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Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: mopargem] #1765649
03/01/15 03:26 PM
03/01/15 03:26 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 28,312
Cincinnati, Ohio
Challenger 1 Offline
Too Many Posts
Challenger 1  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 28,312
Cincinnati, Ohio
Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Never used one and my battery's last 8 to 9 years. I usually just toss the charger on them twice during winter storage for 3 or so hours, and right before I start it in early April. My garage stays at around 52 degrees over winter.




Works for me also.




Same here.... If you do use a trickle charger, watch your water level




Me three, I just charge them a few times a year when they are not being used.

Feels good doing it and you can say "I worked on the car today"

What fun is it having them charged all year long?

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: Challenger 1] #1765650
03/01/15 09:01 PM
03/01/15 09:01 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,100
Tucson, AZ
Ramrod39 Offline
My New Title
Ramrod39  Offline
My New Title

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,100
Tucson, AZ
I have 4 Battery Tenders in use right now. I have the cheap models and the more expensive models. I think all of them are at least 5 years old, some are probably as old as 12- 15 years. No problems with these, altough I did have one that just quit working a few years back.

i would not hesitate to buy another Battery Tender.

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: Sunroofcuda] #1765651
03/04/15 12:08 AM
03/04/15 12:08 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 53
Middle of Illinois
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Ski 61701 Offline
member
Ski 61701  Offline
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Posts: 53
Middle of Illinois
I have one of these for the past 4 yrs absolutely no problem less than 20 bucks. http://www.lectriclimited.com/battery-butler.htm

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: Sunroofcuda] #1765652
03/04/15 02:38 AM
03/04/15 02:38 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,436
Blair County,PA
62maxwgn Offline
master
62maxwgn  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,436
Blair County,PA
Quote:

Do I need to spend $20.00, $40.00, $60.00 to get something good? I need to plug my Challenger in over the winter so the battery stays good. I was reading about $55.00 Dekas today, some people swear by them, others said they had a $20.00 Shumacher that works great.....

Opinions?




Never needed one and my last two restoration batteries are both 9 yrs old,started each car every few months during the winter and let it run for about 1/2 hr.

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: 62maxwgn] #1765653
03/04/15 10:43 AM
03/04/15 10:43 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,584
MD
p d'ro Offline
pro stock
p d'ro  Offline
pro stock

Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,584
MD
Who leaves everything connected? Mine says not to but it is designed for underhood mounting and many people seem to do it with no harm..

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: p d'ro] #1765654
03/04/15 11:37 AM
03/04/15 11:37 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,658
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Andrewh Offline
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Andrewh  Offline
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Posts: 8,658
all of mine are continuously connected, unless I am driving it.
I found a place to mount them so they stick out somewhere and I just connect and disconnect as needed.

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: Andrewh] #1765655
03/04/15 01:27 PM
03/04/15 01:27 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,116
PA.
pittsburghracer Offline
"Little"John
pittsburghracer  Offline
"Little"John

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,116
PA.
Love them. I have a couple of the cheapo Harbor Freight ones and a 20 dollar Schmucker one from Walmart. Using it occasionally was a big part of the battery in my 2003 Chevy Malibu lasting 12 plus years. It was still going strong but I didn't trust it making this years cold Winter in PA so I finally bought a new battery.


1970 Duster
Edelbrock headed 408
5.984@112.52
422 Indy headed small block
5.982@112.56 mph
9.42@138.27

Livin and lovin life one day at a time




Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: pittsburghracer] #1765656
03/04/15 01:33 PM
03/04/15 01:33 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 4,540
Motor City
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6PKRTSE Offline
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6PKRTSE  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 4,540
Motor City
I have never used them in my life and everything I own starts up just fine whenever needed but I do have a heated garage so that probably helps. I don't trust them. I hear too many horror stories of them burning down garages or causing fires from shorting out or over charging batteries.


1963 Belvedere 440 Max Wedge Tribute
1970 Charger R/T S.E. 440 Six Pack
1970 Challenger R/T, 528 Hemi
1970 Charger 500 S.E. 440 4 BBL
1970 Plymouth Road Runner 383
1974 Chrysler New Yorker 440
1996 2500 RAM 488 V-10 4X4
2004 3500 Dually Cummins 4x4
2012 Challenger R/T Classic.
Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: 6PKRTSE] #1765657
03/05/15 12:18 AM
03/05/15 12:18 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,193
Omaha Ne
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TJP Offline
I Live Here
TJP  Offline
I Live Here
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,193
Omaha Ne
On the older vehicles I recommend disconnecting the battery, On newer ones UHHH
http://www.ctek.com/
have good reviews. I have a customer with over 100 cars and he has a BIG box FULL of battery tenders. Schumachers seem to be better thnt the battery tenders IMO. No Experience with the HF ones

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: TJP] #1765658
03/08/15 01:37 PM
03/08/15 01:37 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,267
Morrow, OH
markz528 Offline
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markz528  Offline
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Posts: 4,267
Morrow, OH
My opinion is that they can do more damage than good. In my opinion if you treat the battery correctly and put a charger on it a couple of times a year you will be better off.

I have a Schumacher 3 amp trickle charger on my marine battery and it destroyed the battery by overcharging it. It boiled the water out of it. The charger failed - it never shut off. They sent me a newer version under warranty and this unit maintains the voltage at a significantly lower level than the older one.

I personally would not be using a trickle charger on my vehicles.

If nothing else, they are an additional fire risk.


67 Coronet 500 9.610 @ 139.20 mph
67 Coronet 500 (street car) 14.82 @ 94 mph
69 GTX (clone) - build in progress......
Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: markz528] #1765659
03/08/15 04:01 PM
03/08/15 04:01 PM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 11,678
W. Kentucky
justinp61 Offline
I Live Here
justinp61  Offline
I Live Here

Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 11,678
W. Kentucky
I have several HF trickle chargers and so far they've been fine. My four wheeler doesn't get ridden much so I put an end on the trickle charger that matched the pig tail for my sprayer. One thing about the HF trickle, if you don't unhook it from the battery when you unplug the power it will run the battery down.

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: justinp61] #1765660
03/08/15 11:36 PM
03/08/15 11:36 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,390
Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda Offline OP
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Sunroofcuda  Offline OP
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Posts: 8,390
Highland, MI.
Well, I bought one of the Schumacher ones (one that goes into float mode when the battery is fully charged) & hooked it up today to my Challenger. I connected the pigtail quick connect to the positive on the battery post, & the negative on a chassis ground - all located in the trunk. Plugged it in & we'll see how it works.


No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: markz528] #1765661
03/09/15 12:40 PM
03/09/15 12:40 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,116
PA.
pittsburghracer Offline
"Little"John
pittsburghracer  Offline
"Little"John

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,116
PA.
Quote:

My opinion is that they can do more damage than good. In my opinion if you treat the battery correctly and put a charger on it a couple of times a year you will be better off.

I have a Schumacher 3 amp trickle charger on my marine battery and it destroyed the battery by overcharging it. It boiled the water out of it. The charger failed - it never shut off. They sent me a newer version under warranty and this unit maintains the voltage at a significantly lower level than the older one.

I personally would not be using a trickle charger on my vehicles.

If nothing else, they are an additional fire risk.





I would NEVER use a 3 amp "trickle charger". A trickle charger is 1/2-1 amp and in my eyes should never be left on long term.


1970 Duster
Edelbrock headed 408
5.984@112.52
422 Indy headed small block
5.982@112.56 mph
9.42@138.27

Livin and lovin life one day at a time




Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: pittsburghracer] #1765662
03/10/15 11:06 PM
03/10/15 11:06 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,193
NEW JERSEY
AARCONV Offline
master
AARCONV  Offline
master

Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,193
NEW JERSEY
charge mine every few months...cant see a trickle charger running 24-7..its just another item sucking up electricity...even if it states that it shuts down..its still plugged in..

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: AARCONV] #1765663
03/10/15 11:34 PM
03/10/15 11:34 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,622
Millinocket, Maine
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JonC Offline
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Posts: 3,622
Millinocket, Maine
Over the winter I just start the car outside and bring it up to temperature and let it run for half an hour or so after that. Good for the engine and battery. Also, replace the battery every three years whether it needs it or not.

Re: Opinions on Trickle Chargers: [Re: JonC] #1765664
03/11/15 12:00 AM
03/11/15 12:00 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,311
NJ, USA
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bill440rt Offline
top fuel
bill440rt  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,311
NJ, USA
I have a 4-gang Battery Tender, have used it going on 4 years now.
I pull the batteries out of everything when not in use over the winter (cars, lawn tractor, trailer, etc). I keep them on my workbench and attached to the Tender.
Works for me.

Anyone have any horror stories with these things?

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