Battery Maintainers

GEE50FX

GEE50FX

The Traveller
iS VIP
Location
Kincardine, Ontario, Ca
Car
2010 White FX50S-sold
Name
Wayne
Do any of you guys use a Battery Maintainer?

Two winters ago, I left my FX35 parked in below freezing weather for 5 weeks because I went south to warmer weather. I have done this many times but this time it wouldn't start, there wasn't enough power left in the battery.
I asked around and found a few guys using battery maintainers while their vehicle was stored. One of my best friends used a product called Battery Tender Plus for his BMW Z4M while he winter stored it. He loved it and also used one on his G35.

Today I purchased one, it was on sale for $49.99
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It comes with fused ring terminals so you can permanently mount the cables themselves or the standard alligator clips. It's a nice compact unit.

Here is the manufacturer's write up: http://batterytender.com/products/automotive/battery-tender-plus-12v-at-1-25a.html

This year when I go away for my trip south, I know the FX50 will be fine for it's 5 weeks in the frigid cold weather
 

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I'd say that it's worth the $50. I've heard mixed reviews from car people, motorcycle people, and mechanics alike. People seem to love it or hate it. Although, everybody seems to agree that Battery Tender is much better than other brand maintainers. Personally, I've never gotten the off brand maintainers to work well. I've used the Battery Tender with my Ducati, but it couldn't keep up. (It runs a generator instead of an alternator, maybe that has something to do with it? It would seem to keep it charged, but not quite right.) Now I religiously use my Schumacher charger. With all this said, I still respect the Battery Tender. Use it and enjoy it!
 
My dad is a bit of a collector of cars and motorcycles. For the ones that aren't daily drivers, he has a battery tender on each of them and swears by them.
 
Yeah I know many people who use them, and never have any problems.

I drive my car daily, and even when I was away for three weeks at a time it was stored in a warm dry environment, and my family members would always start it up and idle it for a bit or take it for a short drive to make sure she didnt die on me.

Whenever it gets really cold especially when I had my car in northern canada where it was like -20 celcius every night I would use the block heater for sure.

But if you are leaving your car for long periods of time, trickle chargers are a worthwhile investment. I mean one shot battery is 100 bucks easy, so to spend $50 to save your battery an extra couple years at least is worth it...
 
I have had many and yuasa chargers are the best you can buy in my opinion. They don't get hot like allot of them and it will keep your battery fully charged without overcharging and burning out the cells. Good luck!
 
Renhalt said:
I have had many and yuasa chargers are the best you can buy in my opinion. They don't get hot like allot of them and it will keep your battery fully charged without overcharging and burning out the cells. Good luck!
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what is better about yuasa chargers?
 
good brand and they're working well for my rides. one did go out after 4 years though but i was happy to replace it with another one.
 
I used to just pull the negative cable if I was going to park my car for a while. For some weird reason, the thought of leaving the car "plugged in" made me uncomfortable. So I'd rather take a couple of minutes and reprogram the radio. If the car is parked for a month, a few minutes wasn't any big deal.
 
They work well, just make sure you get the correct kind for the type of battery you have (in case you have an Optima or something similar). Shadow's comment is dead on too, I do exactly that when I store my Z32 for the winter.
 
On the difference of the Yuasa chargers, I couldn't tell you the difference but all I know is I've had alot of different chargers over the years. Well let me put it to you this way, before moving from Florida I had 2 jet skis, 3 motorcycles all running Yuasa chargers and never once did I have any problems and my rides always stayed fully charged. Good luck

---------- Post added at 04:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 AM ----------

Also, they all come with 2 leads, one with clips the other with attachments for the battery. The nice part is that they have a two prong lead with a cap on the end so you never have to monkey around with the battery, simply run it somewhere out of site and plug it in when you need it. Take 2 seconds!
 
Renhalt said:
On the difference of the Yuasa chargers, I couldn't tell you the difference but all I know is I've had alot of different chargers over the years. Well let me put it to you this way, before moving from Florida I had 2 jet skis, 3 motorcycles all running Yuasa chargers and never once did I have any problems and my rides always stayed fully charged. Good luck

---------- Post added at 04:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 AM ----------

Also, they all come with 2 leads, one with clips the other with attachments for the battery. The nice part is that they have a two prong lead with a cap on the end so you never have to monkey around with the battery, simply run it somewhere out of site and plug it in when you need it. Take 2 seconds!
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The Battery Tender Plus comes with the same exact thing.
So what problems did you have with the Battery Tender Plus that makes you say you like the Yuasa models better?
 
The one I had seemed to get really hot and seemed like the fan was always kicking on and off and i didnt really feel comfortable leaving it unattended for long periods of time. It also did not last very long, I can't say how long but I Remeber not being happy with the length of service it provided before crapping out on me.
 
Renhalt said:
The one I had seemed to get really hot and seemed like the fan was always kicking on and off and i didnt really feel comfortable leaving it unattended for long periods of time. It also did not last very long, I can't say how long but I Remeber not being happy with the length of service it provided before crapping out on me.
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Good to know, thanks, maybe it was a defective one.
My good friend just told me he has used his for over 4 winters now, and it has been flawless.
 
GEE50FX said:
Good to know, thanks, maybe it was a defective one.
My good friend just told me he has used his for over 4 winters now, and it has been flawless.
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Wayne why not do the negative cable thing and call it a day? I find reset especially our cars every now and then is actually a good thing to clear the back log of data for the trans and other items.
 
jdTrader said:
Wayne why not do the negative cable thing and call it a day? I find reset especially our cars every now and then is actually a good thing to clear the back log of data for the trans and other items.
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I've done that before Jonas and it was no fun doing it in a snowstorm outside (although my carport/garage is being constructed as we speak). This battery makes everything much easier, it's just plug and play. I actually decided to get it after Ian had such good experience with it. You met Ian, the guy with the white Z4M that went on the cruise with us.
 
I've been using Battery Tender brand maintainers for my bike but never on the FX. It's a great idea if you are leaving it sitting for a while. Great pick up, Wayne!
 
Slightly different approach, is it possible to trickle charge the battery through the cigarette lighter socket and avoid messing about under the hood? I park at a train station all day in the winter and I have a solar panel with a lighter plug that I'd like to leave on the dash to top off the battery. A bit paranoid, I know, but it's a short trip between home and the train station and I know it's hard on the battery in winter.
 
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