I personally use the best battery tender I could find....Just keep riding it!!!
just remembered why i stop using the battery tender plus,, it boils batteries for hours.
i connected it this am and it is still boiling the battery and the battery is not very old
i dont see any sense in this method.
1500 2011 Champion trike
KR4VA
US Navy Aviation
Surely Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life:)
I personally use the best battery tender I could find....Just keep riding it!!!
Your battery tender is shot, Get a new one, Or like Bikerbozo said,
Keep riding.
I have my tender connected to a timer. Lowe's sells a timer that you can set to operate for 4, 6, or 8 hours every 24 hours or on at dusk off at dawn. This way the battery can cool down.
Am i missing something here, Battery tenders fully Charge the battery then go to a float mode [stops charging] Then when the battery discharges it turns back on [start charging] No heat and no over charging. All automatic.
Float is the key word. They should( monitor ) does not shut off the voltage , and kick in when it drops to 11 volts and charges til it goes back up to 12.5 etc. for some reason sometimes it goes to far and it runs out of water. Just like riding, you still should check the fluid level periodicaly. One of mine ran out of water 2 years ago.
Your tender is shot. They do not last forever. Buy a good one.
I haven't seen a battery in the last ten years that you could add water to.
There all maintenance free, Not like years ago when you could pop the caps and add water if needed.
Sounds like you have a trickle charger, not a battery tender.
based on my discussion earlier with the mfg --its working as they advertize,,, charging to abt 14.65 and floating at 13.5v-- now as we write.
they stated that it will only boil a battery if it has too much water???
1500 2011 Champion trike
KR4VA
US Navy Aviation
Surely Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life:)
Always heard only good things about Battery Tenders and know folks who have used them for years with no complaints. Never owned one myself, preferring Bikerbozo's method of fire-up and ride.
Received one last year as a gift, a Battery Tender Plus......Battery charge on one of the bikes was low (approx. 11V) so decided that instead of using a trickle charger, I'd use the new Battery Tender Plus to bring the charge up to snuff. Removed the cell caps and added distilled water to the fill line, then hooked up the tender. Instead of charging the battery, it killed it!
First time was the last time I'll use it. Put it in the shop and haven't looked at it since. Next time I think of it, will check to see where it was made.........am wondering if the "good" Battery Tenders were before the possibility of outsourcing to China. I dunno for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me.
I've been using the Deltran Battery Tender Plus and JR. for years with no cooked batteries. I have a 2 bank tender, plus a couple singles. As I type this I have one on my Tractor which has a battery that is now 9 years old, there is one on my Triglide, one on my 2006 Ultra Classic, there is one on my dads Triglide. Harley dealers who offer winter storage place every stored bike on a battery tender.
http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/...pswnuweejq.jpg
Red Ultra Powered By Head-Quarters 120, Easy Clutch Pull By ClutchWIZ. 2012 GL1800 Hannigan. I've yet to ride a stock Harley which wasn't in need of a mechanical intervention.
if you do have a maintainable (Tops can screw out) battery and it sits a long time (damn winter), pour the distilled water(70%) and sulphiric acid (30% its what burns the holes in yer jeans) into a glass jar and lock it in a safe place until you need it again, )flush batt with distilled water). and refill charge and go. Stops reactions in batt. batterys should only be topped up with distilled water. i've done this with the battery in my chopper for about ten yearsand it's still going. sounds nuts but it works
I've been using Battery Tenders for years and never had any issues with them cooking batteries. I currently have three of them. One hooked up to the trike, another to the 57 Chevy and the other to a large portable house generator. I never turn these battery tenders off and they're always connected to those units mentioned above.
Is it possible to get a defective one. Absolutely as with any electrical item. Contact battery Tender and see what they have to say about it.
I've never had any problem with the $20 ones at Walmart and have installed several for other who have never said anything about "boiling the battery".
Tomg
Went into the shop this morning and checked out the Battery Tender. It's not the Battery Tender Plus, but the Deltran Battery Tender Jr. and sure enough, it's Made in China.
Please don't get me wrong.........I've always recommended Battery Tenders for those who ask about 'em and I know folks who have older Battery Tenders that still work as advertised, no problems at all.
All I know is that this one toasted my battery on the very first usage. Defective tender Made in China ? Most definitely possible. Does this mean that all of the tenders Made in China are defective ? Of course not, but if anyone asks me in future, I'll be sharing my experience with 'em in a "Buyer Beware" sort of way.........
Ride Safe......
I have a battery tender on each bike and lawnmower. Four total. Plugged in 24/7 unless riding. I also have a portable power port which I can plug into the pigtail and use to charge electronic devices devices when riding.
You should touch base with Deltran, I use a Battery Tender Jr on my Kubota tractor in the winter when it sets, the battery in the tractor is 9 years old. I also have a tender Jr connected to the electric brake battery for my dads MC trailer and its fine. With any electrical appliance they can malfunction.
http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/...pswnuweejq.jpg
Red Ultra Powered By Head-Quarters 120, Easy Clutch Pull By ClutchWIZ. 2012 GL1800 Hannigan. I've yet to ride a stock Harley which wasn't in need of a mechanical intervention.
Since it was a gift and now over a year old, I'll probably just let it go. As mentioned earlier, I'd rather ride the bike regularly to keep it charged.
Here's what happened.........Was doing a regular maintenance check on the battery, checking the cold charge of the battery with the bike off and got a reading of approx. 12.35V. Low, but not ridiculous, so decided to service the battery. Fluid level was a bit low which would explain the slightly lower charge, so added distilled water to the level line, which diluted the charge to around 11V (normal for the charge to drop a little after initially adding distilled water) Wanted to try the new Battery Tender just to bring the charge up to a normal reading. Red light stayed on, the tender never went on float, just kept charging the battery. Finally decided that something wasn't right and disconnected it, then checked the charge with a multi-meter and it was now down to 10.20V........
Not the end of the world, but what bugs me is that the person who bought the gift unknowingly threw away their money on a defective tender and the defective tender made me have to buy a new battery, LOL! Losing proposition for the gift buyer and myself. A win/win for Deltran and the battery manufacturer
It's more a vent on the evils of outsourcing. I doubt that there's much Quality Control going on over in China. Corporations are outsourcing to increase their profits, why spend money on Quality Control when that money can be placed in the profit margin ?
Again, I know that you and others in this thread as well as folks I know personally have had nothing but GOOD experiences with Battery Tenders and that's great! Just my misfortune of receiving a defective tender is all and I'd have much more confidence in the product if it were still Made in the USA........
Ride Safe.........