Arguments For and Against Continuous float/maintenance Charg

[SECoda]

Old debate but I have brand new Battery Tender Jr brand chargers and was wondering what other folks experiences are that leave them on for extended periods (several months). I still plan to actually run the engines several times per month but they will be on the charger basically continuously. Experiences? I have heard the negatives from using some cheap (HF) float chargers.

From the Battery Tender web site:
Arguments For and Against Continuous float/maintenance Charging: From the preliminary background on batteries and chargers, positions can be taken for or against continuous float charging.

The main argument against continuous float charging is that the battery will: a) be undercharged, or b) be overcharged, and / or c) be permanently damaged as a result of a) or b).

The main argument for continuous float charging one of convenience in that it is better to have the battery fully charged when you need to use it.

An automatic, well-regulated, temperature-compensated charger can keep the battery fully charged and at the same time minimize the risks of long-term damage to the battery due to either under-charging or over-charging. The alternative is to let the battery internal losses run their course, which for most batteries means that they are fully discharged within a few months. If you forget to recharge them periodically, and they become severely over-discharged, even due to only internal losses, the plates will become severely sulfated. For many batteries, that means that they are permanently damaged. Recommendations for Using the Battery Tender Plus in Continuous Float Mode Charging: The line regulation characteristics of the Battery Tender Plus are excellent; less than 1% for line voltage between 115 VAC and 125 VAC. This charger is temperature compensated and it has a special charging algorithm optimized for sealed, gas-recombinant, AGM, lead acid batteries. Numerous motorcycle owners have reported to Deltran over the years that their batteries have lasted 3 years or more. Before using the Battery Tender charger, they would have to replace their batteries as often as every 6 months.

[stryder123]

My experience is that before I started the use of the battery tender I had to replace my battery almost every spring. If I use a trickle charger I always ended up over charging the battery and boiled it dry, Since I started with the battery tender 5 years ago I have never replaced a single battery. Works great on the riding lawn mower put away for the winter also.

[SECoda]

Good news. I bought three of them.

[gn2]

Never used a battery tender/charger, never had to replace a battery.

[yak]

The words are sometimes interchangeable. Some of the modern trickle chargers do not overcharge the battery (and boil off the water). You want to verify that the tender/charger has the ability to sense that it is about to overcharge the battery.
The older trickle chargers gave a constant charge which had the ability to ruin the battery if left too long. Not every battery was ruined by forgetting to remove the charger in the old days.
I am getting this information 2nd hand. I called a mechanic who has more cars than he needs. He has chargers on everything that he doesn't drive often.

[SECoda]

Now I have two scooters, an ATV, and a RV w/ large trailer battery removed. I need one more.

[iceman]

Bought an Optimate 6 - restored my car battery that had been left out for well over a year in a car I don't use, and was barely above 2v's. The Optimate went though the full test, de-sulphate, stepped charge, pulse current and final test. Battery has been disconnected for some time now but kept in-doors and has only dropped a few tens of mv's - good so far!
The Optimate, like others, is intelligent and claims to trickle charge batteries for years if needed keeping them in top condtion, and hope it will work with the PCX battery should that prove necessary. The optimate 4 through v6 is fine for scooter/bike batteries, but I bought the v6 because I knew my car battery was in a dire state and the latest version recovers more batteries than prior versions, and it's plug and play - no settings (de-sulphate mode, etc, or anything else to set - it detects and changes everything automatically).

[sendler2112]

Any of the modern battery chargers will be smart and won't boil the battery. The cheapest 400ma charger is all that is really needed to replace any self discharge or key off draw from clocks ect. I don't use them and just start my bikes (or ride them) once every two months in winter. But if you leave a bike for four months the battery will probably be weak when you try to start it. And if it has carbs, good luck cranking it enough to get the fuel flowing.

[kcpcx]

^^ optimates are the bomb diggity