What is a battery tender? Battery Tender is the brand name of battery-charging-and-maintaining devices from automotive technology company Deltran.
If you frequently go for weeks or months without cranking your vehicle, a battery charger and maintainer may be helpful in your garage. Keep reading to learn more about this type of trickle-charging device and how it works to help keep your battery healthy in storage.
What Is a Battery Tender?
Battery Tender products and similar devices are automatic battery chargers and maintainers for motor vehicles. Commonly called a trickle charger, a Battery Tender device sustains a battery’s charge level during extended periods of inactivity.
When you’re not using your car regularly, the battery will slowly drain and eventually die. The lower the battery charge gets, the more susceptible it is to damage. This kind of device helps prolong battery life.
The Battery Tender can charge smaller batteries. For larger car batteries, the maintainer tops off the battery as it starts to drain stored energy, helping to keep a full charge.
Many motorcycle owners use a battery maintainer during winter months when they’re not riding as frequently. Classic car owners and collectors may use trickle chargers when their vehicles are in storage. The devices are also great for riding lawnmowers and ATVs in their respective off-seasons.
How Does a Battery Tender Work?
There are different kinds of battery maintainers. The branded Battery Tender works by plugging directly into a standard household outlet, like similar products. You can remove the vehicle battery and connect the two terminals as you would for a jump-start. If your outlet is close enough to the vehicle, you can leave the battery installed.
Some models must be turned on. Others start charging as soon as they’re connected. The device will not charge when the battery is full. It’s only activated when the battery percentage drops below 100%.
Why Should You Use a Motorcycle Battery Tender?
There are two primary reasons to use a battery tender for your motorcycle – prevention of parasitic drains and prevention of sulfation build up.
Prevent Parasitic Drains
As motorcycles become more integrated with technology (alarm systems, GPS, diagnostics), some of these systems will continue to draw an extremely small amount of current from the battery when the ignition key is off. Over a long enough period, this will result in a dead battery.
You can counter the dead battery problem through the use of a motorcycle battery tender. The tender will recognized that the battery has been brought below its fully charged voltage and begin charging the unit until it is once again in the green. Then the tender will shut down. The battery tender will repeat this process as needed automatically.
Prevent Sulfation
Many motorcycle owners live in areas where riding is governed by seasons – in which case they would be forced to put their bike in storage. The problem with this in relation to the battery is that it will naturally lose its charge over time. All lead-acid based batteries will naturally self-discharge over time.
Over a span of two to three months, your motorcycle battery has the potential to self-discharge to the point where sulfation begins to build up on the internal plates. This will result in a significant loss of cracking amps and capacity.
If you use a motorcycle battery tender, the battery will be kept in a constantly charged state, and sulfation would not occur.
Popular Motorcycle Battery Tenders
Ready to invest in a motorcycle battery tender, improve the lifespan of your motorcycle battery and the use of your favorite summer ride? Browse our collection of the most popular motorcycle battery tenders.
Deltran Battery Tender Junior 12V Charger
Known as the “trickle charger with a brain,” the battery tender junior will fully charge your motorcycle battery and maintain it at the proper storage voltage without the damaging effects caused by most other trickle chargers.
NOCO Genius G750 Battery Charger
A smart, fully automatic switch-mode battery charger and maintainer, the NOCO Genius can safely stay connected to your bike 24/7.
CTEK US 0.8 Battery Charger
Offering state-of-the-art technology, the CTEK is perfect for charging smaller 12V batteries, such as those found in motorcycles. And, the CTEK’s unique display allows you to follow the entire 6-step charging process.
Still have unanswered questions about battery tenders for motorcycles? Not sure which is the best fit for your ride? Give us a call at 1-877-775-4381.
When Should I Use A Battery Tender On My Bike?
You should use a battery tender on you bike whenever you are putting the bike away for a period of time. It is good practice to hook your motorcycle battery up every time you store it away for more than a few days.
Hot weather, cold weather, the amount of electrical accessories on your motorcycle are all factors that affect how quickly your battery discharges. By having a battery tender hooked up you can maintain your batteries health at all times.
How Do I Hook Up A Battery Tender To My Bike
The good news is a battery tender is easy to hook up to your bike and to disconnect so you won’t be spending hours in the garage trying to set things up.
Here is what you need to do:
- You might need to remove your battery in some cases to fit the quick connect cable to your battery (this will depend on where your battery is on your bike)
- The quick connect pigtail has two connectors that go under the nuts at the top of the battery terminals (positive and negative). Be sure to put the correct connector on the right terminal as reverse polarity can be dangerous, good tenders will have polarity protection for this exact purpose if you have hooked up to the wrong terminals
- Check the manufacturers instruction manual to make sure you do this part correctly
- Once the quick connect system is connected you don’t have to mess around with removing the battery or the terminals again
- Find a wall socket that you can plug the device into, plug in but do not turn the power on just yet
- Decide on your charging mode
- Once you are all connected up between the device and battery, turn the power and battery tender on and your device will do the rest of the work for you
- Be sure to just check that the smart charger is working as it should with no issues, check the display for any warning lights etc. After that you can leave your vehicle and rest assured your battery is being taken care of
- If you decide not to fit the pigtail system or your charger does not have a quick connect set up, then the process is the same but you will just connect an alligator clip to each respective battery terminal
FAQs
What does a Battery Tender do?
A Battery Tender is a battery charger and maintainer. This device sustains your battery’s charge level during longer periods of inactivity.
How do you use a Battery Tender?
The branded Battery Tender works by plugging directly into a standard household outlet. From there, you connect the cables to the negative and positive terminals on your battery and leave them attached while not in use.
Will a battery tender charge a dead battery?
Yes, the devices may charge smaller batteries. Choose a battery charger for a quicker boost.
Above is information about What is a battery tender? that we have compiled. Hopefully, through the above content, you have a more detailed understanding of How does a battery tender work? Thank you for reading our post.
