Do you use a battery tender? Which one do you use? Are these any good:

http://www.pacificbattery.com/batteryminder.html

They seem pricey.

 

I use the Batteryminder. I paid in the $40 range but that was about 8 years ago.

No problems with it. During the summer, I use it on my Lawn tractor since the battery is just about shot.

 

Seems as if my wall pack Battery Tender has cooked 2 batteries on me now. It's not the batteries so much that bother me it's the loss of paint from the leaking battery acid that bothers me.

 

I have a Schumacher battery maintainer. I have used it for two wiinter's w/o any problems. I charge my S battery once/week and do not leave it plugged in after the green light comes on.

 

I have two Battery Tender Jr's for $30 each for S2000 & MGA. Work great.

 

I want something I can leave unattended all winter. Freq, thanks for the warning on Battery Tender. Is that the trade name of the unit you have?

 

I have used just plain 1 1/2 Amp Schumacher charger/maintainer --Walmart -- for well over a decade, without problems. I leave them on full time over the winter. Motorcycle GEL batteries require higher voltage, so I use 1 1/4 amp Battery Tender brand. My son's car and motorcycle are both on full-time 1 1/4 amp Battery Tender, while gone for 6 months to Afghanistan. Schumacher is a cheap brand (15-20 bucks), but I've never had one fail.

 

West marine has a 2 amp one. 39 bucks works great no problems.

fltsfshr

 

The Battery Minder touts its ability to de-sulfide the battery. Battery Tender does not make the same claim. Any thoughts on this issue?

 

Last winter I ran power out to my second shed where I was storing a motorcycle and my riding mower. I used a Batter Tender Plus to charge them both by going out there every week or so and swapping it from one battery to the other. Both started up in the spring just fine. I've also used it on my s2k when it's been sitting a while to get a decent charge in the battery before starting it. It worked just fine for that as well.