trickle charger - battery maintainer

wellmax99

Member
do you leave the trickle charger on the battery after the battery is fully charged?

do not want to blow up the battery.
 
I don't cause I don't trust em. if a tractor won't start because of a low battery an hour on a charger takes care of that and if the tractor has a good charging system it then takes care of itself.
that's my story and I am sticking to it cause I have never used a battery maintainer in my life.:)
 
Not exactly an answer to your question, but I like to use automatic chargers. I've heard that they won't harm the battery if you forget that I hooked it up and leave for a couple of days. (Or more)

Not that anything like that has ever happened to me, of course.

:D
 
I use battery maintainers all the time,get a good brand and they prolong the life of your battery and won't overcharge it.I use them on tractors,street-rods,and motorcycles.
 
I've got a Battery Tender Jr. on my tractor. It's plugged in whenever the tractor is parked. Keeps it topped off nicely, and keeps the battery charged during the cold winter months. Makes winter starting a whole lot easier on the battery. I've also got one on each of my snowmobiles, and my trailer batteries.
 
I don't like doing it.

As long as the battery is good, and there is no drain, it shouldn't hurt anything. But then, with a good battery and no drain, there should be no need for a trickle charger...

A couple of problems, if there is a drain, or the battery is weak, the charger will never completely cut back. It will eventually boil the battery dry.

There are very low wattage maintainers that are designed to be left connected. I've known people to use them and have no problems. Still I would disconnect a cable before long term storage.

Just the thought of leaving something connected, unattended, would interrupt my sleep!
 
I checked it this afternoon, green light, so the battery is fully charged and its in maintain mode.

I will move the battery tender to the old jeep tomorrow and let it top off, then on to the other vehicles.

I too do not like to keep one hooked up too long.
 
I have a battery maintainer. My tractors are not started everyday. Some are only started 7 or 8 times a year. The maintainer works great for keeping them charged up. I move it from battery to battery.

I don't leave it on for more than a few days before I switch it to a different battery.

it also works good on my lawn mower batteries in the winter. makes them last longer.
 
I use a solar panel to keep mine charged. It's a small unit, but keeps it going. I get really good life out of my batteries, so I know it does the job. Here in Colorado, it gets really cold and the little bit extra the battery has helps a lot.

My 2 cents
 
Old trickle chargers were not designed to be left on all the time. They supply a steady rate and lack the ability to switch to "float" mode.

The newer 3-stage battery maintainers that are rated 1.5 to 2 amps and sell for $20-$30 ARE designed to be left plugged in all the time, if you want. They sense battery voltage and cut back to a very low "maintain" or "float" mode once the battery is charged. That stays at around 13.2 volts and uses very little power.

As to stories of 3-stage maintainers "boiling" batteries when they go bad? Nonsense. A 1.5 amp maintainer does not have the power to "boil" a full-size battery that is going bad. All that happens is this. When a battery gets old and starts to fail - it needs more charge power to stay fully charged. Once that demand exceeds what the little maintainer can supply - it switches to "bulk" full-charge mode and keeps trying to reach max charge voltage. Good ones can do it for a long time. Cheaper ones simply burn out and stop working.

By the way - ALL lead-acid batteries lose their charge as they sit - regardless if hooked to anything or not. Called the "Self Discharge" rate.

I've got over 20 maintainers going all the time and have been using them for years. I've had a few burn out. Mostly my Harbor Freight brand. When they DID burn out - it hurt nothing. They just stopped working. The Schumacher Speedy Charge that Walmart sells seems to be one of the best for the buck. 1.5 amp, $20.
 
Jd,
I only have one battery tender plus, cost $48. I used it on my motorcycle as it required a hot battery to start. no push off or pull off on that bad boy, but its gone.

I am finishing up moving the battery tender around, charging up each battery on the place.
I will have to find a cheaper model battery tender, before I buy one for each battery.

it only took about one day for the charger to top off each of the batteries.

it has to be hard on batteries that get low on charge and then are exposed to bitter cold weather for a few days.
 

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