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Paul Workman · 01-05-2015

For maintenance:

I have the original "smart" charger; the Battery Tender(s) on all but one car. The battery on my wife's 69 C3 has been on the BT for 9 years, come spring, and it still cranks that 11:1 compression L46 like new. These chargers are 800 mA for the single chargers to 1.5 A for the dual output charger (one).

For charging:

For actual charging, I've had an inexpensive, automatic, Black and Decker (smart) charger for over 12 years. It can be configured for several types of batteries (wet, gel, etc) and max charge rates from 4, 10, 20, & 40 amperes, as well as several other battery conditioning modes as well: a decent unit for home/hobby use. It too is a smart charger, in that it will monitor and shut off when the battery is at full charge. And, it will periodically turn on to keep the battery topped off and prevent sulfating. (Also has a de-sulfating mode, if the battery is in such condition to require more than just preventative maintenance.)

For "dead" batteries:

I've had good success reviving batteries that appear to be totally dead, due to leaving the lights on (or the like), by using the old fashioned "dumb" charger: nothing automatic about it. Once the battery takes on enough of a charge to satisfy the threshold level, then the automatic chargers will recognize that fact and take over.

01-05-2015	#9
Paul Workman Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Squires (near Ava MO in the Mark Twain N'tl Forest) - Missouri Posts: 6,466	Re: Suggestions for Battery Tender For maintenance: I have the original "smart" charger; the Battery Tender(s) on all but one car. The battery on my wife's 69 C3 has been on the BT for 9 years, come spring, and it still cranks that 11:1 compression L46 like new. These chargers are 800 mA for the single chargers to 1.5 A for the dual output charger (one). For charging: For actual charging, I've had an inexpensive, automatic, *Black and Decker* (smart) charger for over 12 years. It can be configured for several types of batteries (wet, gel, etc) and max charge rates from 4, 10, 20, & 40 amperes, as well as several other battery conditioning modes as well: a decent unit for home/hobby use. It too is a smart charger, in that it will monitor and shut off when the battery is at full charge. And, it will periodically turn on to keep the battery topped off and prevent sulfating. (Also has a de-sulfating mode, if the battery is in such condition to require more than just preventative maintenance.) For "dead" batteries: I've had good success reviving batteries that appear to be totally dead, due to leaving the lights on (or the like), by using the old fashioned "dumb" charger: nothing automatic about it. Once the battery takes on enough of a charge to satisfy the threshold level, then the automatic chargers will recognize that fact and take over.