DEAD DEAL Inexpensive BatteryMINDer $14.99

[beemerphile1]

Ran across this deal at Northern Tool and thought I would share. I have two Deltran Battery Tender but have lusted after the BatteryMINDer with desulfation pulse mode.

I use these to maintain the tractor and motorcycle batteries.

I guess I am a battery charger junky because I also have a VEC1093DBD and have upgraded both converters to 'smart' converters.

Apparently the model #12117 BatteryMINDer has been discontinued. It is being replaced by the model #1500 which adds temperature compensation and slightly higher output. Both models have the desulfation pulse feature.

Your choice, the model #1500 at $50 or model #12117 for $14.99.

Northern Tool BatteryMINDer #12117 for $19.99
Enter Keycode 197926 for an additional $5 off.

Edit;
Changed title, apparently the cost has increased to $29.99.

[crcr]

Harvey51 wrote:
Yes, I just ordered four more for friends. The plastic box can be opened but is pretty well sealed . I wouldn't hesitate to leave it underside, but would use tape or something to make sure the seam is sealed.

I'm not leaving it on indefinitely since I found that, after two days on an engine battery, the battery voltage was 14 V and stayed above 13 for two full days.

Thanks for all that information. Much appreciated!

[Harvey51]

Yes, I just ordered four more for friends. The plastic box can be opened but is pretty well sealed . I wouldn't hesitate to leave it underside, but would use tape or something to make sure the seam is sealed.

I'm not leaving it on indefinitely since I found that, after two days on an engine battery, the battery voltage was 14 V and stayed above 13 for two full days.

[crcr]

Harvey51 wrote:
I totally underestimated the things! I checked the voltage with no battery hooked up! There is no voltage when not hooked up to a battery - it jumps to 14.5 V as soon as it senses the battery. The pilot light is red under no load, turns amber, then red as the battery becomes fully charged. The voltage drops to 12.9. These $7 Chinese chargers are smart charging! All four of them work just fine!

I will edit out the bad news in my previous post.

Thank you jrnymn7. I also had an experience like that with a one way battery monitor. Thank goodness I had not got around to complaining to the seller. I had given two of the Minders to a farmer friend of mine and his were still working. He reminded me about the color change and it somehow triggered the thought that I should try with a battery hooked up.

Question about the $5 ebay battery minders -- it looks in the pics like it is a sealed unit. I was thinking of buying one of these and mounting it inside the undercarriage of our TT then hooking it to the battery to maintain the batteries when parked at home. In that location, it will generally be out of the weather, but still might get wet once in a great while if towing in rain. That is why I was wondering if the unit looks to be sealed.

Do you still like these little trickle chargers?

Thanks for any info!

[Harvey51]

I totally underestimated the things! I checked the voltage with no battery hooked up! There is no voltage when not hooked up to a battery - it jumps to 14.5 V as soon as it senses the battery. The pilot light is red under no load, turns amber, then red as the battery becomes fully charged. The voltage drops to 12.9. These $7 Chinese chargers are smart charging! All four of them work just fine!

I will edit out the bad news in my previous post.

Thank you jrnymn7. I also had an experience like that with a one way battery monitor. Thank goodness I had not got around to complaining to the seller. I had given two of the Minders to a farmer friend of mine and his were still working. He reminded me about the color change and it somehow triggered the thought that I should try with a battery hooked up.

[jrnymn7]

Harvey51 wrote:

Harvey51 wrote:
I just got 4 of these $5 ones. They all work, putting half an amp into a car battery or garden tractor battery. Better than I expected.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Car-Truck-Motorcycle-12V-Smart-Compact-Battery-Charger-Tender-Maintainer-FNRG-/390939425642?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item5b05ce3b6a

I withdraw the recommendation!!! Two of the four have already failed after one use. I took them apart and found a complex electronic circuit beginning with full wave rectification of the 120 V input, which part works. Looks like an improvised switching power supply. I reheated all the solder joints with no effect.

Harvey51,

Be sure to contact the seller. You may get a full (or near full) refund, without incurring the cost of returning the items.

I recently gave a neutral feedback (not a negative feedback) on a pair of test leads, and was offered a 50% refund, if I would change it to a positive feedback. So I changed it to a positive feedback, but still said the leads were sub-par in the comments section. Got my 50% back, no problem.

[Harvey51]

I made a mistake and said the trickle chargers had failed with zero output voltage - but I tested without a battery attached. Please see my next post a couple of posts below.

[Harvey51]

I just got 4 of these $5 ones. They all work, putting half an amp into a car battery or garden tractor battery. Better than I expected.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Car-Truck-Motorcycle-12V-Smart-Compact-Battery-Charger-Tender-Maintainer-FNRG-/390939425642?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item5b05ce3b6a

[SkiSmuggs]

Snagged one anyway as it still beats $50. I will use it for which ever vehicle is not in the garage during the winter.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I love marketing these days...

"Oooooo, you didn't blow the secret whistle by midnight! So sorry! Look for more promo-codes in your email if you join our Members Only Club and use your special imaginary cardboard membershio card."

[HTElectrical]

Price went op to $29.99 and the Keycode is expired.

[pnichols]

That is a great BatteryMINDER deal at NT!

I've used the same little least expensive model for years (spent about $40 for it) to keep our RV's 200 amp hour AGM battery bank healthy when in storage:

Plug the RV into shore power, plug the BatteryMINDER's power cord into one of the RV's 120V AC sockets near the front of the coach, plug the charging cord of the little BatteryMINDER into a 12V receptacle in the cab's dash to back-charge the chassis engine starting battery continuously.

This works great ... my Ford chassis battery is now at least 6 years old and shows no sign of weakness.

[jamway]

beemerphile1,

Thanks very much for the heads up on this. I got one on the way.

[mlts22]

Thank you for the info. I just bought one and had it shipped, as I have been needing another Battery MINDer at the S&B.

[crcr]

Flyfasteddie wrote:
I have both. I've had a 12117 for a few years and I've wanted to get another one so I bought a 1500 from the manufacturer during a black Friday sale.

The primary difference is that the 1500 is temperature compensated and the 12117 is not. I prefer using the 1500 this time of year because charging at 40F with the 12117 doesn't bring the voltage up high enough to fully charge.

Another interesting tidbit is that while the 1500 has a slightly higher amperage rating, the box that plugs in the wall is half the size and half the weight of the 12117.

How much did you get the model 1500 for on Black Friday? .. if you don't mind sharing that info.