Best battery tender for car

[ramonesfreak]

When I needed to replace my 20 year old tender or whatever it was called, I chose CTEK because Harry Metcalfe recommended them...I think Jay Leno uses them too? cant recall.

I prefer to not by chinese products when i can but didnt feel like making a big project out of this and just went with what i heard was a dependable product

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by 908/930

We never really answered the quality question. Something I need to ask, with most of you being American why wouldn't you purchase the charger from an American company? That was the reason I ordered the Noco, I try to support North American companies when I can.

If Noco makes chargers in China, what is the difference?

I chose CTEK long ago...because Porsche did. I simply duplicated what worked very, very well afterwards.

[greglepore]

Have several of these $20 chargers for a few years, they work great, and do Li as well, run an Li motorcycle battery in the 911.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MCTXFC7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[908/930]

Yes I did know that Shumaher was a American co, like Noco the name does not sound like it though.

For the record the Noco that I have is made in Vietnam, not China, not sure of my other one.

Flintstone the difference is at least it keeps some more jobs still in North America, design and testing apparently still done here, accountants and lawyers still on the payroll, they pay tax here the list goes on. I Have seen what Porsche has done electrically, not sure I would let them decide my choice.

[Noah930]

I used to use Schumachers. It was nice that it is an American company with a tie to actual racing. But the ones I used are no longer made, so when the Noah fleet expanded, I went with Noco this time around. No complaints so far. Inexpensive and have worked as advertised for the past couple years I've had them.

[911boost]

Yeah the Battery Tender brand are made in Vietnam.

I too go out of my way to buy American, but couldn’t find anything made here.

[GH85Carrera]

It may have been the first project I did to my 911, when I bought it, 27 years ago. I mounted a small battery tender in the trunk close to the battery. It is wired into the battery cables, so I just plug it into the extension cord, and the tender keeps the battery happy. I only use it in the winter when I am not using the 911 as much.

I have a large Schumacher battery charger I bought 40 years ago. It too only gets used on rare occasions.

I try to drive my cars enough to never need a charger.

[herr_oberst]

The last Schumacher I used developed an annoying buzz.

Made in China. I probably bought it in Y2000. Friction welded case, I couldn't even get inside to see if there was a cap I could replace even if I'da wanted to.

[asphaltgambler]

My $.02. Historically, battery maintainers are responsible for more home / hobby fires than almost anything else, when left hooked up and unattended. If something is sitting for some time, I'll connect my ancient low amp (2 and 10) charger for a few hours for a top-off.

[sugarwood]

Spending $100 is crazy.
I spent 15 bucks on a 1.2A trickle charger 5 years ago.
Black & Decker. Still works great.

[KevinTodd]

Two Battery Tenders and 6 Cteks. The two Battery Tenders are very old and still work great. The Cteks are all over 4 years old and also work great--the CTeks are much more advanced for what it's worth.

[fanaudical]

I have the Battery Tender unit that Costco sells. 5 or 6 years without issue.

[slow&rusty]

I own a bunch of cars and initially was a huge fan of NoCo, but I would say I have had 50% of them crap out on me - which is terrible and I am no longer a fan. I will say that their warranty is quite good (2.5 year replacement) once you provide a receipt and ship the faulty unit back to them in AZ, once they do a postmortem and decide that the fault is theirs, they will send you a new one, but you will be without a tender for 2-3 weeks.

Since all the NoCo failures I have tried CTEK and happy with it (but spendy) and also I have had great success with this this little unit from Amazon..surprisingly rugged, stable and no issues, I have three in service currently.

My neighbor swears by his Harbor Freight tender.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWDZ2KQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Nickshu]

CTEK MXS 5.0.

Nothing else.

[Cairo94507]

Another vote for the CTEK units. I have been using them for years and never had a problem.

[kach22i]

Good thread, I have one old Battery Tender and three dormant batteries I'm trying to maintain this winter.

The last cold spell left me in a less than desirable position rotating the tender.

One battery would not charge it was so cold, but charged up after it got over freezing for a day.

[HobieMarty]

Mom is keeping Charlie's car and wanted to swap spots in the garage. She went out to move the car and it was all click, click, click, as the car has not been driven for some time. I am going to her house on Monday to get things moved along and suggested to her that it would probably be a good idea to get a battery charger/maintainer for that car since it doesn't get driven as often as hers. So, what would you all recommend that an 84 year old could operate simply to keep a car battery charged?

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Evans, Marv]

I suppose a "Battery Tender" would be about as good as any for a battery maintainer. I have about five of them around here for cars, my bike, tractors, etc. They're small, light, and the light array is easy to understand. I believe they can be permanently mounted, and like others have a pig tail that can easily be disconnected and reconnected. I've found out over time they tend to stop working and need replacing, although that is usually a period of years. I've had the lighs on the earray stop working, but the charger continued to charge OK. One would most likely continue to function as long as an 84 y/o person would.

[WPOZZZ]

Look for one that had the eyelets for the battery terminals and a quick release. Connect the wires to the terminals and leave the plug exposed. All mom needs to do is make sure the maintainer is plugged in to the outlet and connect the other plug to the car. I like CTEK, and Diehard also has a unit that reads % in digital, and tells you when it is maintaining.

[Baz]

Trickler......is that the same as a tender?