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Battery tender/Trickle Charger

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draiday419

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I am trying to get a battery tender/trickle charger for my 05 ultra. I am having a hard time of figuring out a good/cheap one to get. I am on a budget, so any help or advice would be great. Thanks
 
a battery tender will automatically bring your battery up to a full charge and then will shut itself off. A trickle charger is similar to a tender except that you control when it goes on, or off. Until this past year, i had always used a trickle charger. Once every two weeks or so, basically when i remembered, i would set the trickle charger at two hours, and walk away for a few more weeks. My batteries last anywhere from 5-7 years so im not sure how much better it can get with a battery tender. Only bonus i see is that you plug it in and walk away from it.
 
Deltran is the OEM for the H-D ones you see at the dealer. They recently went on sale for about $20-$25...WORTH EVERY PENNY! Key is the Battery Tender is an "intellegent" trickle charger, detecting state of battery charge and will NOT overcharge. Many battery chargers and trickle chargers just maintain the voltage at some value like 13 or 14V which WILL overcharge the battery over time.

Learn More About Battery Tender
 
Harbor Freight sells one for around ten bucks, often on sale for six. It seems to work as well as any of them. I have two of them, btw; one for the bike and one for the car.
 
I use the ones from Wally World. First one was $17.88. Lat week $20 for #3.

Go figure...but they do work good.
 
draiday419 said:
I am trying to get a battery tender/trickle charger for my 05 ultra. I am having a hard time of figuring out a good/cheap one to get. I am on a budget, so any help or advice would be great. Thanks
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I understand the whole budget thing as with the way times are and the price of gas on the rise we are all going to have to cut back on everything, even our riding. With that being said some may have there bikes sitting a little longer between rides. So when I say this please don't think I am being mean but when it comes to something as important as the battery do not go cheap. Go with the middle ground. Battery tenders can be bought just about anywhere these days, some are are better than others and some are just junk. With that in mind think of the cost of a new battery from HD, the cheapest one they sell for a big v-twin is around 150 bucks. A middle of the road Battery tender is about 20. I have nothing against Harbor Frieght one of my favorite stores, but lets face it you get what you pay for. Spend the money on some higher quality electronics and pick-up a nice tender from Sears, Pep Boys, NAPA, Snap-On even Wal-Mart, cost at anyone of these stores is around $15.99- 39.99. The thing is you will not have to worry about if it is working or not and even worse over charging your system creating a melt down.
Again this is just my opinion and you all know what they say about opinions.
 
As most everyone has said... a battery tender is the only way to go.

Tickle-chargers can actually do harm to your battery unless used properly; and they can be a "pain" to deal with. A battery-tender will not cause harm if running properly.

Sulfication is the problem with batteries over time when not properly cared for. Battery tenders help to reverse sulfication. You can hook a battery-tender to your bike every time it is parked -- and many recommend you do this. Batteries can last much longer if you do.

Running your bike does not reverse sulfication as some may believe. A battery-tender can.

Schumacher makes a good battery tender. Available just about everywhere for around $20. Well worth it.
 
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