Battery Tender Jr. fine to maintain my two 6-Volt batteries?

falconman515 wrote:
Can I just throw my Schumacker charger on the batteries every month for a few and be fine?

Or is there an advantage to my batteries by having them maintained and fully charged at all times?

I keep them stored in the garage and the water is still full and fine after about a dozen discharges and charges last summer / fall.

I will be using them again come June / July ... maybe I will hold off and get a battery tender when they go back in storage again in the fall.

But is this really needed if I throw a quick charge on them every month???

You could get close to the same longevity by just periodically charging (depending on overall use through the year).

The better thing about having the Battery Minder on the batteries 24/7 is that it is "set it and forget it" and in the theoretical sense, if the batteries are always being fed low level charge, sulfation can't gain as much foothold.

One thing I noticed, recently, with my bank of 2-6V GC2's is that they respond well to higher voltage charge while in storage. My solar charge controller does the work with it's temp compensation and I was monitoring voltages, periodically, during the Winter. On some cold days, the controller was pushing 14.9V at the fully charged batteries. Last week I checked specific gravities with a hydrometer and the measurements were greater than when put in storage. The electrolyte levels had not changed appreciatively.

Can I just throw my Schumacker charger on the batteries every month for a few and be fine?

Or is there an advantage to my batteries by having them maintained and fully charged at all times?

I keep them stored in the garage and the water is still full and fine after about a dozen discharges and charges last summer / fall.

I will be using them again come June / July ... maybe I will hold off and get a battery tender when they go back in storage again in the fall.

But is this really needed if I throw a quick charge on them every month???

smkettner wrote:
Battery Tender is an excellent brand. However 0.75 amp is a little light for 200+ amp hours of battery. For a few dollars more I recommend the waterproof 5 amp version.

Battery Tender 022-0157-1 Waterproof 12 Volt Power Tender Plus

OK maybe it is more than a few $$$ :(

Ya $55 is Not a "Few" bucks more!!! LOL ... you linked one that is over 3 times the price.

This thing is suppose to a Charger along with a tender.... I don't need a charger ... I already have a battery charger of course.

I'm just looking to "Maintain" A Fully Charged set of batteries?

I am not using this to charge them from 50% to full 200+ amps ... they will already be fully charged with my Shumacker battery charger to full power .... This is just to maintain that ... I would assume this thing can maintain a fully charged battery just fine right???

Am I missing something with a Battery "Tender" ... I thought they we're to maintain the fluctuation in a battery so it will slightly charge it as it gets low then do this again when it loses a little bit of power etc. etc.

Battery Tender is an excellent brand. However 0.75 amp is a little light for 200+ amp hours of battery. For a few dollars more I recommend the waterproof 5 amp version.

Battery Tender 022-0157-1 Waterproof 12 Volt Power Tender Plus

OK maybe it is more than a few $$$ :(

Full function = higher charge settings. If you have a higher amperage charger, you're golden.

Yes, the Battery Minder Jr. is a good maintainer, AFAIK. It is certainly miles above using nothing.

FWIW, I've over-wintered many batteries and left them with no charger on (but fully charged) or used a maintainer. I've had better luck with a trickle charger on them 24/7. Some of this might be environment or location of storage.

Now, my trailer is stored outside with two banks being charged by the solar module. They seemed to have come through the Winter in fine shape. That's a good thing as I don't like lugging around batteries so much, anymore.

westend wrote:
These maintainers work well to float charge a battery or two but the battery will still need some higher level charging to keep the electrolyte from stratifying and to stave off sulphation.
For a few dollars more, a guy could probably buy a full function charger that would accomplish it all.

Agreed with Pianotuna, solar is the best, especially with a temperature compensated controller.

What is a full function charger? I have an actual "Battery Charger" ... I just wanted something to maintain them while being stored is all.

I will of course throw a full charge on the batteries before the start of the camping season and then do so throughout the summer ... this is more the 6 plus months of them sitting in the corner of my garage is all and I thought this was exactly what that was for ... to keep it "Maintained" till actual use?

Is there something different I should be looking at for this function?

I have just been throwing a quick charge on them every other months while being stored.

Solar does nothing this purpose as they in my garage and not on my rig ... I know solar is best for when they are installed on my trailer for the summer time to maintain and charge.

Thanks so much for the info .

These maintainers work well to float charge a battery or two but the battery will still need some higher level charging to keep the electrolyte from stratifying and to stave off sulphation.
For a few dollars more, a guy could probably buy a full function charger that would accomplish it all.

Agreed with Pianotuna, solar is the best, especially with a temperature compensated controller.

Ive used those on 12v batteries for years. They work great. 5 or so years ago I started using these from harbor freight. They are on sale all the time, i always have extra on hand. They work great as well.

http://m.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html

Tender jr will be fine. Solar would be even better.