[RPM]

A good friend is in Iraq commanding a battalion and his wife asked me about getting a trickle charger for his garaged 03 C4S. She did not want to just get it from the dealer as the cost would be stupid.



I know nothing about them since my 968 goes with me to work every day. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Best Brand?

Vendor?

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[968bill]

The Deltran Battery Tender (newer model now called BT Plus) has worked very well for me on both motorcycles and cars for 5 yrs or so. It puts out up to 1.5 amps but is a "smart charger" varies charge as needed. They list for about $55 but you can get them for around $40 if you look. It has an SAE (?) style plug on the end and has plugs for both cigarette plugs and alligator clamps. If his car's cig lighter is hot w/ the key out you can just plug the Batt. Tender in there.



AccuMate supposedly is a better unit but I've never been able to find one.

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[earossi]

There is a difference between a trickle charger and a battery tender. The trickle charger will continue to put a very small charge on your battery, even after the battery is fully charged. If you are storing the car and use a trickle charger to keep the battery charged, you'll end evaporating all the water in the battery, and eventually, the battery will degrade.



A battery tender, on the other hand, as I understand them.....will essentially shut itself off when the battery is charged. There are a number of brands out there. I found the best prices on Ebay.......around $40 to $50.



I have used one for two years on my car when I store it for the winter. When I break the car out in the Spring......the battery has never been low on electrolyte.



Good luck.

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[968bill]

[quote name='earossi' date='May 25 2006, 09:41 PM']A battery tender, on the other hand, as I understand them.....will essentially shut itself off when the battery is charged.  There are a number of brands out there.  I found the best prices on Ebay.......around $40 to $50.

[right][post="21728"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

That's why I said it was a "smart charger"



A few years ago a motorcycle version of Consumer Reports (Motorcycle Consumer News) did a test of 10 or so chargers. If I remember the AccuMate came out on top but the Battery Tender was also rated a "Best Buy". This was a couple of years ago at least but I suspect they're still good chargers and they're priced very reasonable and readily available.

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