Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Superb waterproof charger - works perfectly December 17, 2008
T. K. Grimes (Knoxville)
This is a solid, well-engineered, and perfectly effective system. Every man should own at least one Battery Tender charging system - if not two. Works great and does the job of saving your batteries & keeping them topped-off.
Love this December 8, 2008
P. Sawyer (Southern US)
This charger is top notch! Long power cord, long charger cord. Keeps my 1966 Mustang's gel battery topped off and ready to roll. I plan to move it outside so it can keep a battery ready on a 1951 John Deere B.
There really isn't any downside to this product. Small, easy to use, well built. Couldn't ask for more!
Best charger period November 16, 2008
Virago95 (N. America)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My collection of vehicles includes 3 BRP ATV's, 2 Seadoos, 5 MC's, 1 scoot, and two cars that are all seasonal or infrequent use. I've had vector 1.5A chargers, Schumakers, etc and in my opinion the waterproof Battery Tender is by far the best I've tried. The quick disconnect with battery rings, alligator clips and even cigarette lighter adapter provides the perfect option for each vehicle/application. With the Seadoos I screw the charger into a tree and run the optional 25 foot cable extension out to the seadoos - each of which is equipped with quick disconnect and battery rings - no weather/water issues and no starting issues for the first year ever. W/ the MC's Last spring I had issues with water boil out of the batteies using the vectors - 1.5A was q bit too fast on 14 and 16 series MC batteries. Tried the BT waterproof and no issues. So pleased I have since ordered a couple more batches for a total of ten waterproof tenders. I especially like the bright yellow/green light which allows for an easy visual check while comijng in through the garage to make sure each battery is fully charged. A worthwhile investment that should pay for itself many times over!
Saves your batteries, trust me October 31, 2008
Michael Chandler
Love this since I store my classic for months and I can always count on a quick start
Heavy-Duty Waterproof Charger, a little slow but very effective October 4, 2008
Charlie (USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Deltran Battery Tender 12-Volt 800 milliamp Waterproof Battery Charger
The Battery Tender Waterproof Tender operates in essentially 3 stages. It first initiates an absorption charge that attempts to charge your battery to 14.5 VDC at up to 0.8A (or 800mA). This bit of information was not readily advertised, so I was concerned when I heard my battery making gurgling noises while the LED was "amber" for the past 8 hours. This battery was only 2 years old with less than 5000 miles and had been maintained since day 1, so I was sure it wasn't a problem with the battery. It turns out that it was nothing to be concerned about since this charger was designed to be used for long-term storage of batteries.
My previous charger, a Black & Decker / Vector 2A "smart" automatic maintainer tried to keep my battery voltage at 14.75 VDC at 2A for over 24 hours. Needless to say, I was concerned when I saw this happening with a brand new Battery Tender. I dug around on their website and discovered a PDF that indicated the Tender would try to reach 14.5 VDC for the absorption phase, at which point it would switch to a trickling charge and finally the maintenance charge. I logged all of the readings and confirmed that once the battery reached 14.4-14.5 VDC, it would start to trickle down finally remaining at about 13.12-13.22 VDC @ 20-100 mA. A modern car's parasitic draw is about 10-50 mA, so the maintenance charge is to compensate for the parasitic draw and for self-discharging of the battery. I discovered the Tender does a much better job at a maintenance charge because I have yet to see the Tender go into the Amber-LED mode, whereas my Vector/B&D occasionally switches back and forth even on a fully charged battery. I logged some data from the Vector/B&D and discovered that once the LED is green, it provides NO current to the battery. In essence, the Vector/B&D just shuts off once it reaches 14.5 VDC - which is not as useful as providing an actual maintenance charge. The Battery Tender wins. Quite a few people have commented that their Sears "smart/automatic" maintainer and other brands constantly switch between the Green and Amber modes. I suspect those chargers are doing the same thing as the Vector/B&D. They just shut off when the battery is "charged", which is not very good for the battery. It needs to hold a maintenance charge to prevent sulfation.
The Tender Waterproof is fully encapsulated with a thermally conductive potting material. This makes the unit quite heavy for such a small device. It uses a quick-disconnect 2-terminal fitting that is commonly used for battery chargers/maintainers. It comes with ring terminals or large battery clamps all fused with a 7.5A ATC fuse. I made my own wiring harness with smaller alligator clips since I don't have room under the hood for large clamps, and I do not want to permanently install a set of ring terminals that can short out or cause other problems in the long-run.
Pros: Battery Tender has an excellent reputation for making reliable chargers. The Waterproof unit is quite durable and is insulated from shock, water, corrosion, extreme temperatures and other environmental variables.
Cons: At 800mA max current capacity, this charger will work rather slowly for 50Ah or larger capacity batteries, so expect 10-12 hours upon hooking it up to a battery before the LED turns green. The benefit of this is that it prevents boiling the battery or generating a lot of heat due to excessive current.
Overall: If you're using the charger in an environment subject to cold or hot temperature swings with plenty of moisture, such as in a detached garage for your motorcycle, boat, stored vehicle, or even a daily driver, I highly recommend the Waterproof unit over the Tender Jr or Tender Plus.
UPDATE:
I decided to purchase an additional Battery Tender Waterproof because I needed another charger for my daily driver and because I experienced no problems with the first unit.
|
