Battery Maintainers

[ubiquity0]

I'm looking at battery chargers / maintainers for my SC as it isn't getting driven very often these days. Does anyone have the 0.75A Battery Tender model? Is this good enough to keep an Optima topped up?
The Optima has lost its charge- reads 5.8V

[Bill Verburg]

Previous post on this topic

[scottb]

I purchased the small Schumacher unit that installs in the car. It cost less than $30, and has a chip in to turn the charger on and off as needed. It works great, and was easy to install. I'm very happy with it.

[singpilot]

Scott! Long time no hear!

Do you have an Optima?

I think there is a 'thang' going on with the Optimas. It may be the way they are engineered', but there is a MUCH better thread...


Here it is....


optima tip worked!!


Good luck.

[scottb]

I'm *NOT* using an Optima, so take my comments for what they're worth. For a basic wet cell battery, however, the Schumacher works great.

(I'm doing good, and you?)

[singpilot]

Doing great. Went over your house today, twice.......

The Schumacher Maintainers on my 944 (with a wet cell) and the MB with same do great as well.

Neither the 15W solar cell, nor the Schumacher nor the Marine-type voltage maintainers worked with the Optima.

Batt quick disconnect works perfectly with the Optima anytime it sits for a week or more.

Tomorrow the 911 goes to Vegas for the day.

[vash]

yea, u..
hit that battery hard for awhile. you gotta wake that stubborn sucker up from its sleep. i bet it will be fine. let me know, if your charger isnt up to the task.

cliff

[ART C.]

I sell and use the battery tender junior. They work well on anything from my little yamaha ttr225 yuasa ytx7-bs up to mom's ES300 Lexus, which I brought back from no charge to full charge unattended. (I had it on my 71 911 all winter outside last year and there were no issues.

[fintstone]

I use a Schumaker on my optima. Seems to work fine. Just don't expect it to fix a run down battery or charging system. There is a reason they are called "maintainers" or "tenders" and not "chargers".

[JoeF]

Ube,
I have a 79 SC. No computer worries! I just use that battery disconnect switch that goes on the negative side of the battery. You just remove the negative cable from the battery, put this switch on the battery post, reconnect the cable to the post on the switch. Just turn the switch when you are done driving and your battery drain problems are gone!
You will have to reset the clock and radio when you use the car again.
JoeF

[JoeF]

Ube,
I just reread your post, I may have given you faulty information.
I have a conventional battery in the SC. I do not know if you can use a battery disconnect switch with an Optima Battery. Sorry.
JoeF

[ubiquity0]

I think a disconnect switch is fine with an optima. I've steered away from them so far as I'm nervous of what would happen if the disconnect switch disconnected when driving. Probably very unlikely but I think this would be very bad for the cars electrical system?

I just ordered the junior battery tender, so we'll see how it goes with an Optima.

thanks all

[vash]

i had a friend (old man on the block) that used this trick. he screwed on of those lightbulb adapters with a standard electrical plug into the lightbulb socket on his garage door opener. then he ran an extension cord down to a standard battery charger which he hooked up to his garage queen, 57 t-bird, everytime he opened the garage the light would light up, which powered his charger and gave his battery just enougth activity that it never died.
old school genious. i could hear him now, "battery tender, smathery flender!"
cliff