webdzynes

I have a red top battery and in the high heat of Florida, the volts drop periodically down to about 12 when I'm driving - not always but about every 3 or 4 drives this will happen and only when the AC is cranked...Anyway, to overt my battery losing a lot of charge, I'd like a trickle charger to keep it charged. I only drive the about 3-4 times a week...

(Dealt with this about 2 years ago and had the alternator replaced.. may have to do it again but just not right now)

su8pack1

I use the Battery Tender Jr, and have 8 in use during the winter months.

Racer

Get the cheapest brand name, I have pretty much used them all and they all work just fine.

Ed32

Pretty much everybody in this forum is going to recommend a Battery Tender Plus. "Plus" is the one for cars; you can get it cheap from amazon. Make sure you get the battery tender extension cord too unless your outlet is pretty close to the front of the car.
BT is actually not just a trickle charger, trickle chargers are old school and may damage your battery. The Battery Tender has a floating mode and a proccesor built in so it only charges when needed and at the rate needed at the moment.

Racer

Just a couple points to clarify...

Pretty much all the chargers out are battery tenders nowadays and as I said, they do the same thing.

Tom's_03SVT

C-Tek 3300

lh4x4

I use the $20 Schumacker $20 1.5 amp tender on 12 stored vehicles for about 9 years now. They keep the battery spot on. I ran over one once and it still works.

I had the 05 Vette on one for a year and a half and it fired right up.

I use them not just for storage but the other function is to prolong the life of the battery and you do that by having it plugged in until you pull out of the garage and plug back in when you return.

I simply have not had to replace a battery since I started using tenders.

Don-Vette

Yep,that's what I use,get it at Wallyworld.

R&L's C6

Battery Tender Jr.I ran the extension out under the front grill so I don't even have to open the hood to plug it in. Just drive in the garage and plug it in.

AORoads

everyone has a favorite, but they all work regardless of cost. like the above I have a Schumacher, inexpensive. can be found at Advance, Walmart(battery section), etc.

my friend converted mine to a plug in for the lighter vs. connecting to battery under the hood (both in-car plugs are always hot). much simpler, and absolutely no way to drive off with it still connected. like above by lhx, I keep mine mostly plugged in, summer or winter. keeps the battery up there.

from that occasional 12 you see, it seems like either you're driving a lot of short trips or something is drawing down batt. power in your car. you may want to look into that.

C7Joy

I have several, all different, all work fine!

dvilin

Battery Tender Plus does the job fine for me.

boraxman

FloydSummerOf68

I've never used a battery tender and I drive around in the Houston heat (car sits sometimes for 5 days at a time while taking the XLR to work).

I'm on the stock battery with 66k miles on it and 4 years old. If your battery is having problems I'd recommend getting a new one.

Quick Silver Z

I like the Ctek 3300.

http://www.southerncarparts.com/ctek...belaqqdia77j47

FloydSummerOf68

Do all of you guys who have trickle chargers actually have a history of problems with your battery?

Or do you just buy it to buy it?

Serious question.

Ed32

I used it just in case for a couple of months during the winter. According to some thread in this forum some members go up to 4 to 6 weeks without driving it with no problem.

CheckeredFlag

I have the Schumacker 2/10/50amp fully automatic starter charger that I used on some old Muscle cars in the past- never let me down

FloydSummerOf68

I could understand hooking it up to a trickle charger/tender for extended periods of non-use, like storing it in the winter.

JJC5

By keeping the battery fully charged, it reduces the load that's put on your alternator after start up. Theoretically, that will make your alternator last longer too.