Topic: Battery tenders

[Hipo giddyup]

I received a few battery tenders for  Xmas and was wondering how folks set these up on cars being stored. I ran the cables up under the rad support so I do not have to leave the hood popped open and I can leave the car cover on. Bad idea?? I have sealed batteries but was wondering if there would be any “ fumes” from charging/maintaining  that would be a problem? Wondering what others are doing to accomplish this?

Happy Holidays!

[jwc66k]

Consider taking the battery out of the car for wintertime (is that when the daytime temperature only gets to 60?) storage. That techniques seems to satisfy all of your concerns.
Jim

[Bob Gaines]

I received a few battery tenders for  Xmas and was wondering how folks set these up on cars being stored. I ran the cables up under the rad support so I do not have to leave the hood popped open and I can leave the car cover on. Bad idea?? I have sealed batteries but was wondering if there would be any “ fumes” from charging/maintaining  that would be a problem? Wondering what others are doing to accomplish this?

Happy Holidays!

There should not be any significant fumes from charging with the tender. For long term winter storage I would take the battery out just to be on the safe side. FYI I buy a 10 ft by 100 ft roll of plastic and cut 19 ft lengths out of it to lay on top of the car covers of my cars. The plastic doesn't seal anything in but keeps dust from settling on top of the car cover. The dust can eventually migrate through the car cover material plus they are a bugger to wash. When the plastic gets too dusty I throw it away or re purpose it for another job. I also store cars on lifts so the plastic gives me piece of mind that something will not drip on the car below. I had a instance many years ago of a roof leaking so it covers that scenario too.

[KevinK]

I had 2 different ones blow up the battery. The damage was quite extensive and I caught it quickly. It would have been much cheaper to buy a new battery every year. $10;000 in damage or removed the battery.

[bgp429]

Not a fan, had one of them short out and melt. Got lucky, nothing horrible happened. Don't go out to the garage every day so there was plenty of time for a disaster to unfold.

[mustang6er]

I put mine on a timer so its only on a few hours every day, also have a voltmeter hooked up to it so i can monitor that too.

[rrenz]

Ive had my battery tender on my 66 for just about two years now. during the winter Ill rotate it between the tractor and the car. luckily haven't had any issues. I do keep the hood of the car up due to we get big temperature swings and condensation tends to build up. always thought about bringing the battery inside but was afraid of one "blowing up". as of yet no issues. its kept a 5 year old battery good as new now for a coupe years.

[jwc66k]

I got one of these -
https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SE-82-6-CA-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B00FZIOI1Y/ref=pd_sbs_263_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MY8RP1278EFGEVZRNNCE
My old one died (after 40 plus years). This one is automatic. It's so simple, a (the forum does not permit me to enter the appropriate noun) can use it. Actually, it's too simple. From charge to maintain by itself.
Yes, there are horror stories. Yes, there is crap out there. Yes, you got to be careful.
Jim

[Bob Gaines]

Keep in mind that there is only one trademark Battery Tender. The name however is become generic to describe any battery float charger. There are many out there . Harbor freight sells one for 12.00 frequently. It is a piece of junk by comparison. Battery tender is one of the better performing brands IMO.  Kind of like Kleenex is used to described any facial tissue now. 

[carlite65]

i have been using these for a number of years with excellent results. price is right too.

http://www.sears.com/diehard-battery-charger-maintainer/p-02871219000P?sid=IDx01192011x202447539&gclid=CjwKCAiApo3SBRA4EiwAty8i-l6DVxukiLLJoQJLn_xvxDlIMnBNCdZloJw1mkUyfE33qeiVzJgFBBoCYt4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJXy86PXqtgCFQwHDAod4EwGWw

[69RavenConv]

Keep in mind that there is only one trademark Battery Tender.

I've used Battery Tenders® for several winters on my motorcycle, '69 convertible, '04 Cobra, and lawn tractor without any issues.

[KevinK]

The unit that blew up my battery was a “Battery Tender Jr.” brand name. Upon close inspection, I found the unit melted. I sent it to the manufacter for them to review. They said ok, it’s bad, that happens. It’s out of warranty. We can sell you a replacement for $28 plus shipping. End of discussion. A new one was cheaper on eBay if I wanted that.  I have since seen them at SEMA and tried not to be rude but to offer a solution. I suggested they design to cover to contain the the battery and acid in case of explosion. I guess they see it as not their problem if the battery blows up.

$10,000 in damage verses a new $150 battery? You do the math on which one is cheaper for your show car.

[RoyceP]

I agree. Even if your collector cars are not "show cars" the battery tenders are not as good as they are portrayed, in fact they are cheap and when they fail there is no recourse. Better plan is to use a high quality "automatic" battery charger. It can be connected to the battery once every 60 days and maintain a full charge on vehicles stored in temperature controlled environments. I prefer to leave the hood open and the battery in the car. Of course it is better to remove the battery, but with 6 collector cars it isn't reasonable for me. I drive at least one of the cars every weekend, the others have their batteries charged.

The unit that blew up my battery was a “Battery Tender Jr.” brand name. Upon close inspection, I found the unit melted. I sent it to the manufacter for them to review. They said ok, it’s bad, that happens. It’s out of warranty. We can sell you a replacement for $28 plus shipping. End of discussion. A new one was cheaper on eBay if I wanted that.  I have since seen them at SEMA and tried not to be rude but to offer a solution. I suggested they design to cover to contain the the battery and acid in case of explosion. I guess they see it as not their problem if the battery blows up.

$10,000 in damage verses a new $150 battery? You do the math on which one is cheaper for your show car.

[Bob Gaines]

 I used a different brands for a couple years back 15 years ago or so that were not the battery tender brand and had mixed results. I switched to the BT brand and have been satisfied. I know that there are more involved advanced float chargers but they are typically a lot more expensive and given the number I needed to have in use at the same time the battery tender was the economical/reliable alternative for me. I have used dozens at the same time for more then a decade in and out of the cars. Most of my cars are not driven. I am starting to sell cars off so I have extras now.Future Christmas presents maybe  . I can tell older from modern by the style of the plugs. My experience has been only positive with the BT brand but that is just me. I do think it is safest to take the battery out .

[KevinK]

I also have a C-Tec brand charger as well. Yes, I did have an issue with this one about a month before the Battery Tender Junior blew up my battery in a different car.

The C-Tec was on my part time daily driver 89 Mustang and used in the driveway. Yes, the battery was probably old as it came with the car. In this case, it was found after a couple of days, seeing a puddle etching into the concrete. A quick wash down, remove the hood pad and a new battery, it was good to go. After the second incident, I gave it some more consideration. The C-Tec charger was still functional. I sent C-Tec an email and they responded immediately saying this should never happen and wanting more details. I never followed as I was busy trying to see what Battery Tender was going to do about the two show cars.

C-Tec is an option on many cars, tractors and motorcycles.  I also like the feature to recondition the battery during charging.