battery tenders

Post by **reef** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 2:11 pm

Hi,I seems to have dilema which battery tender to buy for winter storage.Could any of you guys point me in right direction in this matter?I am looking for dependible,cheap and w/accesory plug connector.There are so many tenders on line ,that make me rather confussed.The bike of course R1150R,2003,2 years old sealed maint.free battery.Thank you so much for any imput. Mark

Trout · Post by **Trout** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:30 pm

It doesn't really matter. They all do the job. I bought a $15 unit from Wal Mart several years ago. It was packaged as a battery tender for cars. I've changed the connectors several times depending on what bike I happened to be storing that winter... flat plug, round plug, alligator clips, etc. The nice feature (not sure if they all have it) is the "automatic" nature of the charger... it senses when the battery is "done" and turns off, then when the battery needs a nip, it turns back on and tops it off.

Post by **towerworker** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:15 pm

Walmart sells a small 1.5 amp charger packaged for motorcycles for about $18. Made by Schumacher. Has status led's to indicate what's going on. Don't know how good it is or how it compares to a "Battery Tender" (name brand--made by Deltran)

I think alot of the guys and gals on this board use the "Battery Tender or Battery Tender Plus". I've seen them for about $45 to $50 online.

I plan to pick up the inexpensive unit from Walmart and see how it does. I had an 03 from new to just about a month ago and totaled it in an accident. Only had to put a charger on it once the entire time I owned it, but I rode it alot and kept it pretty well charged. I have a replacement bike on it's way.

Good luck!

Wayne

Post by **johnnyjs1** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:09 pm

Do the cheepy's work on Gel batteries, dont the R1150R and Rocks have a gel bat?

Post by **towerworker** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:21 pm

The inexpensive one's I've seen specify "lead acid" on the box.

Trout · Post by **Trout** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:49 pm

johnnyjs1 wrote:Do the cheepy's work on Gel batteries, dont the R1150R and Rocks have a gel bat?

My Mega Low Mart charger just says "For 12 Volt Batteries."
All I've ever charged on it are gel batteries.

Post by **Buckster** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:29 am

The rocks and roadsters do not come with a gel battery. There was another post recently on chargers and Oydessy batteries that was pretty interesting.
My dealer wanted to make sure that you buy a battery that is vented and most gels are not.
My next battery will be the Oydessey and I have the BMW charger. It will charge both kinds of batteries but I believe that you do not want to leave the gel battery hooked up to the charger for extend lengths of time being that it's not vented.
I'm sure you'll get some more feedback on this one from others who know more it.

Post by **towerworker** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 9:02 am

Went to WalMart last nite and picked up the Schumacher charger. It's advertised as "Fully Automatic Charger/Maintainer with Float-Mode Monitoring". (1.5 amp)

$18.44 regular price

Just for giggles and grins I opened the case to see what $18 will buy. While not an electronics engineer (although with 30+ years in communications electronics I can make my way around a schematic) the charger does have some electronic circuitry about it. It is more than just a transformer with an inexpensive voltage rectifier. There does appear to be a fair amount of voltage and charging monitoring circuitry inside.

Now this is no guarantee that it's not a piece of junk---but at first glance I am going to give it a shot. I am waiting on my bike to be delivered (by Dec 14)...........I will check it out further then and report back.

Wayne

BigC · Post by **BigC** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:09 pm

The gel/agm/sla batteries prefer a fairly low charge compared to a standard battery. The Deltran Jr. charger I have puts out 750ma.

I just bought an Odyssey PC680 so if anyone's interested in my Deltran battery tender junior for $20 shipped (within US), pm me. I'll post it in the for sale section shortly...

Post by **Biff's R** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:54 pm

towerworker wrote: Now this is no guarantee that it's not a piece of junk---but at first glance I am going to give it a shot. I am waiting on my bike to be delivered (by Dec 14)...........I will check it out further then and report back.

Wayne

Wayne, Why didn't you ride the bike home?

wjjones · Post by **wjjones** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:51 am

BigC wrote:The gel/agm/sla batteries prefer a fairly low charge compared to a standard battery. The Deltran Jr. charger I have puts out 750ma.

I just bought an Odyssey PC680 so if anyone's interested in my Deltran battery tender junior for $20 shipped (within US), pm me. I'll post it in the for sale section shortly...

I will take your Battery Tender. Sent a PM

Post by **towerworker** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 10:19 am

Jeff--

There's 10" of snow in Minnesota right now--and she didn't have any snow tires mounted on the bike. I certainly don't want to get a ticket for running improper equipment.