I had mentioned to Brenda a few weeks ago that I was thinking about buying a battery maintainer for her wagon and when we left the doctors office she said, "Oh I forgot but I bought you a couple of battery tenders yesterday. I've never heard of this type of unit but if it does the job that's great, it's cheap enough a 9.99 HRP Keep 12V batteries in top condition. This automatic 12V battery float maintainer keeps batteries fully charged and prevents overcharging. The maintainer is easy to use, simply connect the battery and plug in the wall adapter. Intuitive user interface with tri-color LED indicator for charging and operation status Easy access reference guide on the maintainer body Built-in indication for reverse polarity, bad battery, short circuit, and incorrect battery voltage Auto shut-off when fault is detected
We had several here. All of them quit working in a short time. One of them was hot to the touch, and we tossed that. Now I'm leary of a thermal event, and replaced them with real ones from battery tender.
I believe that is a Harbor Freight item. Well it might be okay, I've always shied away from their electronics. If you want a good, reliable maintainer Battery Tender is the way to go. I had them on our fleet of training trucks, 20 vehicles, with never a problem. The people at Battery Tender didn't know how well they would work on vehicles with multiple batteries, but I found them to work fine. If for some reason the batteries were discharged during or just after a training session, we used a normal charger to bring them back up to full charge. We then used the Battery Tenders to maintain the charge. They make a great product.
I use them. They are from HF. Also bought some 6/12 volt tenders from Amazon for my 6 volt cars. Both work fine but have had both fail outdoors on my tractor. No shrting out or anything, just died. Weather maybe? Dave
Hey; HRP; I've owned a # of chargers, maintainers, but finally bit the bullet(s) at last yrs' Btt50's, & bought some of these from Battery Saver. A small one, + one that could do a couple of batteries, & a tester. Works on lead-acid, gel-type, etc. Has brought back a few batteries from the dead, kept others going longer than they should, & I'm really happy w/them. I've got a few cars/trucks that don't get used & slowly drain the batteries. I could use these as actual maintainers, but since the cars/trucks sit outside, I just use them as needed to recharge the batteries. Very nice dual-purpose devices. Sold by the guy who designed them yrs ago. Streetrodder did a write-up eons ago, but I'm slow to adapt... . I looked at them for years before buying - wish I had bought long ago. Owners are helpful & will discuss technical if you wish. BattereySaver.com , if the copied recent(from 8/21/24) email-ad doesn't show up. They don't do much in the way of discounts, other than "Show spls" or "free" shipping - but they are worth the cost. & I don't say that lightly, much less often. FWIW. Marcus... FEATURED PRODUCTS
I would return the HF model, and step up to higher level of equipment as suggested by others. For rides that may set for some time without use I have always installed a race style on/off kill switch, or just the basic unit that attaches to ground of battery and utilizes a knob on top.
I've got one of those HF ones still in the package around here that I was going to use on my boat but saw reports similar to what scrappybunch said. I used to think that battery tenders were Corvette dudes things for the ones around here who don't open the garage door if there is a cloud in the sky but with the boat, a truck that only gets driven when it has a real job to do and never leaves the yard otherwise and more cars than I can drive at one time they begin to look more practical.
HF has some what I consider as good value tools, but they do still sell some junk. Like @jaracer, I avoid their electronics as their reliability has been poor. I mostly buy their less-expensive air tools (which I find are pretty good, but you will get a bad one once in a while) and their under-$20 4/5" angle grinders.
I have used the Battery Tenders from Del Tran for more than 25 years. Never an issue and I would never use anything else.
Yeah, I am well aware of their junk having purchased a brake from them that broke the second time I used it! this happened after I built a stand for it. I drove in a snowstorm to return it to the Greenville, South Carolina store. they wanted to give me another brake but I refused. I appreciate all the comments, I'm sure the Boss Lady was trying to help out. I have decided to use it on the Cub Cadet and buy a Battery Tender for the wagon. HRP
I have had a couple they lasted about a year, finally bought battery tender, also one from Northern tools both have been good for 5 years now
Have 3 of the hf chargers , oldest is 5 years ,hooked up on the riding mower , takes 2 hours to mow approx 15 times a year , the rest of the time , its plugged in , ones on a " shop battery" , the others on my truck , both used infrequently , no problems . ( I do have surge/ spike protection on my main power service)
I have 3 of those exact models here. All three are connected to riding mowers. I’ve had them maybe 3 years. They all still work fine.
Mine broke exactly the same, but I was well past the end of the warrantee period when it did. Instead of scrapping it, I picked up some 1/2" x 4" steel bar stock and fabbed up new arms. That was 15+ years ago and it still works just fine. HF (and other more 'upscale' sellers) still sell the exact same unit (with the same cast iron arms), but they're quite a bit more money these days...
I have one of these. It never gets hot on me, mine is 5 years old. The brand is Deltran, https://www.ebay.com/itm/135033204009?_nkw=car+battery+tender+charger&itmmeta=01J5ZDZWE64GM83RDKW35V3JD5&hash=item1f709b2d29:g:trYAAOSwkA1mKfe4&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA4HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKmGawsT9VTzeWFgbBTU14BJDZHzgQHP1NfOXcH0tYB3ezoFAxrPJkcBx0xEWnp3K5Y/m+/ADH9Ar5heMe5IAI1CfqC0ODoCYtzXC/uz9/67poy0wTSTP/oJcDkkLvK4cRQIjF8gqIHxHE3/nPqk9vgmwasjfUVgAEbdKDCA2UFxM+ecbOZQCBcjF7QOWw6ZZiL0WkcFd6NAIxhT0+qb4VmolGAZm5jU+Sj/XzM4Cz8tyVynCUUK6kLUmfFUXtuRrnS5fFyuo9LDV2qVX8EUZDC7|tkp:Bk9SR5bH_-2vZA
Deltran is pretty much the gold standard as tenders/maintainers go. Not overly expensive either. Why chance your valuable$ to save a few bucks? HF has it's place, but I'm not willing to bet (or lose) the farm on it...
I have used them in the past and didn't have much luck at all. Used one on my riding mower and it was useless. I bought one of the Smart Chargers off Amazon and they work great. About $80 The one I bought is called "Tower Top". I really like it, because it does several types of batteries and also does the reconditioning . Bought a second one just to have one in the mower shed and one in my pole barn as well.
The low price is an indicator of what you can expect. I have had this C-Tek charger for the last 10 years. Really does a great job. You can leave it on the battery all the time. Amazon.com: CTEK - 40-206 MXS 5.0 Fully Automatic 4.3 amp Battery Charger and Maintainer 12V : Automotive
i have used several with only one failure in 10 years. i did,finally upgrade to the $30 ones which will charge a low battery and maintain also. i have one in an off topic van which battery is 8 years old and still going!!!
Hello, A long time ago, those were popular for use on any cars, let alone old ones or hot rods. Folks thought of them as battery chargers, since a lot of them were labeled…”battery chargers.” In essence, they supposedly maintain the charge on the battery. They worked for a while, but eventually most folks just quit using them. If nothing is wrong with the car’s electrical system or wiring, etc. then there is no drain on the battery and should get charged while driving. Sometimes there are drains on the electrical system and causes lower levels of charge. So, that is a problem that these old “chargers” were supposed to cure. The ones we used way back then were a small rectangular black box where the red eye square is located. ours only had a regular plug... 1960 technology. Who can remember those odd ball names, but Sears units come to mind. All labeled battery chargers. Jnaki With the young teens messing around with all sorts of wiring for turn signals, radio installations, fm radio installation and even those misguided 33+ 78 lp record players caused a drain on the stock batteries. So, there was a need. They preserve a level in the battery, not add to it. Someone back then labeled them chargers and not maintainers. Semantics for the modern age. But, they do not charge. If all of the electrical system is good and running smoothly, there is no need for any additional device. Besides, AAA club road service is at hand with complete replacement “charged” batteries with a simple phone call. Ha! YRMV
I went through a similar situation a few years ago . My car "eats batteries" due to lack of use and computers ,so I needed to park it on a battery tender. The OEM battery tender was $1500 from the "stealership" Then after a bit of searching it was discovered that the factory battery tender was made by CTek [only the decal was different and also the OEM plug] So I purchased a CTek motorcycle battery tender [cheap] and a 3 metre male/female CTek extension cable, and I also managed to find a Ferrari plug in the UK for cheap. The CTek charger also came with 3 adaptors [one with 2 eyes, one with 2 jumper clamps, and one with a cigar lighter plug] I also purchase a "Deltran" solar powered battery tender and a solar panel. Then I got creative and cut the "male" plug off the extension cable approx 150mm from the end and soldered the Ferrari plug to the extension cable. The male plug "pigtail" that was cut off had 2 eyes crimped onto the ends. This was then attached to the "Deltran" solar tender. The other end of the"Deltran" tender has a Narva 2-pin plug that attaches to the solar panel. Here is the "Detran" tender with the other attachments I use the jumper clamps on my 57 Chev, and the "Eye" attachment is now hardwired to my trailer winch battery. Here is the CTek charger [sitting on my BBQ] connected to the Ferrari. Here is the solar charger in my tow hack [plugged into the 12v port] Now I can mix'n'match between vehicles ,and mix'n'match solar vs plug-in power. @HOTRODPRIMER pony up a few more $$$ on a better set up than what you originally posted. You should have the brains [I hope] to adapt one for multiple uses. A good unit like the CTek can also be used on Li-ion, as well as Lead Acid, and AGM Batteries. The tender will maintain the battery by cycling through charge/discharge cycles [I paid NZD $80 or USD $48 for the CTek motorcycle tender]
Well, FWIW, I used a Battery-Tender (Deltran) on my H-D and the original battery lasted 11yrs. Only reason I changed it was due to age. No bump-start on an electric fuel injection....
I've been using Deltran battery tenders for over 30+ years, never a failure or any problems, Have had very Long battery life. Other side of the coin, I know 2 guys that burned their garage and cars down using cheap battery tenders. CAUTION, ON this subject Do Not cheap out.
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