A few weeks back I asked my highly knowledgeable readership about what is variously called a float charger, battery minder, or battery tender, and received a number of very useful responses. One reader recommended the Deltran product line, and that's what I bought.
I was not immediately sure if this was the Deltran product, but when it arrived, it was indeed. This is the Battery Tender Junior, which is both very reasonably priced and very small, so I can close the hood with just the power cord leading to my outlet. (This is important because the car is outside.) I believe that this won't get a battery fully charged as quickly as the big units, but hey, it's a battery tender, not a charger.
The product is indeed quite small, and while there are detailed instructions, it turned out to be very nearly idiot-proof. I connected red to red, black to black, then plugged it in. (Perhaps the only not completely obvious part of the process, but you would have to be a bit stupid to plug something into the wall where the far end are two pieces of metal that can short together.) For the first few hours, the light on the wall wart was red, indicating that it was charging; now it is green, indicating that the battery is fully charged, and the battery tender is simply keeping on an eye on its charge. Nicely enough, the meaning of all the different LED signals (blinking red, red, blinking green, green) are on the wall wart, where you cannot lose it.
The BatteryMINDer chargers also have a desulfating circuit. I've read that this can sometimes rescue otherwise worn-out batteries, and will greatly extend the service life of infrequently used lead-acid batteries. The cost is about twice what you paid for your charger
ReplyDeleteFortunately, this battery seems to not be in danger of wearing out. I often leave the Corvette undriven for three months, but then drive it daily the rest of the year. This time, it looks like that may not happen--snow seems to be pretty scarce this winter.
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