Battery Tender Jr. on Sale

[r1crusher]

Kmart has Battery Tender Jr.'s on sale for $20.  If you don't have one you need to get one.

 

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/106448/kmart---battery-tender-jr.-12v-battery-maintainer

 

[Tpoppa]

Good piece of gear.

[mello dude]

If you are a cheap bastard, Harbor Freight sells a battery maintainer charger type tender with a coupon for $5.99. Just gotta keep an eye out for the coupon. 

 I have one, and I hook it up to the Valk battery once a week for 24 hours. It does a decent job. 

Edited November 19, 2013 by mello dude

[2talltim]

I personally prefer the  Schumacher one because ive read a few times about the battery tender ones malfunctioning and ruining the battery. And they are always $20 at walmart http://www.walmart.com/ip/15140193?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=3 Ive owned a couple of them for years and my batteries always seem to last longer than the average even cheap walmart batteries. 

 

 

[2talltim]

If you are a cheap bastard, Harbor Freight sells a battery maintainer charger type tender with a coupon for $5.99. Just gotta keep an eye out for the coupon. 

 I have one, and I hook it up to the Valk battery once a week for 24 hours. It does a decent job. 

ive been tempted to try one of those but for what motorcycle batteries cost i just dont trust them. You know what they say "if its too good to be true it prob is"

[zx3vfr]

I love my jr. If the bikes in the garage even if I'm going to ride it the next day it goes on the tender. Been doing this with various powersports equipment for years and never had a battery go bad. My dad's 2002 919 is still on the original battery and he keeps the jr. On it all the time

[2talltim]

I love my jr. If the bikes in the garage even if I'm going to ride it the next day it goes on the tender. Been doing this with various powersports equipment for years and never had a battery go bad. My dad's 2002 919 is still on the original battery and he keeps the jr. On it all the time

I've just heard stories, nothing from personal accounts. You know how it is once you've heard things that is always stuck in your mind. I think it was on the TL forum I heard those things and many if of those guys are in Europe where they use 220V so maybe that's the difference. I've never had any problems with the Schumacher s so I'll stick with them.

[mello dude]

ive been tempted to try one of those but for what motorcycle batteries cost i just dont trust them. You know what they say "if its too good to be true it prob is"

I wouldnt leave the thing on 24/7 but it does keep the battery up to snuff and why I do a once a week thing with it. - These things are basically a transformer and some minor electronics no matter what brand you grab, so I wouldnt freak about the it being cheap. It just does what its supposed to. I would buy another if I needed it. 

Edited November 20, 2013 by mello dude

[2talltim]

I wouldnt leave the thing on 24/7 but it does keep the battery up to snuff and why I do a once a week thing with it. - These things are basically a transformer and some minor electronics no matter what brand you grab, so I wouldnt freak about the think being cheap. It just does what its supposed to.

Yea I like to plug mine in and forget it, I'll leave them plugged in all winter long. The ones I use have all the crap built in to be able to do that. With my forgetfulness is better play it safe. .lol.

[Bad324]

I tried the HF one but burned it up with it being plugged in for a straight week. Luckily no damage to my battery and have used solely the Jr's since

[TimTheAzn]

+1 for the Jr.

Sent from my iPhone.

[magley64]

use with caution...

 

these things mask battery problems better than they prevent them. If your first start up for a long day of riding is fresh off the tender, you could have a weak battery and not even realize it. Then you find out at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

[smccrory]

use with caution...

these things mask battery problems better than they prevent them. If your first start up for a long day of riding is fresh off the tender, you could have a weak battery and not even realize it. Then you find out at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

Which doesn't mean don't use one - they are essential as far as I'm concerned - just don't think they'll heal a damaged battery or compensate for low fluid levels (for those using non-sealed cells).

[magley64]

Which doesn't mean don't use one - they are essential as far as I'm concerned - just don't think they'll heal a damaged battery or compensate for low fluid levels (for those using non-sealed cells).

I refuse to use one for that exact reason. If my battery isn't strong enough to start the bike on it's own in the morning, i replace it. They are far from "essential".

How do you know if you have a damaged battery if you're artificially boosting it's power constantly?

If it had a load test built in and would red light when your battery was weak, I'd be an advocate of using one....

Edited November 21, 2013 by magley64

[2talltim]

A maintainer/tender is nothing more than a warmer. The cold of winter can drain and damage the cells of a battery a maintainer simply keeps a low current running through it and keeping it warm. I don't use mine in the summer only when temps drop. My TL had a 5 year old Wal-Mart battery in it when my buddy traded it in this summer and still cranking strong, must people say you don't get more than 2 years out of them. I think my riding mower battery is like 7 years old,(some people have to replace them every spring) and all I ever do it plug them in when the temps drop.

Edited November 21, 2013 by 2talltim

[magley64]

I just toss my battery in the closet in the house to keep it warm.

[2talltim]

That better than nothing but sounds like a lot of unnecessary work.

[2talltim]

If it had a load test built in and would red light when your battery was weak, I'd be an advocate of using one....

When my wife had her shadow one winter the Orange light on my tender was flashing at that time I didn't know what it was so I ignored it. About a week into the season the battery took a crap s o the tender was trying to tell me that. It was a 9 year old battery according to the date code, so long over due.

[dimmlight]

Is a tender necessary if you keep your bike in a heated garage?  My house has an overhead door that leads into my workshop, and I keep my bike in there, it is heated the same as the rest of the house.  Don't want to bother buying a tender if I don't need one.

[smccrory]

It's probably ok without it for a few weeks but I'd still get one to keep the charge topped off over the winter.

A tender is NOT just a heater, it maintains electrochemical potential across the plates.

[Al Z. Heimer]

use with caution...

 

these things mask battery problems better than they prevent them. If your first start up for a long day of riding is fresh off the tender, you could have a weak battery and not even realize it. Then you find out at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

There is no difference whether it comes off a tender or the bikes charging system. If the battery is bad the bike won't start,if the the battery is good it will start,if the battery is going south it may or may not start.

I refuse to use one for that exact reason. If my battery isn't strong enough to start the bike on it's own in the morning, i replace it. They are far from "essential".

How do you know if you have a damaged battery if you're artificially boosting it's power constantly?

If it had a load test built in and would red light when your battery was weak, I'd be an advocate of using one....

The only way to truly know is by doing a proper load test. To some extent you can use your thumb dyno as it were. If your bike exhibits slow cranking after say riding and restarting after a gas stop it is time not only for a battery test but a charging system check. A battery maintainer is exactly what it says. A maintainer,it does not artificially boost its power.

[Al Z. Heimer]

A maintainer/tender is nothing more than a warmer. The cold of winter can drain and damage the cells of a battery a maintainer simply keeps a low current running through it and keeping it warm. I don't use mine in the summer only when temps drop. My TL had a 5 year old Wal-Mart battery in it when my buddy traded it in this summer and still cranking strong, must people say you don't get more than 2 years out of them. I think my riding mower battery is like 7 years old,(some people have to replace them every spring) and all I ever do it plug them in when the temps drop.

I just toss my battery in the closet in the house to keep it warm.

All batteries self discharge. Temperature plays a big role in discharge rate. An increase of 18 degrees doubles the discharge rate. So a battery at 95 * self discharges twice as fast a battery at 77*. You are better off leaving the battery in a cooler spot. A fully charged battery will not freeze till -92*. As the state of discharge of the battery goes up the temp at it will freeze also goes up. A tender/maintainer is not a warmer at all. Yes there are battery warmers and they do serve a purpose in colder climates.

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/pdfs/TechManual_2009.pdf

This is a wealth of info. It may or may not help you get better life out your battery but at least you know facts and not what you have heard. The most important thing that you can do to get good service life of a battery is to properly put it into service from the box.

[YSR_Racer_99]

AFAIK, the "daddy" Battery Tender (the larger black box, not the Jr) compensates for temperature in its charging. 

I'm a firm believer in these BT's, and from now on will buy the Daddy version.  The Jr's work fine for the most part, but I'll pay the little bit more for the larger version. 

 

I bought some of the $5.99 versions from Harbor Freight, and cooked a newer Yuasa with one.  Threw all three HF chargers in the trash.   Saving $25 (HF price vs. BT Jr) cost me $75.  

[2talltim]

Schumachers also compensate for temperature