Which Battery Maintainer Should I Get?
 

My 10 year old Battery Tender gave up the ghost and I need a new maintainer. I've read reviews, but they aren't dated so it's hard to tell if I'm reading a review of the latest and greatest or what was available 5 years ago. What appears to be a recent review touts the Accumate and gives Battery Tender low marks.
What are you all using? What is the latest technology in battery maintainers?

For what type of battery? On motorcycles I've been quite happy with the inexpensive Harbor Freight battery tenders.

I have several CTEK 3300's in use most of the time. They've been great.

Been using this one on all my batteries for a couple of years now.
It brought back to life my Odyssey PC680 on my BMW R1100S moto and it has been fine for the past two years. I keep it hooked up when parked, of course.
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http://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-Charge-12-Battery-Charger/dp/B001JSTM8I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
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While I haven't owned one, as an Electrical Engineer these Xtreme Chargers are awesome, after spending an hour with a factory rep at a motorcycle shop.

the Xtremes don't just trickle charge, but induce a high frequency AC hertz signal to keep corrosion from building up on the plates.

Their technology is used my the military and state police to always have batteries kept in good order.

YMMV, IMHO, blah blah blah.


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_automotive?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=XTREME+CHARGE&node=15684181

I use Batter Minder on all of the aircraft I maintain.
Battery Chargers, Maintainers & Desulfatores | Battery MINDer ®

I use this Schumacher SE-1-125 on all my cars. I had a bad (expensive) experience with the cheap Harbor Fright version.


http://www.northerntool.com/images/p...D5F846A3&01NA=

I have three of these, no issues. You can spend as much as you want, I'm getting by at about $7 each.

Automatic Battery Charger - 12V

+2

+1

I have three cars with the same Shumacher here in Indiana. Two of them, Toyota Tundra and Dodge wheelchair van, are outside all year. These trickle chargers have never let me down, even in the below zero temps we had this winter.

The test of a maintainer is the ability to keep a battery alive over long term storage. They should not be necessary on a daily driver in any winter weather in the populated part of the planet.

I just picked up a battery tender jr from amazon. A few on this board have had good results using it on Odyssey batteries. Ill give it a shot at $30 before dropping all the dough on the Odyssey brand maintainer.

I've been using this one from Griot's, on two seldom used cars, and am very pleased with the results. Especially two cars on one maintainer simultaneously!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1404324476.jpg

CTEK. None better.