just want to point out that a discharged battery cannot be tested with a volt meter per se. It will still read it's 6 volts or 12 volts as the case may be. 'Discharge' means for the battery's specific gravity to drop from about 1.26 to 1.1. ('1' is water.) So 50% disharge does not mean you will read 6 volts on a 12 volt battery or 3 volts on a 6 volt battery. They will in fact read almost normal. 50% discharge for instance means for the specific gravity to drop 1/2 way between full and the lower level. If you put a load on them they will 'collapse' to some much lower voltage. This is why the old batteries used to have exposed connectors between cells. The garage guys would put a forked device with a meter on it across the individual cells to load them and see what the cell was still capable of. Batteries are completely covered now and this test can no longer be done. Shops now have a larger device on a cart that loads the complete battery to see if it will produce it's rated 600/700/800 amps etc. Just wanted to point out that you cannot pass judgement on a battery with a digital volt meter. The other way of course is to use a hygrometer and test each cell for specific gravity. But many batteries today are sealed and do not have individual caps.                 

[Doug]

Haven't used it on a 6 volt yet, But I use a little device called a Battery Bug. It wires straight to the battery, has an LCD display shows your voltage and percentage of charge. Very east to install. takes up little space. and you do not mess up vintage  panels.