olderNOTwiser
Member
Can you maintain multiple batteries at the same time from one battery tender/charger?
maintain multiple batteries during winter
- Thread starter olderNOTwiser
- Start date
Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:
I do.
I just time share them on each of the batteries. A few days or a week on each one, gives me an excuse to go out, look at the bikes in the garage and make vroom-vroom noises. I wouldn't try to split the output as that might confuse the tender.
I just time share them on each of the batteries. A few days or a week on each one, gives me an excuse to go out, look at the bikes in the garage and make vroom-vroom noises. I wouldn't try to split the output as that might confuse the tender.
olderNOTwiser
Member
So you don't hook them all up together, just move the leads around periodically?
Correct. You don't really need the charger on there all the time.
olderNOTwiser
Member
I was really trying to be considerate, lazy and cheap. I have a friend with an industrial business who has offered to let me store my bikes in his place. I don't want to bug him too much over checking the batteries. If the storage location is heated, how often during the winter would I have to drop in and change which battery was on the tender?
ionbeam
2 FUN
Correct. On old school wet cell batteries with crude brute force chargers you could get away with gang charging. With the newer AGM and VRLA batteries and 'smart chargers' it is one battery at a time.
Add a SAE pig-tail connector to the battery terminals of each of the machines that needs the battery maintained. Simply plug the charger into the accessible pig-tail as necessary as you move the smart charger from machine to machine.
Edit to add due to cross posting:
Machines like the FJR have a small trickle of power flowing all the time so it needs a top-off not less than every 3-4 weeks. Some machines without an ECU have no power drain when the key is off and can go 2-3 months without really needing a top-off.
By adding a pig-tail it is EZ, lazy simple to move the charger about.
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Depends on how many bikes you need to maintain. You should probably move it about every other week if just two bikes. That would be safe.
But in your case (remote storage) I'd pop for an extra tender. They're pretty darn cheap. Time is money... etc.
olderNOTwiser
Member
I'll be maintaining two bikes and a Spyder. The Spyder is not mine. Can I pull the battery from the FJ or is it better to leave it in? The charger/tender I have is an automatic unit originally for marine use but has been fine for cars and bikes. What is a good tender if I get a second one for the FJ?
Bigbeavk
Bigbeavk
FastJoyRide
Well-known member
Not trying to go all NEPRT on y'all, but I think leaving a tender on the FJR battery all Winter will shorten its life (it did mine). These glassmat batteries do not respond to a constant trickle (even from the SMART chargers) the same as the old lead/acid ones did. That's what my local battery expert told me (after the fact - natch!)
About 24 hours of charging per month of Winter storage will be tons to keep your battery in peak shape and will deal with the small parasitic drain mentioned above, and won't hurt your battery. I've been doing it that way for the last 3 Winters (since I fried my first FJR's battery very prematurely). YMMV
About 24 hours of charging per month of Winter storage will be tons to keep your battery in peak shape and will deal with the small parasitic drain mentioned above, and won't hurt your battery. I've been doing it that way for the last 3 Winters (since I fried my first FJR's battery very prematurely). YMMV
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Bigbeavk
Bigbeavk
I don't leave mine on all that much either. If you are storing your bike somewhere that is not visited to often you could always put a timer on the outlet. I like to at least ride a couple times a month in the winter. Further north may not allow it but ya never know how winter weather will be until it gets here. The leads that hook up the SAE plug are available separately so plugging in one at a time for just a day or so is still an option.
Great advice though on over charging. Now lets not keep talking about winter we still have riding time to get in.
:yahoo:
Great advice though on over charging. Now lets not keep talking about winter we still have riding time to get in.
:yahoo:
wfooshee
O, Woe is me!!
Winter.
Storage.
Heh . . . .
Storage.
Heh . . . .
olderNOTwiser
Member
"leaving a tender on the FJR battery all Winter will shorten its life (it did mine). These glassmat batteries do not respond to a constant trickle (even from the SMART chargers) the same as the old lead/acid ones did. That's what my local battery expert told me (after the fact - natch!) "
Didn't know that! Thanks for the heads up. All my previous rides were lead acid or nothing. My other bike is an '86 so it has the older type.
It looks like the best answer is to just visit, say hello and charge them until the charger says stop.
And to:
"Winter.
Storage.
Heh . . . ."
I try to look at the silver lining.
a chance to do a serious piece of disassembly and service.
And maybe learn a thing or two about this farkle thing I see here ... ;-)
Didn't know that! Thanks for the heads up. All my previous rides were lead acid or nothing. My other bike is an '86 so it has the older type.
It looks like the best answer is to just visit, say hello and charge them until the charger says stop.
And to:
"Winter.
Storage.
Heh . . . ."
I try to look at the silver lining.
a chance to do a serious piece of disassembly and service.
And maybe learn a thing or two about this farkle thing I see here ... ;-)
Blind Squirrel
Well-known member
Take a look at the BatteryMINDer Mine keeps the battery topped off AND desulphates the battery too! They can be hooked to multiple batteries, but it looks to be a PIA to do so.
ionbeam
2 FUN
Man, that thing is as expensive as 4 individual battery chargers but not as flexible as 4 individual chargers to move among various toys.
I did recommend only charging the FJR battery every 3-4 weeks, not 100% of the time. The charger will only need to be on for a couple of hours. This keeps the charger free to cycle among the other toys.
beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
Thank God it's Friday! wfooshee Walt: This comment of yours is why you're My Hero! Making a joke about this Winter thing on a Thursday, no less. I love saying the word Winter, I've absolutely no idea what this Winter word means, living in Phoenix; but it is really fun to say it: Winter, Winter, Winter!!! Ha, ha; what a funny word! jes' saying' Winter, Winter! Hilarious, that just cracks me up!
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beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
Winter! It still makes me laugh! 96F degrees here in Phoenix today. Riding up to the Mountains of Eastern New Mexico to cool off for the weekend. Winter, ha, ha!
ON TOPIC: I rotate a Deltran Battery Tender among mi cinco Motos. I have heard the same as FastJoyRide Dave, you can overcharge these glass mat batteries.
ON TOPIC: I rotate a Deltran Battery Tender among mi cinco Motos. I have heard the same as FastJoyRide Dave, you can overcharge these glass mat batteries.
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FJR919
Well-known member
Not trying to go all NEPRT on y'all, but I think leaving a tender on the FJR battery all Winter will shorten its life (it did mine). These glassmat batteries do not respond to a constant trickle (even from the SMART chargers) the same as the old lead/acid ones did. That's what my local battery expert told me (after the fact - natch!)
About 24 hours of charging per month of Winter storage will be tons to keep your battery in peak shape and will deal with the small parasitic drain mentioned above, and won't hurt your battery. I've been doing it that way for the last 3 Winters (since I fried my first FJR's battery very prematurely). YMMV
I disagree with what that battery expert told you based on a conversation I had with an engineer from Yuasa and my personal experiences with AGMs and other lead acid batteries. All my motorcycles and my Mustang have battery tenders (not chargers) that are plugged in all the time when not being ridden/driven, which ampounts to 7. I have a 9 year old battery still in use. And my recent AGM failed after 7 trouble free years. I have had reliable service for about 6-7 years on average, which is consistent with what the fellow from Yuasa told me when using their Smartcharger or a Battery Tender. He said that generally you get 3-4 years of reliable service from a battery, which doubles with consistent use of a tender-like device. I have never seen a tender cause an early failure of a healthy battery.
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RaYzerman19
Go Wings!
I'm kinda of the in-between school.... I don't think these chargers are perfect, so I will unplug mine after a month, for a week, then replug. It doesn't hurt a battery to discharge a little and cycle...... providing you don't go too far. A normal battery will discharge significantly in a month with the light constant draw, and the experts will tell you that if a battery discharges a half dozen times to less than 50%, you're in for problems and shorter battery life. But I will agree, plugged in all the time is better than not plugged in for a month or more.
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