Battery Tender/Charger

[dexter]

Does anyone here use a "battery tender"? I am leaving my sleds in the trailer at camp this year due to gas prices and dont want to arrive to a dead battery. Any advice on which ones are best? I will want to charge 2 sleds at the same time. thanks for the info!

 

[mark]

I use a battery tender jr on my atv, riding mower, corvette and nytro.

 

[Tork]

Battery tenders now have multiple units in one, 2-4-or 6 I believe. However, if it gets around $85 for a dual unit, then I would buy 2 optimate chargers from your yamaha dealer.
I think Walmart has 2 amp maintainance free chargers for like $29
Wont work right to try and charge 2 batteries with a single auto charge charger.

You are thinking smart, a discharged battery that sits for a not very long period of time is ruined by plate sulfation. What you spend on chargers you will more than save on batteries

 

[yamafreak]

battery tenders are the way to go been using them for years and never had a battery go bad I have used them on my jet skis and sleds never a problem

 

[RX1-er-2005]

I use a OPTIMATE III and install a 12volt cigarette adapter/plug and back feed in my 12volt accessory plug in when the sled is parked.

You have to HOT wire the 12volt adapter to your battery with a in-line fuse and voila...its quick to connect and disconnect your charger when you want to ride!

This way your battery is always TOP notch!!!

 

[SlowPoke]

I use a CTEK Charger, it comes with a pigtail that you can install on your battery and then plug in. They are not a trickle charger but a pulse charger. Once the battery is fully charged it will send pulses to the battery which will knock off sulfifacation (sp?) on the plates. I let my father in law borrow it to try on a couple of his trolling battery that would not take a full charge any more and he said it works. He left it on for a week and now are fully charged and holding it for the past 2 months. do a surch to find out their website, I had to get mine off of ebay because they have no distributer around me. Also they make the only charger that you can use on the Optima batteries

 

[rightarm]

Used Battery tenders on both My 03 RX1's for 4 years storing them in the trailer outside with zero issue's.

 

[jimmie d]

I used the Battery Tender Jr., but after a couple years it stopper charging, switched to the Optimate 3 now.


Jim

 

[Grimm]

You could also look into the battery chargers that uses solar power to charge the battery.

 

[dexter]

great info guys.. does anyone make a unit that will charge two sleds? I looked at the optimate but have only found a unit to charge one sled.

 

[Tork]

as I mentioned before battery tender has 2 and 4 bank units.
but jeez, looks like $120 for a dual unit. For that money you would be better off with 2 optimate III's.....really a charger that does more.
Order the optimates from port yamaha and you will get a discount to boot

anyway a pic of a bat tender 4 bank



http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/ ... 6_60947393

 

[thinksnow]

Chargers

Another option is a MinnKota charger for boats. I have used one of these on my motorcycles for awhile now. One of my batteries was shot and wouldn't hold a charge for more than a day. I put it on the MinnKota for a couple weeks and it is still holding a charge for over a monthy now. You can get 1,2,3 and 4 banks chargers. They charge and maintain the batteries.

 

[dexter]

Thanks for the continued input boys... I think Tork is right with the optimate and just going with two of them granted I can get them for under $50 each as two of them with shipping will be about $125 I am guessing. I will give Kevin? a call at Port Yami... they have been great in the past.

 

[WANN4STROKE]

Due you leave them on all the time or put them on a timer?

 

[Tork]

the maintaince free ones you can leave on all the time (battery tender, optimate) as they will stop charging when the battery is fully charged, days/weeks/month later they will turn on again as needed.