Which battery tender to use?
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Which battery tender to use?
Unfortunately I dont have a garage to store my Z06 in. As I live in New York and the weather is beginning to cool down, the car sits covered in the driveway much of the time.It will probably sit for weeks at a time once the weather gets really cold, and the snow comes. I was told Battery Tender makes the best chargers. There are several sizes, which is best for a Vette? Also is there room under the hood to leave it attached and still close the hood? I know these are simple questions but any advice would be greatly appreciated. I would rather hear from a Vette owner than the kid at the local auto parts store.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,812
Likes: 2,029
From: eastern NC
I use the Battery Minder on mine, 12volts, 1 amp...
"BatteryMINDer is the first of a new generation of "Computer-On-A-Chip" technology. It conditions "sulphated" batteries as well as automatically charging any type 12 volt storage battery without ever over-charging."
http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=VDC-12112
...but that's just a personal preference.
There's plenty of room to keep it under the hood if you chose to go that route.
How about one of these,...
http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-50000
... a 1.8 watt solar charger. You don't need to run power to the car. You can have an upholstery shop modify your cover with a clear plastic window in the dash area and your battery will stay charged without power to the car or worrying about overcharge. I use one to keep my trailer battery charged all of the time.
Good luck... GUSTO
"BatteryMINDer is the first of a new generation of "Computer-On-A-Chip" technology. It conditions "sulphated" batteries as well as automatically charging any type 12 volt storage battery without ever over-charging."
http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=VDC-12112
...but that's just a personal preference.
There's plenty of room to keep it under the hood if you chose to go that route.
How about one of these,...
http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-50000
... a 1.8 watt solar charger. You don't need to run power to the car. You can have an upholstery shop modify your cover with a clear plastic window in the dash area and your battery will stay charged without power to the car or worrying about overcharge. I use one to keep my trailer battery charged all of the time.
Good luck... GUSTO
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 970
Likes: 3
From: brooklyn ny
The battery tender from Griots Garage warks great, it has a harness to install on the battery and you just plug it in when you store the car. My Vette sits all winter in VERMONT with no problems.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 2
From: Charlotte, NC
I just bought one for 8 bucks from harbor freight, it's really cheap so I'd thought I'd try it, I store mine inside so far it seems to work. I will test it this winter though and see, we may buy another one for the 02'.
-=Rick
-=Rick
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
Likes: 487
From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
The Harbor Freight Battery Tender is on sale right now for under $9 
These work great and the price is right. I've been using one for 5 years now and no problems at all. You can get them online or at local HF stores.
They use a clamp for the battery posts but if you are not going to be driving the car for a number of months, it's an easy way of attaching to the battery and you can close the hood with plenty of clearance.
These work great and the price is right. I've been using one for 5 years now and no problems at all. You can get them online or at local HF stores.They use a clamp for the battery posts but if you are not going to be driving the car for a number of months, it's an easy way of attaching to the battery and you can close the hood with plenty of clearance.
Cherish your Hopes...
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 13,074
Likes: 236
From: West Palm Beach FL
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07
Originally Posted by c4cruiser
The Harbor Freight Battery Tender is on sale right now for under $9 These work great and the price is right. I've been using one for 5 years now and no problems at all. You can get them online or at local HF stores.
They use a clamp for the battery posts but if you are not going to be driving the car for a number of months, it's an easy way of attaching to the battery and you can close the hood with plenty of clearance.
These work great and the price is right. I've been using one for 5 years now and no problems at all. You can get them online or at local HF stores.They use a clamp for the battery posts but if you are not going to be driving the car for a number of months, it's an easy way of attaching to the battery and you can close the hood with plenty of clearance.
Not a problem to use...
I dont really put StuzVette away...
...but I do have the doors open a lot during cleaning and over several days of cleaning the battery can barely handle the drain...
...Float Battery charger....
Harbour frieght
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,241
Likes: 0
From: phila. pa .usa
Originally Posted by c4cruiser
The Harbor Freight Battery Tender is on sale right now for under $9 These work great and the price is right. I've been using one for 5 years now and no problems at all. You can get them online or at local HF stores.
They use a clamp for the battery posts but if you are not going to be driving the car for a number of months, it's an easy way of attaching to the battery and you can close the hood with plenty of clearance.
These work great and the price is right. I've been using one for 5 years now and no problems at all. You can get them online or at local HF stores.They use a clamp for the battery posts but if you are not going to be driving the car for a number of months, it's an easy way of attaching to the battery and you can close the hood with plenty of clearance.
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Brett Foote
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,841
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by 88sk
just picked 2 up at the store,will these work on Optima sealed red top battery?
Normally 16.95.. on sale for 8.95
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,322
Likes: 2
From: New York NY
Cruise-In VI Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by Evil-Twin
just got one today from Harbor frieght.. on the side it states that is is fine for gel type batteries.
Normally 16.95.. on sale for 8.95
Normally 16.95.. on sale for 8.95
I bought one as well. However, I bought a schumacher tender from wal-mart last year and the damn thing broke after one season. If this harbor frieght tender doesnt last a few years I will invest in a better model.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 1,437
Likes: 0
I bought one of the Harbor Freight ones on sale. Hooked it to one of my boat batteries to test it last night before connecting it to the vette. This battery had a voltage of 12.6 volts when I started so it was in pretty good condition. When first connected it was charging at a rate of 400 ma (0.4 amps). This morning it had tapered off to 30 ma (0.03 amps) which is almost nothing. For less then $10 I may buy another one to keep the lawn tractor battery charged over the winter months.
