Battery Tender Question By ellpee (Read 825 times)

[ellpee]

Tenders are cheap, so I'll probably just buy a second one, but a theoretical question: I put my truck battery on a tender all winter long while it is stored in the garage of our summer place. Would it be OK to connect my scoot battery in series to the truck battery, so the one tender will keep both batteries topped off? Any reason why leaving the big battery and small battery connected for several months is not a good idea?

[alleyoop]

Yea, the truck battery is a big sucker like 650 amps while your little scooter battery is what maybe 7amps. The tender will not know which to monitor. Just buy another Tender and be done.
Alleyoop

[scootaway]

A question from an out of country person. Why do you call a battery charger a tender?

[alleyoop]

Because it tends to your battery needs. What it does is it monitors the level of charge and automatically starts charging it when it is below a certain level. Then when it is fully charged it cuts off the charging and monitors it and repeats as necessary THEREGO the TENDER name, you can leave it plugged in all winter so in the spring the battery is ready to rock and roll.
Alleyoop

[fflintstone]

Good explanation alleyoop,and it brings up this question--who got the best deal on a battery tender--I got plenty of chargers but I got 2 bike batteries ,9 amps,and need winter tendering for them...possibly I could use 1 tender on 2 bike batteries? so,what is a good price and who got it?

[scootaway]

Thank you I get it. So this "tender" is different from a normal battery charger, one which might have an amp gauge on it and must be manually disconnected to prevent over charging.

[fflintstone]

Aug 6, 2013 7:54:09 GMT -6 scootaway said:

Thank you I get it. So this "tender" is different from a normal battery charger, one which might have an amp gauge on it and must be manually disconnected to prevent over charging.

Yup--I have a power supply for CB mobile radios that kicks out 13.8 volts at 2 amps and I use it to charge my scoot batteries in the winter ,but it is a continual supply,and it don't know when to shut down like a battery tender does--so I plan of getting a tender for next season--happy trails,fflintstone

[richardthescooter3]

Here you go, this is a battery tender

Attachments:

[bobf]

I have a Deltron Battery Tender Jr that I picked up at Ace Hardware. I think I paid about $20 for the thing. What I liked about this item was that it had two cable sets. One was a two part cable with a slip on connector and you mount the one end on the battery terminals under the seat and leave the end in the pocket under the seat while riding. When home you get the end out from under the seat and slip on the part going to the charger box.

There is also a cable with alligator clips on it if you just want to connect directly to a battery. So the thing can be used for two different reasons. 1 To keep the scooter battery steady and 2 for a different battery when not connected to the scooter.

I am a bit lazy so on my short rides I just leave the end connected to the battery hang out from under the seat. When I get home I just slip on the cable from the charger box.

Prices will likely vary so do some looking around. I have seen them from $19 up to $26 and they may range even further.
.

[ellpee]

Yeah. I got impatient and paid about double for a tender from Western Auto, knowing full well they were available way cheaper elsewhere. Future buyers beware, there's a WI-I-IIDE variation in prices for this particular item. I paid Stupid Tax because I wasn't willing to wait (rest of the story, I was trading in something else and frankly just didn't want to dikk around any more). Anyhow, I now have separate tenders for truck battery and scoot battery, so all is as good as it can be.