Battery Tender Vs BT Jr.

[HBerry]

Is it worth it for me to spend the extra money for a normal Battery Tender? Or can I be cheap and just get a Battery Tender Jr.?

TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME!

[benVFR]

Battery Tender Jr. has been working great for me for 3 years now...

I think all you get out of the big one is the ability to use it on a car battery and/or different voltage settings. The Junior model is the right voltage for a bike.

BTW you should be able to get the junior for $20-30 if you're lucky.

[HBerry]

Because I'm stupid/too lazy too look it up, do I need the 6V or 12V version?

[TheIglu]

You will need two 6v ones.

[bigred875]

Originally posted by HBerry
Because I'm stupid/too lazy too look it up, do I need the 6V or 12V version?

12v...all cars and bikes are 12v...only like older VW bugs etc..are 6v...

[patricia929]

arizona motorsports http://www.azmotorsports.com/
is selling the battery tender jr for $19.95 so we just picked up a couple. not sure how well they work yet but i'm sure they're fine.

[Ducrappy]

It was explained to me by the parts guy at my dealer that the Battery Tender Junior is intended for bikes, and the Battery Tender (Original) is intended for cars.

I've been using the Battery Tender Junior for over a year now. Most will suggest to pull the battery out of the bike and hook it up to the Battery Tender for the winter, but I've had great luck with simply installing the Battery Tender wiring directly to the terminals with the battery still installed in the bike. That way, if I don't ride for a few weeks, my battery will be fully charged.

[Matt]

I've used a BT Jr. for 3 years now and they work great. I just plug it in when it's going to sit for more than a couple weeks. So far, so good.

[richw]

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

MY DRZ 400 is on a battery tender junior as I fear being in a swamp with no kick starter

However I am trying red chinese technology

Harbor frieght has float charger for
$ 7.50

I have 4 batteries to season over so ain't spending $130 for battery tenders

Also ultracheap has worked fine for 4 years. Security light timer and 1 amp charger (no purchase required) I set it up to charge YZF battery for 15 minutes everyday

PS In case its lost in grandpa stories If you charge a brand new battery with a 1 amp charge for a day before using it you will almost double its life. This is as opposed to slapping it in a vehicle and driving off. A high initial charge is supposed to damage the plate surfaces

[legalspeed]

Originally posted by richw
CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

MY DRZ 400 is on a battery tender junior as I fear being in a swamp with no kick starter

However I am trying red chinese technology

Harbor frieght has float charger for
$ 7.50

I have 4 batteries to season over so ain't spending $130 for battery tenders

Also ultracheap has worked fine for 4 years. Security light timer and 1 amp charger (no purchase required) I set it up to charge YZF battery for 15 minutes everyday

PS In case its lost in grandpa stories If you charge a brand new battery with a 1 amp charge for a day before using it you will almost double its life. This is as opposed to slapping it in a vehicle and driving off. A high initial charge is supposed to damage the plate surfaces

Right on.

I bought a BTJr. at VIP for $16.95 (before these words of wisdom were bestowed upon us).

[HBerry]

Well I picked one up for 26.50 shipped following patricia929 advice. It should hopefully be here next week and I can throw my battery on the charger for the winter. Do any of you have the SAE connection hooked directly up to your battery and you leave it in there year round. If so where did you mount the SAE connection so it doesnt flop around when you ride?

[Matt]

Originally posted by HBerry
Do any of you have the SAE connection hooked directly up to your battery and you leave it in there year round. If so where did you mount the SAE connection so it doesnt flop around when you ride?

My BT Jr connector is direct to the battery with a 25 amp fuse on it. It sits under my seat in that "storage compartment" (year round) that is only big enough to hold a pack of smokes.

[Ducrappy]

Originally posted by HBerry
Do any of you have the SAE connection hooked directly up to your battery and you leave it in there year round. If so where did you mount the SAE connection so it doesnt flop around when you ride?

As I stated before, I always leave the connector on my battery. It is a fairly short cable (Maybe a foot long or so). On my 996S, the battery was on the right side, just behind the vent in the plastic, so when I wasn't using the connector, I would just stuff it in between the plastic and the battery, and when using it, I would pull it out of the vent and plug it in.

On my current bike, the battery is under the gas tank. I left most of the cable slack in a small area above the battery, and ran the cable down the frame to just above the clutch housing and this works great for me because the bike already has rubber ties on the frame to hold all of its wiring neatly. I just ran the battery tender cable through these rubber wire stays.

[Stoneman]

I have a coupla automatic chargers that I use for everything. Paid like, $20 each at some McAutoparts chain. One of 'em I've had for years, the other is just a coupla years old. During the summer, I keep one permanently connected to my RV's auxilary battery. During the winter, I have the RV's batteries (the main one too), the Corvette battery, and the bikes' batteries (boat too, when we had it) alternating on 'em. Once in a while, I'll toss a charge on the big truck if it's really cold and it hasn't been driven in a while...

I've had outstanding results. I hafta replace the RV's battery every 2-3 years, but the rest have held up well. My bike's still got it's original battery, the truck's is about 5 years old, replaced the Corvette's when we bought it 3 years ago, the main battery in the RV was in it when we bought it 2 years ago...

The Battery Tenders used to be kinda silly priced, which is why I went with the basic automatic chargers...

[richw]

Frugel me
frugel me

I applaud your value


:hellyea: