What a deal

[daddyg]

Ive been wanting a four bank battery tender for awile and found this one at a price I couldnt pass up. The shipping was free on top of that :yahoo: . Just thought I would pass the link on. My link

 

[Knifemaker]

Ive been wanting a four bank battery tender for awile and found this one at a price I couldnt pass up. The shipping was free on top of that :yahoo: . Just thought I would pass the link on. My link

Ah, there it is. Read this when you did not have the link up there...figured you'd see your mistake and correct it. Still to late for me... I just bought a charger this week...

I'm not electronicly inlclined here, so forgive my stupidity, but can't you charge 4 batteries with a single line charger just buy wiring them together?

KM

 

[SLK50]

I'm not electronicly inlclined here, so forgive my stupidity, but can't you charge 4 batteries with a single line charger just buy wiring them together?

KM

If using an automatic charger/maintainer, the first battery to reach optimal voltage

will switch the charger from "charge" to "maintain" potentially leaving the remaining

batteries less than fully charged.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Man they were selling this unit at the IMS show for $90. Guess it was a pretty good deal.

 

[Zorlac]

I'm not electronicly inlclined here, so forgive my stupidity, but can't you charge 4 batteries with a single line charger just buy wiring them together?

KM

If using an automatic charger/maintainer, the first battery to reach optimal voltage will switch the charger from "charge" to "maintain" potentially leaving the remaining batteries less than fully charged.

Unless the wire ganging them together is real thin that's not gonna happen, the terminal voltages will be within millivolts of each other.Besides, it's floating near fully charged batteries not bringing one back from the dead.

I parallel two bikes at a time without any problems.

 

[SLK50]

I'm not electronicly inlclined here, so forgive my stupidity, but can't you charge 4 batteries with a single line charger just buy wiring them together?

KM

If using an automatic charger/maintainer, the first battery to reach optimal voltage will switch the charger from "charge" to "maintain" potentially leaving the remaining batteries less than fully charged.

Unless the wire ganging them together is real thin that's not gonna happen, the terminal voltages will be within millivolts of each other.Besides, it's floating near fully charged batteries not bringing one back from the dead.

I parallel two bikes at a time without any problems.

Perhaps you should go back and read the question again.

 

[Zorlac]

I'm not electronicly inlclined here, so forgive my stupidity, but can't you charge 4 batteries with a single line charger just buy wiring them together?

KM

If using an automatic charger/maintainer, the first battery to reach optimal voltage will switch the charger from "charge" to "maintain" potentially leaving the remaining batteries less than fully charged.

Unless the wire ganging them together is real thin that's not gonna happen, the terminal voltages will be within millivolts of each other.Besides, it's floating near fully charged batteries not bringing one back from the dead.

I parallel two bikes at a time without any problems.

Perhaps you should go back and read the question again.

2 or 4 or N batteries in parallel on a maintainer would make no difference until the float current limit of the charger was reached.

 

[daddyg]

Man they were selling this unit at the IMS show for $90. Guess it was a pretty good deal.

90 bucks. I see them on E bay going for 160 -240 dollars. You should have bought them out. Lol! Could have made some bank.

 

[HYCLE]

Here is a good source for battery chargers/tenders.BatterySpace.com

 

[lnewlf]

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

 

[cota95]

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

Ditto, found them on Amazon at christmas time for 20.49-free shipping. I was trying to think of why I would want a 4 into 1 (single point of failure) and I couldn't.

 

[daddyg]

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

Ditto, found them on Amazon at christmas time for 20.49-free shipping. I was trying to think of why I would want a 4 into 1 (single point of failure) and I couldn't.

This is why I didn't .

 

[Geezer]

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

Ditto, found them on Amazon at christmas time for 20.49-free shipping. I was trying to think of why I would want a 4 into 1 (single point of failure) and I couldn't.

This is why I didn't .

Are you saying that you should not plug too many things into a duplex receptacle? That would be valid for high current devices, but not a problem for a couple BT juniors. I use a surge protected power strip in my garage with a Battery Tender and two Battery Tender Jrs in it and the wires don't heat up at all.

 

[daddyg]

Do what ya want. That's why I don't . All my outlet already have 10 to 12 items plugged in them. I run out of places to plug things in.

 

[drmjf86]

Maybe I'm not understanding something but having purchased my share of Battery Tender products over the years (Plus/Senior, Junior and otherwise) could someone explain why this offering from Harbor Freight https://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html which I've purchased on sale for $6.99 is that much inferior to a BT Jr leaving aside the "HF is sh*t", "Buy American!" rants? I can afford a BT Jr at $20+ but in looking at them I don't perceive a 3X increase in quality of materials/construction and reading the packaging see that they do anything different than the HF product? Educate me if I'm missing something. I don't want to be "penny wise and pound foolish." Mike

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

 

[Geezer]

Maybe I'm not understanding something but having purchased my share of Battery Tender products over the years (Plus/Senior, Junior and otherwise) could someone explain why this offering from Harbor Freight https://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html which I've purchased on sale for $6.99 is that much inferior to a BT Jr leaving aside the "HF is sh*t", "Buy American!" rants? I can afford a BT Jr at $20+ but in looking at them I don't perceive a 3X increase in quality of materials/construction and reading the packaging see that they do anything different than the HF product? Educate me if I'm missing something. I don't want to be "penny wise and pound foolish." Mike

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

Th description specifically states that it is not for use on AGM batteries. On our FJR's? we have absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)batteries. My brother uses the HF charger on his boat battery, but that is a normal lead acid battery with liquid acid inside.

I'm not sure the BT Jr. is any good for AGM either, so I use the BT Plus on my FJR.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Maybe I'm not understanding something but having purchased my share of Battery Tender products over the years (Plus/Senior, Junior and otherwise) could someone explain why this offering from Harbor Freight https://www.harborfre...rger-42292.html which I've purchased on sale for $6.99 is that much inferior to a BT Jr leaving aside the "HF is sh*t", "Buy American!" rants? I can afford a BT Jr at $20+ but in looking at them I don't perceive a 3X increase in quality of materials/construction and reading the packaging see that they do anything different than the HF product? Educate me if I'm missing something. I don't want to be "penny wise and pound foolish." Mike

I'd rather have 4 BT Juniors-sometimes you can find them for @ $20 each.

Th description specifically states that it is not for use on AGM batteries. On our FJR's? we have absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)batteries. My brother uses the HF charger on his boat battery, but that is a normal lead acid battery with liquid acid inside.

I'm not sure the BT Jr. is any good for AGM either, so I use the BT Plus on my FJR.

I've got the HF unit as well as the BT jr. The HF unit specifically says it cannot be used with AGM batteries. I use it on my lawn tractor battery and it seems to work okay. The Jr. specifically says it does work with AGM batteries.

 

[Knifemaker]

BTW...I ended up buying this one from Wal-Mart for about 20 bucks:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SpeedCharge-Battery-Maintainer-and-Charger/13005742#Item+Description

Seems to me to be a good deal.

KM

 

[OldSwartout]

Maybe I'm not understanding something but having purchased my share of Battery Tender products over the years (Plus/Senior, Junior and otherwise) could someone explain why this offering from Harbor Freight https://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html which I've purchased on sale for $6.99 is that much inferior to a BT Jr leaving aside the "HF is sh*t", "Buy American!" rants? I can afford a BT Jr at $20+ but in looking at them I don't perceive a 3X increase in quality of materials/construction and reading the packaging see that they do anything different than the HF product? Educate me if I'm missing something. I don't want to be "penny wise and pound foolish." Mike

Personally, I'm nervous about any small AC adapters (including the battery maintainers) that don't have a name brand associated with them. There have been dozens of recalls over the years of the AC adapters for Laptops and a variety of other devices due to potential overheating and fires. Recalls of the name brand stuff makes the news, stuff from E-Bay and HF probably won't even get a recall because they aren't really being tracked. Of course, having a name brand doesn't necessarily guarantee anything, either. A buddy came back from vacation to find his house gone due to a B&D Dustbuster charger.

As for perceived quality, you can't see the difference in Chinese capacitors that don't have the right chemical components to last beyond 2 years and those that do. Or the difference in transformer wire insulation that breaks down after 2 years of heat and that which will stand up for 20 years. You have to go with the manufacturer's (or importer's) reputation and experience.