Quote:
Originally Posted by raymond greene
I was looking on Amazon for a Battery Tender and there are some very mixed reviews. Many not so flattering. Also one review noted that you should buy a Battery Tender to accommodate the type of battery you have, like a gel battery etc. I have used them in the past with good results. What's the story?  |
A float charge compensates for the loss caused by self-discharge.
Self-discharge is what all batteries do when just sitting and not connected to anything.
What a tender should do is provide a compensating current for self-discharge AND a slight amount to compensate for keeping the car electronics alive. If the tender provides 1 amp or so you run the risk of damage.
Some tenders monitor voltage and kick in and off depending on the reading.
My float charger provides a constant 200ma. That amount does a great job on preventing self-discharge and a bit more for the car.
A disconnected battery will still slowly discharge itself. This amount will be slowed if the temperature is cold. But a
frozen battery is bad news all the way around.
Just in case someone does not get my point:
I would not pick a tender whose current is sustained above 1amp.
A disconnected battery will self-discharge over time.