Battery Tenders and Compressors

[tesla]

[SIZE=12pt]I see that many of you have a wired connection directly to your battery and using that to power a compressor and charge the battery with a battery tender. I can see the merits of using your compressor leads (Slime in my case) instead of the battery tender leads since its a higher rated fuse, however, isn't there a possibility of damage to the battery tender caused by a potentially increased current from the battery? [/SIZE]

 

[3dogs]

NO, Put a 15 amp fuse and charge or pump air -- either way no damage to anything.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, what he said.

A fuse is only there to protect the wiring. It doesn't do doodley squat for (or to) the devices on the ends (unless it's undersized, then it blows, incapacitating them)

The battery charger current is limited by the charger's circuit and the internal resistance of the battery. The fuse is invisible to the charger

 

[tesla]

I sent an e-mail to Battery Tender and below is their response.

Hello Barry,
We do not recommend using larger than a 7.5 amp fuse in our leads. Doing so could cause damage to your charger.

Thanks,

Dawn Christian

Customer Service/Email Support

Deltran Corp.

801 US Highway 92 East

DeLand, FL 32724

386-873-4872

www.batterytender.com

 

[Fred W]

Ha!! That's funny.

How on earth is a fuse going to cause damage to your charger.

What a maroon.

 

[dcarver]

I sent an e-mail to Battery Tender and below is their response.

Hello Barry,
We do not recommend using larger than a 7.5 amp fuse in our leads. Doing so could cause damage to your charger.

Thanks,

Dawn Christian

Customer Service/Email Support

Deltran Corp.

801 US Highway 92 East

DeLand, FL 32724

386-873-4872

www.batterytender.com

If the battery has a direct short, and you connect the battery with a huge > 7.5 amp fuse in series, then the battery tender will blow 'cause it doesn't have any internal protection. That's why you can't use the battery tender to weld with either. Just sayin' :rofl:

 

[Patriot]

what if one wires in a blade fuse holder on the charger side of the connector and installs the stock 2 amp? fuse there...seems to me all is "fixed" and protected???

correct electron brained ones ???

 

[Fred W]

OK, after the third reading I think I got what you mean. Yeah you could fuse the Charger side of the connector lower and protect their charger., But that ain't what a fuse is there for.

 

[Constant Mesh]

Charger/maintainers (CM) such as the Battery Tenders have current limited outputs. I have a Schumacher C/M and its output is limited to 1.5 amps. I think the Battery Tender has a 1.25 amp output limit.

The in-line fuse between the battery and charger protects the charging wire from overcurrent if a low impedance or short circuit occurs beyond the fuse. The battery is a potentially huge source of current, the C/M less than 2 amps.

The little compressors usually have less than 10 feet of 18 gauge connection wire. If you are going to use the charger wiring for compressor power you would select a fuse based on the compressor requirements. Probably a 10 amp fuse would be a good choice.

 

[Geezer]

Or you could forget about the fuse and use what I carry:

I've used it twice in five years, once for my bike and once for someone else's on the road. Works just fine.

 

[ionbeam]

Or you could forget about the fuse and use what I carry:

I've used it twice in five years, once for my bike and once for someone else's on the road. Works just fine.

How many hours of this

does it take to get the rear tire inflated? :lol:

 

[Geezer]

How many hours of this

does it take to get the rear tire inflated? :lol:

Practice makes perfect. :lol:

 

[Fred W]

:rofl:

I have pumped up tires on road bicycles in the past. You know those little skinny ones. And even that took forever. I considered it part of the "workout" then. Now I do 12 oz curls.

For the cost of an electric mini-pump, I'm there. :lol:

 

[Harald]

Ha!! That's funny.
How on earth is a fuse going to cause damage to your charger.

What a maroon.

What's funny is that He's actually a fuschia.