Battery Maintainer/Charger

[Jerry Bruette]

I'd like to buy a battery maintainer for my ATV to keep the battery charged this winter, I keep it at my cabin. I've never used one and I'm not sure what to get. I see some that use alligator clips on the posts and some that use rings under the posts and some that plug into the 12 volt accessory plug.

Anyone use one of these units and what are your opinions about how they hook up?

[Frederick Skelly]

I have one that clips onto the posts. Bought it at harbor freight, of all places. It's worked just fine for 3 years.

I'll be interested to hear of others' experiences.

Fred

[Jerome Stanek]

I have the Harbor Freight one also. Why not one of those battery jumper boxes you could keep it in your truck or car

[George Bokros]

Better to keep the battery charged. It will last longer. If you let it discharge I believe it sulfates which kills the battery. You also need to make sure the electrolyte does not go below the top of the battery. The only thing that evaporates is the water which makes the electrolyte stronger on acid and it ruins the plates. Most newer batteries do not have caps that can be removed to check the electrolyte level though.

[Lee Schierer]

I have one of these for my boat and RV batteries. The clips work well on any size battery.

[Matt Meiser]

I had a few of the Battery Tender brand ones similar to what Lee linked to that I kept on the toys and equipment I had when I lived out of town. They worked well, especially in the winter months. The tractor started much easier on cold snowy mornings and the stuff that sat all winter would start right up in the spring (I religiously used fuel stabilizer to help with that as well.) On all my stuff I used the hard-wire harness that Battery Tender includes and had a plug hanging out from the hood or some other convenient spot. I just had to grab the cord of the Battery Tender and plug right in.

[Thomas L Carpenter]

I've used a solar trickle charger on my truck and it worked fine. Obviously it needs to be exposed to the sun. Harbor Freight.

[Chris Damm]

I use Battery Tender Jr. on my boat, hotrod, and lawn mower. The batteries always have a full charge and a bonus they last longer. I had to replace my lawn mower battery after 8 years, the boat battery is 10 years old, and my El Camino SS396 needed a new one after 11 years. They are all hard wired and simply plug in when I put them away.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I finally got one from local boat supply house - after 2 (!CHEAP!) mower batteries in 2 yrs went bad over consecutive winters. With a hard-wired trickle charger on the mower, the next (!CHEAP!) battery was still going strong 4 yrs later when I sold it.

The hard-wired ones are nice, by my standards at least - - especially if the battery terminals are covered/enclosed. You put ring terminals under the posts and leave a simple pigtail accessible. Park the mower and connect the charger lead to pigtail. 'Charger' is a 2"x3"x1" wall-wart with ~15' of cable.

[Matt Marsh]

I use three of the Schumacher smart maintainers. One on the ATV, one on the garden tractor, and another on my zero-turn over the winter. Extends the life of the batteries by years. All three are wired in, so all I need to do is plug them in.

[Mike Wilkins]

Go to your local motorcycle dealer and they will have what you need. Mine is made by DelTran and is a Battery Tender Jr. I use one for my mower and motorcycle and keeps the batteries conditioned and charged. It's amazing the cost of batteries for these machines; approaching the cost of an automobile battery.

[Rich Riddle]

I use the Battery Tender. The advantage to it is that you can add a quick disconnect pigtail to the battery posts. You simply plug and unplug the pigtail that remains in place. They are great. I use several, including one on a skid steer, a 1965 Mustang, back-up cars, and various tractors.

[Jerry Bruette]

Go to your local motorcycle dealer and they will have what you need. Mine is made by DelTran and is a Battery Tender Jr. I use one for my mower and motorcycle and keeps the batteries conditioned and charged. It's amazing the cost of batteries for these machines; approaching the cost of an automobile battery.

This is the one I was looking at on Amazon. Looks like alot of good reviews.

[Matt Marsh]

I use the Batter Tender. The advantage to it is that you can add a quick disconnect pigtail to the batter posts. You simply plug and unplug the pigtail that remains in place. They are great. I use several, including one on a skid steer, a 1965 Mustang, back-up cars, and various tractors.

Same as the Schumacher.

[michael langman]

I too use the schumakers. I have 2 and need a third. They have worked well for the past 15 years or so. For 19.95 apiece it's a heck of a deal.
I also have an older schumaker 1.5 and 6 amp - 6 volt and 12 volt charger.