dayle97se

Which is a better way of preserving the life of a battery through the cold NE winter?

A) Battery tender?

or

B) Disconnecting the battery?

or

C) both??

4theboy

A) Battery Tender. Prevents any discharging from just disconnecting and has always extended my batteries lives.

I don't bother to disconnect battery with the Tender on it and never had an issue with any of my vehicles or boats.

nicpete

i agree, i use a tender have never had a problem

dayle97se

Good feedback guys. To those of you who have religiously used a tender year round for the entire life of a battery....about how long did your batteries last until replacement?

RollaMo-LT4

Battery tender, with battery still connected.
No need to disconnect the battery

If you disconnect the battery only, the battery is still going to slowly discharge.

astepup

I got my 94 a little over five years ago and it had a new-ish battery in it. Up until this year I used a cheapie Harbor Freight battery tender with no problems at all. Before the Black Hills trip this past July I replaced the battery and got a small Schumacher charger/tender and so far it seems to be doing nicely.

astepup said that

F105d

I use the Schumacher Speed Charge. I have it in 'Maintain Mode' with it connected to the battery still in my 94 C-4. This is my first time that I had to put a car into winter storage, so after doing some research on the subject, I found the Schumacher easy to use.

Heysailor

My C4 is on the battery tender about 3 months every winter and the last battery lasted for 7 years +... Unless you are storing the car for an extended period, like years, use a tender/ float charger.

WW7

I have used different maintainers/chargers over the years , but the Battery Tender has given me the best service ...If your not going to run your car at all during the winter, you can disconnect the battery and hook up the charger.. I take my car out once in awhile in the winter, so I leave my battery connected so as not to lose the information in the computer, if you disconnect the battery the computer takes about 30 miles of driving for it to relearn and run like it should... Either way will work.......WW

9T3VETTE

Another vote for the tender. My battery is easily 8+ years old () and still works fine. It may be getting close to replacement time, but it's sat with a tender for all of those years during winter here in Michigan.

cormorant71

I have had batteries last 6+ years in cars and boats using a battery tender.

I agree with others above, don't disconnect, no need to.

C

Uppertown

Tender used for the last 2 years with no problems. I leave it on most of the time year around.

PLRX

Around three months ago I washed Betty Boop, parked it, covered it up, charged the battery, and disconnected the negative terminal. Last week, I connected the charger, and within few seconds the green light lit up.

I say charge it, and disconnect it for the winter. I used to have a battery tender before the one I have now (Bosch), and it killed a battery. I don't trust those things to stay connected.

davewhtt

I disconnect bring it up to full charge. Same thing I do with my boat. Dead battery will freeze, then they are trashed.

RollaMo-LT4

86C4Z51

Same battery tender I used to use on my motorcycle.

enventr

I use the same tender for 2 years. It's plugged in all of the time and so far it looks good. I do not drive the car much so this really works out for me

WW7

You still have to check the battery every few months to make sure your fluid level is ok.. Other then that it's plug and play......WW

peyc2

I have had a tender on mine for 3 years now. No need to disconnect the battery. I forget the model, but it sits on top of the battery, wire terminals fit in with the normal attachments. its there all the time, double stick taped, never moves. You can run the 110 v cable out the "gills", or I leave the hood slightly open, and run an extension cord under. Car sits with cover on most of the winter. If no rain/snow, every 2 or 3 weeks take it out for a cruise. Never had a problem. I can find model and manufacturer, but its small, its a "smart charger" runs only when needed.

hcbph

I've just been disconnecting the battery in the T-Bird for years. I hook it back up about once-a-month and run the car for about 10-15 minutes and try to move it a little to keep from flat-spotting the tires. When done I unhook the battery for another month.

I've started doing the same with the Vette because I like to use things that have worked for some time.