| Deltran Battery Tender Plus - Tool Of The Month
Given a temperate climate, in the past you could park a car for weeks, even months at a time with little, if any, detriment to the battery. Once the car was shut down, the battery just sat there waiting for your return.
That was then and this is now. Today's electronic cars have multiple systems powered up at all times, even when the key-itself soon to become a thing of the past-is removed from the ignition switch. For example, it is not unusual for a contemporary BMW to discharge a battery after three weeks of storage. And I mean discharged, like rock dead, won't-accept-a-charge-from-Three-Mile-Island, time-for-new-battery discharged. Usually, drivers have to experience this for themselves before implementing preventative measures to keep batteries charged up while the cars are stored. Often, the preventative measures they implement range from grandpa's "trickle charger" to a J.C. Whitney solar-powered battery charger, which they proceed to hook up inside a dark garage to some "Gilligan's Island" Professor method involving guava jelly and coconut shells.
Well, That Stuff Won't Work.Trickle chargers actually will charge a battery at a nice, low-amperage rate. The problem with them is they don't stop charging unless you disconnect them. This is why trickle chargers overcharge batteries when used on a stored vehicle. A solar-powered battery charger is great if you've got the solar part working for you, but it, too, needs to be voltage sensing so that it will shut off when the battery is fully charged. Most do not. I don't want to hear about guava jelly unless it involves Mary Ann and a little hut made of bamboo and palm fronds.
Obviously, regular use of a car or motorcycle removes the need for battery-charge maintenance; the vehicle's electrical system will take care of that while the engine is running. But if you store a vehicle, especially a contemporary vehicle, for longer than one week you should use a Battery Tender. Several models are available. The most common is the Battery Tender Plus. Available in 12- and 6-volt versions, the Battery Tender Plus is a voltage-sensing battery charger. The 12-volt unit stands by in monitoring mode until voltage drops below 12 volts, then kicks on at a 1.25-amp charge. When voltage reaches about 13 volts, the unit reverts to monitoring mode.
The Battery Tender Junior is great for motorcycles and a new model, the Waterproof 800, is perfect for outdoor use, although the charge rate is 800 milliamps.
Deltran, a cool, genuine family-owned, made-in-the-USA company, has been cranking out battery chargers for 38 years. I've been using the Battery Tender Plus on cars and the Battery Tender Junior on motorcycles for more than 10 years-with zero problems and outstanding battery longevity results. Deltran's reliable advanced technology battery chargers are available from distributors, retailers and industry leaders. Deltran manufactures units under private label for AC/Delco, Hawker Energy products, Harley-Davidson Motor Co., BMW of North America, Polaris Industries, Lamborghini and Interstate Batteries of America. BMW has a version of the Battery Tender Plus that includes a cigarette-lighter plug (no need for doctors to fuss under the hood) and a motorcycle version of the Battery Tender Junior, which includes that stupid little European plug that fits nothing else.
Unless or until the 42-volt charging system comes to fruition, or we start seeing "decontented" cars, the Battery Tender Plus is pretty much a must-have.