355 Battery

It is well known modern civilizations can not exist without electricity. In fact the seperation between us and our ancestors the caveman is not the invention of the wheel. Our ancestors invented the wheel to get away from their nagging significant other but that’s a debate I do’t even want to get into. What separates us from our cave ancestors is actually the discovery of electricity. Electricity is everywhere. In the air. In the ground. It’s even in our DNA. But having discovered electricity and ways to harness it is only half the equation. The other half is the ability to store and use it anywhere anytime. Thus the creation of batteries. They come in small and large sizes. They are round and square. They are red and yellow. We have them at home. It’s with us everywhere we go. We use it to do work. I. Search for buried treasures. And some of us use it to heighten pleasure. OK guys let’s not elaborate on this one. I was in a coma for a week after looking at pics in the “interesting 355” thread. But batteries like all things in this universe decay overtime. But being the smartest creature we are in this know galaxy, we created battery chargers and we make lots of different ones. Perhaps not such a smart thing to do. Deciding which is right is like picking a card out of a full deck. So here, I am obligated to share my experience and limited understanding to help sort the deck in our favor or at least take the jokers out the possible selections.


Battery chargers,, tinders and maintainers are all the same in that they charge batteries. Electrical Manufacturers like to confuse consumers with the names. They trick consumers into thinking they need all the different ones. I will try to debunk this this idiotic pop culture. But before I go on, a little disclaimer. Comments below is my opinion and only mine. I was not coerced or tortured to do this. I am aware and my mind is not altered by any form of a controlled substance at the time of this writing.


What is a battery tinder, maintainer? Like the name says, it maintains a battery at the charged level when the car it’s in is not in use. A battery that sits for some times will deplete by a certain percentage. A tinder, maintainer compensate the depletion by charging it back up then maintain the battery at full status. Technically speaking, a battery tinder, maintainer is a battery charger that charges at low charging rate. An amp or even less I would say. A higher rate charging device is a battery charger . Most have amps selector switch for different rate of charge. The higher setting charges a battery quicker but not ideal since heat can reduce the charger and the battery life expectancy. The lowest charging setting between an amp or two, acts like a battery tinder, maintainer. THis negates the need for a tinder/maintainer if you have a charger with multiple settings. But realistically, when does anyone ever need a battery charger unless you own a mechanic shop. Your car is a battery charger. You only need to maintain a full charge when the car is not running for a length of time. Furthermore a battery that is prematurely depleted due to misuse likely will not charge back up by any conventional mean. What I’m getting at, from experience, no off the shelf charger able to charge a depleted battery. What I found that surprised me, the charging system in the car is better than any charging device I’ve come across. In fact it’s better than the charging system the auto supply stores use.


After 10 plus years, I replaced the original BMW batteries in my e31 with two yellow top Optima. The reason for the yellow top, my e31 has a huge sound system. In my younger days loud noise was the objective. Today, not so much. The system remains in the car. However less drum in favor of higher surround fidelity. To keep it short, after I replaced the batteries it was in non op. The two yellow tops were completely drained after less than 6 months. I took one to a few auto supply houses. They could bring it back to life so I rigged my nephew 95 bronco into a dual battery charger. It took only 30 minutes. The charging system in the bronco brut charged it back to life1. Enough to start the massive e31 engine and charged the second battery to full capacity. From my experience, I wouldn’t waste money on a battery charger as they have limited use. I would rather get a cheaper battery tinder/maintainer. I’m all ears if I’m wrong or missing something.

 

Gentlemen, I hope you find this informing on your next battery charger purchase.