Trickle Charger

My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter (here
in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery has
always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that uses
small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But the
instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when charged.

How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the garage,
but it gets cold) all winter?

Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a
good place to get some answers.

"D.D. Palmer" > wrote in message
...
> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter (here
> in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery has
> always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that uses
> small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But the
> instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when charged.
>
> How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the garage,
> but it gets cold) all winter?
>
> Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a good
> place to get some answers.

Your friends need an *automatic* trickle charger, such as this one that I
use on my motorcycles.

http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_3

Once the battery is fully charged, this device will keep it that way
indefinitely.

Dave

Hairy wrote:
> "D.D. Palmer" > wrote in message
> ...
>> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter (here
>> in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery has
>> always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that uses
>> small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But the
>> instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when charged.
>>
>> How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the garage,
>> but it gets cold) all winter?
>>
>> Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a good
>> place to get some answers.
>
> Your friends need an *automatic* trickle charger, such as this one that I
> use on my motorcycles.
>
> http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_3
>
> Once the battery is fully charged, this device will keep it that way
> indefinitely.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
The Battery Tender is a great product, you can find them and others also
at a Marine Outlet as they are used by a lot of boaters.

Ron

Ron & Maggie wrote:
> Hairy wrote:
>> "D.D. Palmer" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter
>>> (here in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the
>>> battery has always ended up dead because the car seems to have
>>> something that uses small amounts of power. This year they got a
>>> trickle-charger. But the instructions say it's not for long term use
>>> and turns off when charged.
>>>
>>> How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the
>>> garage, but it gets cold) all winter?
>>>
>>> Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a
>>> good place to get some answers.
>>
>> Your friends need an *automatic* trickle charger, such as this one
>> that I use on my motorcycles.
>>
>> http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_3
>>
>> Once the battery is fully charged, this device will keep it that way
>> indefinitely.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
> The Battery Tender is a great product, you can find them and others also
> at a Marine Outlet as they are used by a lot of boaters.

I recently bought a 6-volt Battery Tender Jr. and it has not operated
the way the sheet says it should. The blinkity light did its thing the
first time I connected it up, but the tender had shut itself down next
time I looked a couple hours later. No light on. Battery was drained.

Tried again after fully charging the battery somewhere else, and now
there's no more blinkity initialization mode like it did the first time,
like it's supposed to do. It did go right into "float" mode, so I guess
it's okay on a battery that is already strong. That's not good enough, I
lost confidence in it.

The warranty isn't all that valuable. Got to ship it back to Florida and
include $9.95 for warranty evaluation and handling and return shipping.
It only cost $31 retail! Is it worth it? For the more expensive models,
the charge is correspondingly more than $9.95

Deltran customer service seems good. Told me I could send it back to
them for free replacement, no mention of the $9.95

Not sure yet what I'm going to do with it. I'll give Battery Tender a
positive rating though for the company's attitude. Maybe I just got a dud.

"Geyser" > wrote in message
net...
> Ron & Maggie wrote:
>> Hairy wrote:
>>> "D.D. Palmer" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter
>>>> (here in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery
>>>> has always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that
>>>> uses small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But
>>>> the instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when
>>>> charged.
>>>>
>>>> How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the garage,
>>>> but it gets cold) all winter?
>>>>
>>>> Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a
>>>> good place to get some answers.
>>>
>>> Your friends need an *automatic* trickle charger, such as this one that
>>> I use on my motorcycles.
>>>
>>> http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_3
>>>
>>> Once the battery is fully charged, this device will keep it that way
>>> indefinitely.
>>>
>>> Dave
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> The Battery Tender is a great product, you can find them and others also
>> at a Marine Outlet as they are used by a lot of boaters.
>
> I recently bought a 6-volt Battery Tender Jr. and it has not operated the
> way the sheet says it should. The blinkity light did its thing the first
> time I connected it up, but the tender had shut itself down next time I
> looked a couple hours later. No light on. Battery was drained.
>
> Tried again after fully charging the battery somewhere else, and now
> there's no more blinkity initialization mode like it did the first time,
> like it's supposed to do. It did go right into "float" mode, so I guess
> it's okay on a battery that is already strong. That's not good enough, I
> lost confidence in it.
>

Sounds to me like it's working properly. You were supposed to fully charge
the battery, BEFORE hooking it up to the Battery Tender. That is why it's
called a Tender and not a charger. Read the sheet, again.

Dave

Hairy wrote:
> "Geyser" > wrote in message
> net...
>> Ron & Maggie wrote:
>>> Hairy wrote:
>>>> "D.D. Palmer" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter
>>>>> (here in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery
>>>>> has always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that
>>>>> uses small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But
>>>>> the instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when
>>>>> charged.
>>>>>
>>>>> How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the garage,
>>>>> but it gets cold) all winter?
>>>>>
>>>>> Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a
>>>>> good place to get some answers.
>>>> Your friends need an *automatic* trickle charger, such as this one that
>>>> I use on my motorcycles.
>>>>
>>>> http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_3
>>>>
>>>> Once the battery is fully charged, this device will keep it that way
>>>> indefinitely.
>>>>
>>>> Dave
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> The Battery Tender is a great product, you can find them and others also
>>> at a Marine Outlet as they are used by a lot of boaters.
>> I recently bought a 6-volt Battery Tender Jr. and it has not operated the
>> way the sheet says it should. The blinkity light did its thing the first
>> time I connected it up, but the tender had shut itself down next time I
>> looked a couple hours later. No light on. Battery was drained.
>>
>> Tried again after fully charging the battery somewhere else, and now
>> there's no more blinkity initialization mode like it did the first time,
>> like it's supposed to do. It did go right into "float" mode, so I guess
>> it's okay on a battery that is already strong. That's not good enough, I
>> lost confidence in it.
>>
>
> Sounds to me like it's working properly. You were supposed to fully charge
> the battery, BEFORE hooking it up to the Battery Tender. That is why it's
> called a Tender and not a charger. Read the sheet, again.

Yeah, I know. The sheet is pretty sketchy, but it says the battery must
produce at least 3 volts to get the ball rolling. It has a brain with
software, and there are three modes:
Red light blinks - initialization
Red light steady - charge
Green light steady - float

Red blinked for several seconds the very first time it was connected,
then red remained on steady. Just like the sheets says. The ball was
rolling. But about 2 hours later, no light on at all. That is not one of
the modes.

If the battery was too weak to get the charge process started, it should
have never gone into steady red charge mode.

When I discovered that the light went out, I disconnected and
reconnected to try again. No blinking. Red lit steady for a moment, and
then slowly faded out to nothing.

Now it goes steady red to green, and it might be floating the charged
battery properly. It just won't blink any more, it skips that part. I
wish the Tender had a USB port on it so I could reflash the software.

D.D. Palmer wrote:
> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter (here
> in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery has
> always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that uses
> small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But the
> instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when charged.
>
> How do these work? Can they leave it on the car battery (in the garage,
> but it gets cold) all winter?
>
> Sorry this isn't quite Explorer specific, but I thought it would be a
> good place to get some answers.
Of course the battery is dead after a few months! The car probably has a
clock, that takes juice, probably an anti-theft system that takes juice
and who knows what else. If they don't want the battery to be drained,
disconnect it!! A trickle charger from Sears or Wal-Mart will do the job
but it pays to read the specs before you buy, or have someone who knows
what they are talking about explain the best one to buy. Normally, they
are pretty fool proof, but ---.

Also, I hope they put fuel stabilizer in the gas tank or chances are it
won't start or run well anyway. I leave my truck and tractor for months
at a time, after disconnecting the battery and with "Stabil" in the gas
and they have not failed to start for years. I do keep a charger
available, however, and may hook it up for short while just to "top off"
the battery when I get back.

D.D. Palmer wrote:
> My good friends have a Volvo and leave it in the garage all winter (here
> in the north) as they sun in Florida. In prior years the battery has
> always ended up dead because the car seems to have something that uses
> small amounts of power. This year they got a trickle-charger. But the
> instructions say it's not for long term use and turns off when charged.

Save your money. The dirty little secret is that, in terms of
self-discharge, batteries love cold. All you need to do it make sure it
is fully charged in the fall, disconnect the negative cable, and LEAVE
IT ALONE! This can be confirmed at any of the knowledgable battery
sites, such as batteryfaq.org, batterystuff.org, and others.

Why should you trust me (aside from the links mentioned above)? I have a
1998 Ford Ranger pickup that stays in Maine. I drive it during the
summer, when we are there. In October, I put it in the garage,
disconnect the battery, and LEAVE IT ALONE as mentioned above, while we
go to Arizona. In May, we go back to Maine, I reconnect the negative
cable - and it has never failed to start the engine instantly. By the
way, this is still the OEM battery, now 10 years old.

Yes, cars have "phantom loads" or "parasitic loads" that will kill your
battery if you leave it connected. So disconnect it.

Bill