Trickle charger?

[FASTRNU]

It has been suggested that I buy a trickle charger with auto shutoff for the SRT 10. I know the diff between a trickle and fast charge, but I saw a product called the "Battery Tender" that uses a computer chip to maintian proper charge when it is charging the car battery.

Anyone have any experience with this one or can anyone recommend another?

This is just for when it sits for a while, which somehow I doubt it will!

Dave

 

[BruceW]

The battery tender is what you want, not a trickle charger. The tender actually monitors the battery's "condition" and it cycles the charging current. The trickle charger just keeps applying a constant current and is not as good for battery life as a tender.

 

[Janni]

However, with the '03 and newer cars, there is a "sleep mode" that is designed to save the battery, virtually eliminating the need for a tender like on the older cars. our 1996 was notoriously bad for battery drain - even without the alarm.

 

[BruceW]

Interesting, I didn't know that. However, a good battery tender provides the optimal life for a battery, all other things being equal. All batteries have a self-draining current (even when totally disconnected and sitting on the shelf) which is partially responsible for limiting their lifespan. A tender will continuously load and cycle the battery (with fairly small currents) to keep it at its peak state and this "theoretically" gives the maximum lifespan.

 

[Wayne Finch]

Who has the best tender - brand name

 

[Russ Oasis]

The Battery Tender is made by Deltran. Look them up on the internet. I think that they may be sensitive to voltage as I have 11 of them in my garage and 3 of them died at once. I suspect that a voltage spike or dip may have been the culprit or maybe they just died. They are about $60 each.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Newest model is a "Battery tender Plus". Usually carried at WalMart. Best prices there. Think about $20.
You can permentally mount the included pig tail, which can be accessed down by the "gills". This way you don't even need to open the hood to plug it in.
Great product for those occasionally used cars.
(also for garden tractors, motorcycles, snow blowers and snow mobiles.)

 

[46hemi]

Battery Tender Plus, paid $19.00 online at a motorcycle supply store. I will try and find the link I used. It works awesome for the cars, bikes and quads.

 

[viperz]

I use a trickle charger on my 850, 2 Porsche and used it on my Viper as well. They worked great even on a 88 ford pick up. The battery life seems to be extended especially here in Canada where we don't drive our cars in the winter.

I bought mine from Porsche and they work great.

 

[SteveT]

I have been using the Harbor Freight battery tender. I have had 12 of them running for almost a year now and they have been trouble free. I have one that has been outside on my Case dozer and it has held up to the elements. Price was $14.99 plus shipping.