Battery Tender Plus - failed - better choice?
 

I have had my Battery Tender Plus for only 3 years and about a month ago it failed. I contacted Deltran and they had me ship it back to them (my dime) to see if it could be repaired or if they needed to replace it. They have a 10 year warranty.

Well, today they told me it wasn't repairable, and I needed to send them another $16 (on top of the $8 it cost to ship it back to them) for Deltran to send me a new one.

Really - $16 for a warrantied item? I am sure it doesn't cost $16 for them to have these things made in China, so they haven't really warranted anything - they are just shipping one back to me, at their cost.

Has anyone else had one fail - or does anyone have a better product for keeping the old beasties charged up over the winter?

That's annoying. I use this...

DieHard Battery Charger/Maintainer : Exclusively Available at Sears

I do not leave it on all winter. I use one charger to keep about 10 or so batteries charged up. I have not had any issues with my batteries by simply charging each one once every 1.5-2 months.

I'm sure the Porsche charger that Pelican sells is great as well... I'm just a bit too cheap to buy that one :D

I've never had one fail. But, for your $16 bucks, I'm betting you won't receive a brand new one, but rather a "refurb" that was returned by another $16 victim. These things aren't rocket science. A quick component level repair (swap out the bad resistor) and she's off to the next $16 customer....+shipping.

i know an older gentleman. this is what he does (did).

he put one of those lightbulb adaptors you see with a electrical cord plug on the side. he screws it into his garage door opener light bulb socket. replaces the bulb, plugs in an extension cord and plugs it into his regular trickle charger. now everytime his wife opens the garage door, the charger gets powered and it hits the battery with a tiny harmless bit of love.

he swears this works. this only applies if you have an garage door in constant use.

xtreme battery chargers, de-sulfates as well as trickle charges.

note, I don't own one, but for $100 I should after talking to a factory rep for 2-3 hours about them.


Basically they inject a 4K hz A/C signal on top of the 12vdc, to keep the lead plates from building up resistance, new technology (to the civilian market) that military and state patrol vehicles use.


Amazon.com: Pulse Tech XC100-P Xtreme Charge 12V Battery Maintenance Charger Desulfator: Automotive


Pulse Tech Xtreme Charger



Goggle the factory website, very interesting read. All sizes of chargers, from Motorcycle to charging 4 automotive at once.

You might check out this site...they now suggest a unit they consider better than battery tendsr.

Batteries battery, PacificBattery.com Dell Battery Products Compaq battery, IBM battery, Toshiba battery, Nikon battery, Powersonic battery, Yuasa battery, and many more batteries.

I sell C-tek and use one on my 930

This is what I have, and it works great. It "floats" when you have it in the 2 AMP mode. It even has its own cooling fan built in:

Peak PKC0CS 2/4/6 Amp Intelligent Battery Charger
Peak 2/4/6 Amp Intelligent Battery Charger is Micro Processor controlled 4 stage technology and is the faster, safer, smarter way to recharge your 12 V lead acid, conventional and sealed automotive, and marine deep cycle batteries in your car, truck, boat, RV, SUV, motorcycle, snowmobile, garden tractor, and ATV. The 2 amp Float charging mode is great for charging and maintaining vehicles while in seasonal storage. The 4 amp and 6 amp settings allow for faster charging based on the batteries level of discharge. Soft start technology allows for safer charge rate so battery is undamaged. Reverse polarity LED indicator and alarm keeps you safe from miss use. Over temperature and over voltage protection completes the safety aspect. ETL approved.

Amazon.com: Peak PKC0CS 2/4/6 Amp Intelligent Battery Charger: Automotive

actually John, 2 amps is a pretty heavy "float" charge for storage of your Peak charger...........I'd really like some other Pelicans real-world input on the de-sulfation chargers, used to keep aircraft and other planes ready to crank over.

I mean, a wet lead acid battery doen't go "dead" it builds up internal resistance and the electrons can't flow between the plates. That's the real reason batteries only last XYZ years.

Come on, it's lead, and acid, not rocket science. Yes you have to keep a positive amount of electrons, on the plates, hence the trickle charger..........

I swear by the CTek chargers and I use them on all of our cars...

RIZK made in USA.

The best way, is also the cheapest way..Disconnect the negative cable..My regal has been in storage for years now with a junkyard battery..Connect the neg. cable, she fires right up, every time..

I've been using a BatteryMINDer and have no complaints. It lets me charge the boat batteries at the same time, simple and affordable.

i use a yuasa charger:

Yuasa Smart Shot Battery Charger YUA1201501

works like a charm and saved the battery in my 951 and ducati. it also got me about six more months out of the battery in my rover.

it is currently tending the battery in the ducati.

my one complaint is that the alligator clips are very flimsy. VERY flimsy. so, i got some at radio shack for $3 and replaced them.

Me too. I just disconnect the negative. If I feel the mood, I just take it out and put it on the workbench. Why? Just to keep it off of the engine bay, just in case of bad things.

a ziplock baggie is your friend.

We are using CTEKs, picked em up from Apex at the track

CTEK Battery Charger

Weathertech sells one for $59

C-Tek here, but any smart charger is better than old designs as the smart ones desulfate. Revived 3 dead batteries that other co-workers had left for dead.

Also and of utmost importance: The Hemmings guys over at Sport and Exotic Car are gun shy about ALL trickle chargers due to malfunctions causing fires. I believe this was due to cheap chargers.

A little common sense goes a long way here.

Do you need a different type of charger for Optima battery types? I was reading that gel cells need a different type of charging cycle.

I would be interested in the gel battery question as well - both of my toys have Optimas (I get them cheap - so no hating - OK). Do you really need a different type of charger? The Battery Tender worked fine on them until it died last month.

I have had zero problems with my $4.99 Harbor Freight chargers. They are still on sale from Black Friday. I've bought 8 now for myself and friends. No complaints.

Put your fully charged battery on a shelf with the charger on it. Done.

I have never had an issue using battery tenders. 7 get used year around on the cars and bikes.

Damn, did this thread jinx me? My battery tender plus went bad yesterday! :mad:

So, I just got off the phone..ordered the "smart" pulse tec one here...the good news is that they are 34% off today only.

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-restoration/12-volt/XC100-P.html

And yes, they work with the AGM batteries, such as optima.

(edit) Technically, optima batteries are not gel cell, but AGM...Absorbed Glass Mat. But this one is supposed to work well on all battery types. Desulphates through pulse technology as described in an earlier post by Rusty.

Foxie - Optima wants you to use a float charger of a certain spec. on their batteries - OptimaJim posted here (or in 911 technical) about it a few years ago, and IIRC I saw something on their website too

I am still using a BatteryTender+ on mine...

I'm surprised none of the high rollers here bought one of these..."Only" $199.00

OPTIMA® Digital 1200 Charger 12V Performance Charger :: OPTIMA® Batteries

Hello, I noticed your conversation and wanted to offer some assistance. While I would agree with GDNF2ET's inexpensive suggestion of disconnecting the negative cable, I would add that the battery should first be fully-charged, as batteries left sitting in a discharged state below 12.4 volts will sulfate.

gsmith660, you do not need a different type of charger for our batteries. However, we do not recommend charging our batteries on “gel” or even “AGM/gel” settings, because as pwd72s correctly noted, our batteries are not gel batteries. Gel batteries have very specific charging parameters that may not fully-charge non-gel batteries and could damage them over time. AGM-specific, regular, deep-cycle or basically any setting that doesn't mention “gel” should work just fine.

I can provide specific recommended charger settings for those who are really interested, but using a unit that regulates both amperage and voltage will help avoid most of the issues folks run into with cheaper units that don't offer that protection.

The unit pwd72s linked to will work fine on any lead-acid battery, but we will be offering a maintainer (Digital 400) in the first quarter of next year that will retail for about $99 and is ideal for vehicles that only see occasional use. If anyone has any questions about our products, I'l do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest

My B&B partner bought a few of those for our track cars, one of them melted down in the car:mad:
\


We have had lousy luck with them and it has been our experiences that the costumer service sucks.
We just pulled the last one (a replacement for a bad one, from optima) as is wouldn't hold a charge:mad:
So now we have a few $$$ Red door stops since they FAILED and there is always an excuse why they aren't covered:mad:
The only thing that pisses me off more than paying good money for something that is suppose to be a high quality product and it fails, is when the said company doesn't stand behind their product:mad:
Interstate at least stands behind their batteries...

Thanks everyone - I bit the bullet and Deltran promised to send me a new one, not rebuilt, and if it fails in less than 3 years, I don't have to pay all the 'fees' to get another one.

Hey Racer - I asked you not to 'hate' on the Optimas. I know some people don't like them, but I have had excellent luck with them, and the one time one failed to hold a charge while it was still under warranty, I just took it back to where I got it and got a new one - no hassle at all.

Byron...FYI, Optima is owned by Johnson Controls who also owns...Interstate Batteries.

(edit) I almost ordered the $199 optima unit, but their websites says no phone orders. I'm an old curmudgeon who has never given a card number on the net.

The pulse-tec arrived today. Used it on the 8 year old optima red top in my old Dodge 4X4. Seemed to work well...multimeter test has the battery putting out 13.8 V after the pulse tec said it was fully charged.

Byron, if I'm understanding you correctly, you've had bad luck with both our batteries and a battery charger (from another manufacturer) melting down in your car? How old are the RedTops you have right now and what were the circumstances surrounding your issues with them? pwd72s, Jeg's & Summit can both take your order by phone.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest

Thanks Jim...alrady got the pulse-tec which seems to be working well. If it fails...off to Jegs or Summit I will go. Wish I'd thought of them before.

$200 isn't a lot if the Optima charger is as good as it seems to be.

Hello Jim just want to say how much I love the 1200 Optimizer Charger! I have been playing with it for 2 days now and was able to recover an AGM that was very weak. It would go down to 8v under 100 amp load and now after a few cycles of discharging/charging im getting 10.5 volts under load! I was not able to do this with my Schumacher or Battery Tender Plus! They were not designed for that but the 1200 did a reconditioned which seems to have done the trick. Im going to keep cycling with a pulse desulfator attached to get this sucker to 12v under load.

Im so happy you guys made this charger! It's features are impressive and so helpful and is built very well which was exactly what I was looking for in a charger!

They say very clearly that they are maintainers, not chargers. That's why I stated that it's necessary to fully charge the battery before you store it.

The battery was fully charged, we alternate driving the cars and since we have 4 B&B cars on top of my personal cars and I have proper chargers which I use before park em. Plus, we have "Kill" switches in each of the B&B cars and when they are going to sit for any length of time, they are turned off.


Hi Jim,'
Just the batteries, haven't tried your chargers yet.
Basically, the batteries just died, the last one, after being fully charged, would be dead over night (and the car had a kill switch that was off)

This is the last one to die, a replacement one for one that died after less that a year of service, again, this one didn't even last that long:mad:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1356550542.jpg

This one died a few years back, it was an exchange for the one I bought it for for my Carrera, that died after not even a year, and this didn't even last that long:mad:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1356546887.jpg
There is one more in my Cab, that I have stored at a friend's shop in Daytona, and it was dying right before I parked it.

Funny thing is, the oldest one I have, for my 914-6, works fine:eek:

I have an extra Battery Tender Junior.....don't use it as I am down to one vehicle.....probably a year old.

CTEK. Very good stuff.

Byron, were any of those batteries being maintained by the charger that melted down in your car? From what you mentioned of the Group 35 battery, the first one didn't last a year in service and the replacement (pictured) didn't last even a year? If that is the case, that battery should still be covered under the original three-year, free replacement warranty. Did you attempt to receive warranty service again from your retailer?

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest