Topic: Anybody's battery tender eat batteries ?

[PeWe]

Was the CTEK charger set to MC battery 0.8A?    Car mode is 3.3A
There is a button(Mode) for MC, Car etc.
http://smartercharger.com/products/batterychargers/ctek-multi-us-3300/

I have a CTEK MXS 5.0 that look similar but max amp is MC 0.8/ Car 5.0A. I have also connected the CTEK comfort connect cable to the battery and quick connect hanging beside my airfilter.  Very convenient to plug in the charger but I have to check the mode since I also use it connected to my car that also has the easy connect cable. No need of using the clamps that can come loose or get the seat banged on them or  need of open the seat...

[Garage_guy_chris]

Regarding my CTEK It was definitely in Motorcycle Mode both times i was always careful about that. It worked fine lots of times but for whatever reason on the two occasions it boiled out the electrolyte of one cell and killed the batteries. CTEK support didnt really have an explanation so i opted to get something else. It may have been the batteries had a problem or maybe a brown out / black out reset the charger or who knows what.

Really in my opinion its a bad idea to leave these maintainers plugged in blindly for weeks or months on end, Now I will tend to plug it in for about a day every 2 to 4 weeks. Now i also always make a point to stick my head out into the garage to see whats up and what there doing every couple hours while they are plugged in.   

[Steve_K]

I have 3 Battery Tenders(brand name) and have had zero problems with them.
1. 2005 SV1000S with the original battery (10 years old) and still has the power to start that big twin.
2. Had a 92 VFR, same thing
Note: above two bikes had sealed type batteries

3. 86 GIXXER  4 years on old style battery.  Now has sealed AGM? battery.
4. 73 750K sealed battery 4 years and still strong

I like my Tenders and I gave them to my sisters and son-in-law for their stuff.

I have heard of other brands and not so good results.

Steve
Steve

[Vinhead1957]

3 bikes 3 tenders no problems   Had battery's last 4 to 5 years. I'd say success. On bikes all winter months

[Airborne 82nd]

I have 3 Battery Tenders(brand name) and have had zero problems with them.
1. 2005 SV1000S with the original battery (10 years old) and still has the power to start that big twin.
2. Had a 92 VFR, same thing
Note: above two bikes had sealed type batteries

3. 86 GIXXER  4 years on old style battery.  Now has sealed AGM? battery.
4. 73 750K sealed battery 4 years and still strong

I like my Tenders and I gave them to my sisters and son-in-law for their stuff.

I have heard of other brands and not so good results.

Steve
Steve

Doesn't get much better than that. A few years ago I would have said BS but not now  with the results I have seen on my own. I entered the AGM's back when they were selling sealed and unsealed so the buyer could do it at home. A lot of post about the unsealed do it yourself at home.

The tender I have is the "battery tender jr" that you just plug into the wall.  No dials or gauges, just a light that lets you know if it is charging.

Several different Battery tender Jrs to pick from. Got a model#
http://www.batterytender.com/Chargers/ 
Just letting people know they are NOT all the same  in the way they charge/Maintain. They do not all have the maintain feature on them. The site above will tell you what yours does. This might help too.
http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/
 

I have not tried my other battery charger yet, but will tonight.  What would you guys recommend charging the battery at ?  1.5 amps ?

[Gregorymoto]

Are you setting the battery on the ground when charging?
If you set it on concrete or just on the ground it will get sucked dry. Aways set in on wood or something,

[strynboen]

yes it are called ground effekt..the same vho makes planes hard to land..and russian maked a boat/plane vho flev/sailed under radar..vith the same prinsips..it funktions only at 1 meter over ground, heigher,then the effekt are lost..

[Juan1]

I have had good luck with the Noco Genius 3500 smart charger, and AGM is the way to go.

[PeWe]

Have the charger plugged in for weeks is not an option for me. Max a week if battery voltage level is low, then a few days every month when not used. My battery is a cheap GEL battery purchased summer 2013. Bike on the road april 2014.

[flybox1]

For what it's worth... I have had good luck with Scorpion AGM from batterystuff.com.

+1.

+1

[flybox1]

Are you setting the battery on the ground when charging?
If you set it on concrete or just on the ground it will get sucked dry. Aways set in on wood or something,

How old are your batteries, man? 
The hard plastic battery cases of today do not allow electrolyte leakage creating a path to ground, like porous rubber cases of old.
The cold of the concrete might actually decrease the self discharge rate.

[JimJamerino]

Battery Tender Jr. did well for my cheapo, Autozone conventional lead-acid battery last winter. Didn't even take it off the bike... just ran the leads to the terminals, plugged it in, and let it be out in the shed. One of the cells lost some liquid, but it wasn't anything special.

[tlbranth]

Curious part is - the battery had enough charge for me to kick start it.   Had almost 12V by the time I got home.  But, after a night on the battery tender is was completely DEAD.

Guess I'll be getting a AGM.    BatteriesPlus does seem high on their prices as well.  Anybody have a favorite ?

I once had a rectifier problem about 30 miles from home which caused my battery to go pretty much dead without me knowing. The first indication was the starter barely clicked. I kick-started it though, turned off my lights and made it home without any problem.
I'll agree with the AGM advice. No maintenance. All my bikes have their own battery tender which goes on as soon as the engine is turned off.
I had 2 Scorpion AGM batteries go dead very suddenly and after a very short life. So I wouldn't recommend that brand. I only buy Yuasa AGM batteries now and have had very good luck with them so far.

[Duanob]

I've got the Yuasa smartshot tender/charger. Never had a problem with it in 3 years. Now my Automotive charger tender would boil batteries. 2amp is way too much to charge a small cycle battery.


http://www.amazon.com/Kawasaki-048493-120096-Yuasa-Battery-Charger/dp/B00873CM08/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1429053138&sr=8-6&keywords=yuasa+battery+tender

[hsas.69]

I really like Interstates AGM. Got my most recent for 60-70 bucks.

Where did you buy that?

There's a local interstate battery center. They have batteries for everything.