What battery maintainer/charger?

Battery Tender is one of the most common one
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+1 battery tender

 

That's what I use.

 

I have a porsche made one, made to plug into the cigarette lighter. Is that any good?

 

If you don't need fancy features, Harbor Freight has one for $7.49 that works.
Been working great for 2 years on my 308.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42292

 

I had one before when it was on sale for $4.99 but unfortunately it didn't last

 

Useful info. I have just had a look through the Deltran website and sent them an email with some questions on the international model. Any international users? No dealer in Hong Kong so it looks like I will have to order direct. I am planning to buy 5 "Battery tender internationals" and lots of Ring terminal harnesses to wire up my motorcycles and cars. With the extension leads this looks like the easy way to keep everything topped up in the off season. I am building my dream garage right now and want to make the right decisions on battery tenders

 

The Deltran seems to be the unit of choice. The Schumacher also works okay (so far).

 

I also have one of the older Harbor Freight battery chargers. The newer ones have coiled retractable leads. I have been using it for over 6 years without problems. However, I do not leave it on one battery continuously. It gets switched between the Ferrari, a '69 Mustang, and my DR field & brush mower. So far no problems and it does a fine job keeping the batteries charged without boiling off the electrolyte.

Bill

 

Deltran for me.

Whichever one you decide to use, make sure to leave it OUTSIDE of the vehicle when hooked up.

You don't want to start a fire if it shorts out or malfunctions.

Cheers

 

+2 Great product.

 

Why do you need a battery maintainer? Just drive it every day and you wont HAVE that problem.

Winter a problem? Move down to Florida!

 

Are you kidding ? There's nowhere to drive in South Florida, (too crowded, too many whacko drivers),
unless you're into tracking which I am not.
Had my 355 in Ft Lauderdale for a year, drove only 600 miles. Just had it shipped to Vail, Colorado a
month ago where we lived part time. Have already driven close to 1,000 miles --
Steamboat, Aspen, Telluride -- a fabulous
driving experience even though at higher altitudes loss of power is about 20%. No biggie, just revv
the engine higher and listen to the beautiful crescendo of Ferrari engine music in God's country.
Forza Ferrari and Adios, Florida !

 

That is made by Deltran.

 

To be honest, I have several different ones, and they all seem to work just fine (Napa, Deltran (1.25amp and 800ma), Griot's Garage (made by Yuasa), and Sears. As long as it is a microprocessor controlled, they all do the same thing.

 

If your car is a vintage Ferrari, with no computer/radio stuff to lose programming if power is disconnected, then install a battery cutoff, like the green-knob version available from Griot's and mult other sources for $10-15. A simple and cheap solution; about 2 minutes to install.

 

Too many cars laaaaa

 

+ another for Battery Tender I have two and I do drive my cars all things are not mutually exclusive.

 

But the battery will still continue to discharge, just at a lower rate. Battery maintainers can be purchased for less than $20 now days, so no reason not to buy one.

 

I have 14 of the Battery Tenders hooked up to cars and such. It is nice to unplug and take off knowing your battery is up to full charge. I think you will find the BT is a floating charger so your batteries last longer.

I also use the Ford GT charger for the cars I have onsite for the week. Just a little easier. Not up to the Battery Tender technology but serves a purpose.

Lee

 

I bought mine from Wal Mart for about $15. It comes with 2 or 3 different attachment options, and works great. I plug it into the cigarette lighter.