Battery Tenders-Anyone use them?

[Dan17]

My Tahoe can sit for a while sometimes a good week and I was wondering if plugging in a Battery Tender would be a good idea or something not really needed.
I keep a Battery Tender on the bike all the time when it is not being ridden.

Does it sound like a good idea to have the Tahoe on the Battery Tender?

 

[3JFamily]

Sitting for a week shouldn't be an issue. How much do you drive it after it's been sitting?

I use one between two of our cars. One, Camaro, hasn't been driven in over a year and the tender is on it all the time.
The other one, Mustang, might get driven once or twice a month. I'll put the tender on it maybe once a month for a day then switch back to the other car.

I replaced the fuel pump on the Camaro and it started up with no issues after a year.

 

[Bill 1960]

A week I wouldn’t bother.

 

[iamdub]

I'm a fan of maintainers that also de-sulfate. Mine sits for a week, sometimes two. Sure, this doesn't drain the battery. But, there's still a steady load that is constantly drawing down the voltage. The maintainer keeps it charged while also keeping in de-sulfated.

I have the BatteryMINDer 1510: https://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Model-1500-SmarTECHnology-Motorcycles/dp/B00Q3CM2QY?th=1

It's only 1.5 amp, which should be good for a battery that's already in 'good' condition. But, for desulfation, the general rule is to buy as strong (amps) of a desulfator as you can afford. The NOCO Genius line seems to be really good stuff.

 

[swathdiver]

My Tahoe can sit for a while sometimes a good week and I was wondering if plugging in a Battery Tender would be a good idea or something not really needed.
I keep a Battery Tender on the bike all the time when it is not being ridden.

Does it sound like a good idea to have the Tahoe on the Battery Tender?

Yes! Especially if you only drive it a short bit and then let it sit again for a week, the battery doesn't get a chance to become full recharged and there's no de-sulfating to extend the life of the battery.

I went through this about a year and a half ago and one guy on here had about two dozen different kinds. I think he was the president of his local battery tender addicts program!

BatteryMINDer® Model 1510: 12-Volt 1.5 Amp Maintenance Charger/Desulfator Including a 10 Year Warranty

Battery MINDer's 1510 12 volt desulfating battery charger maintainer can extend the life of a battery up to four times its normal span.

www.batteryminders.com

 

[Mudsport96]

I use one on the Nova. It gets driven maybe 5000 miles a year and doesn't see the road from the first of November till the first of May (per the Extended Antique plates that i run on it). And it always fires up in the spring.

 

[MimiAmi]

for the one that is sitting outside, I have a solar panel (1.8w and 103mA max) facing south... connected to the cigarette lighter. Rarely driven in the last year... it starts fine. For the indoor one, the battery is disconnected and trickle charged once a month with a trickle charger "Noco Genius G1100", (corrected model number), it is not a 1100 amp booster, only a trickle charger , rather fancy... because it reboosted the battery capacity, even after 2 months the battery is still at 12.6 volts.
Noco is made in the USA , since 1914...

 

[hcvone]

1-2 weeks and you will be fine, I plug my Callaway tohoe in around May and then unplug it in Nov or Dec when it's that time of the year to drive the truck

 

[Stbentoak]

CTEK tenders are the gold standard of maintainers. Many OEMS use and sell them as accessories rebranded. I have 2 MXS 5.0 ones and they are flawless. I have seasonal vehicles and it keeps them in tip top condition at both 90 deg and 10 deg temps....

 

[Dan17]

Okay, I'm going with the Battery Tender idea. I also had one for our 2 classic which we don't have any more but I'm thinking of this 2017 that sits and has a lot of electronics that can drain a battery over time. My GL is all ways on a BT.

Those that use a battery tender, do you have a plug near the grill that you plug the tender into or do you use the supplied alligator clamps and place them on the battery post each time you put the vehicle on the tender?

Thanks for the tips on the other tender/maintainers, I'll look into them for the Tahoe.