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(02-03-2019, 01:36 AM)Houtman_imp Wrote: Many years ago I had the Battery Tender but that piece of something did not last long at all.
Since than I use the Optimate /Tecmate 4 and that is a MUCH better charger , they also have many accessories to go with their chargers to make charging/maintaining your batteries.
I use an Optimate 3 now and have for the past five years.
My CB was dealer-fitted with an Optimate pigtail on the battery so it was a good excuse to move up to the better charger.
I bought the original Battery Tender when they first came out and used it for many years with apparent good success. It always worked fine for me.
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Maybe I am missing something here with the discussion about "smart chargers" vs "tenders". Is it implied that my "Deltran Battery Tender Jr." (I have 4 of them going 24/7) are cooking my batteries?http://products.batterytender.com/Chargers/Battery-Tender-Junior-12V-0-75A.html
Granted, on my small CB77 battery, I hookup a tender only part-time.
Then, what does "float" mean? I always assumed that during the float phase, the tender was monitoring the battery for a voltage drop rather than providing a charging current.
Or, am I over scrutinizing this subject?
Good to hear about you recovery Obleo.
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Yea I'm not up on all the fancy theories about battery chargers, all I know is I use my Battery Tender Jr's 24/7 .... whenever I am not riding, on all my bikes, my quad, and my lawn tractor and have for at least the last 10 years or more, with extremely satisfying results.
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suhawk, you're good. Your Battery Tenders are float chargers. You're not cooking anything. No worries.
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Optimate charger here too but for long term idleness I now pull the battery. Then charge it about every two weeks. If it's cold out, I'll go longer. Heat is a much higher danger factor than cold for a battery. Batteries produce charge by chemical reaction and chemical reactions slow down as it gets colder - speed up if heated up. So as long as you don't freeze the battery solid, cold is your friend. For storage anyway.
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(02-03-2019, 03:35 AM)Rboe_imp Wrote: Optimate charger here too but for long term idleness I now pull the battery. Then charge it about every two weeks. If it's cold out, I'll go longer. Heat is a much higher danger factor than cold for a battery. Batteries produce charge by chemical reaction and chemical reactions slow down as it gets colder - speed up if heated up. So as long as you don't freeze the battery solid, cold is your friend. For storage anyway.
^ agree
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On a closely related sideline; how many of you actually " work" your battery when in winter storage?
Just leaving the battery on the optimate is of course preferred over just leaving the battery to"sit" over winter but from the battery's point of view it still falls asleep, i think most would agree with me that a working battery is a happy battery, even with the tender connected it is a good idea to exercise your battery by switching the ignition on for 5 to 10 minutes, the pump runs and builds pressure, the ecu cycles on and the battery discharges at a rate of around 5 amperes with the h4 light on, the heat build up of the halogen is the limiting factor.
Depending on the rider's situation and preference you could even start the engine, run it for 20 seconds and let the tender top up the battery again, that way you also find out early and when the battery has actually given up, i do this about every month over winter and even take it for a short spin on a nice day.
Here is a link to some thoughtful practical points on various batteries i came across;
[url=http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?main_page=page&id=18&chapter=1]http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?...&chapter=1
It does not cover sitting in winter but explains a lot about different batteries, and i personally want to verify if the battery tender float voltage is appropriate for the battery ( or defective ) by checking it with a volt meter, a $20 meter will provide you with peace of mind and prevent unpleasant surprises.
Over time i have destroyed nice gel cell batteries by overcharging them, even one day is enough to permanently destroy them, i never go over 13.5 volts on a lead acid of any kind for a float charge,( if the battery is full it converts the incoming charge into heat and eats itself ) any more is pushing it for no reason i can think off except when it is critical to maintain 100% delivery capacity in case of a power outing situation in a commercial setting, but you pay for that with a shorter battery life .
Most of us have an opinion about batteries, this is mine from experience, i have also started to look at lithium but at this stage i wait for reliable reports about them but it does look promising.
Float charge means; to maintain a " float" voltage that supplies current that balances out the discharge rate of the battery.
At a set voltage the charger ( tender as in "tending" ) supplies a very small amount usually some milli-amps ( thousands of an ampere ) to offset the self discharge of a battery.
Somewhat like having a full bath ( with capacity to empty ) and maintaining the full level with a slow dripping tap to offset the evaporation of the water, the hotter it gets the more drops are needed to maintain the full level or even a toilet cystern with a float valve
If this amount gets bigger over time it indicates the end of the battery's life.
So the tender makes up for the quality of the battery thereby maintaining it's level of charge over time, low battery voltage is another way for a battery to lose faith as is low or high temperatures.
Hope this helps.
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(02-02-2019, 01:59 AM)Honda_Fan_imp Wrote: Left it alone overnight came to the garage this morning battery tested fully charged. Flip the switch and it fired right up. Also temperature today is near 30 so maybe that helped too. Anyway I count this one as a fluke for until it reappears again.
I wonder if this was a TP sensor acting up. I've had this occur on a Ford P/U and holding the throttle wide open while cranking, I was able to start the motor. I seem to remember someone else on the forum having this problem a few years back and holding the throttle full open, the engine started. TP sensor was the culprit.
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Just got back from a 2 hour ride ,not bad for February 3rd. So sportserdoc I’ll try 2 answer your questions . A. In bike and out of bike. C key off d key on . E not with starter button . F gauges did sweep , starter tried to go but not enough juice. Did hear the fuel pump. #1 all fuses good #2 don’t know. #3 clutch lever pulled in .#4 side stand up . On my Road King first battery lasted 8.5 years with the same smart battery tenders. This bike 3rd battery . .?.?.
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(02-03-2019, 03:35 AM)Rboe_imp Wrote: Optimate charger here too but for long term idleness I now pull the battery. Then charge it about every two weeks. If it's cold out, I'll go longer. Heat is a much higher danger factor than cold for a battery. Batteries produce charge by chemical reaction and chemical reactions slow down as it gets colder - speed up if heated up. So as long as you don't freeze the battery solid, cold is your friend. For storage anyway.
