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[dm930]

So I have several chargers to choose from in my garage.  I suspect most or all are made by the Battery Tender company for Harley.
My question is which would do the best and safest job of maintaining the battery without over charging.
These are the ones I have in the garage...

1- Harley 750mA SuperSmart Battery Tender  -  http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/750ma-supersmart-battery-tender

2- Harley 800mA Waterproof Battery Tender  -  http://www.harley-davidson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&errorViewName=ProductDisplayErrorView&categoryId=&langId=-1&productId=13713&storeId=10152

3- Battery Tender Plus  -  http://products.batterytender.com/RV/Battery-TenderR-Plus.html

4- Battery Tender Junior 12V - http://products.batterytender.com/Chargers/Battery-Tender-Junior-12V-0-75A.html

I suspect they are all good but trying to understand the differences and why one may be a better choice for my CVO SG...

Thanks,

Demetri

[FLTRCVO]

I can only speak for one of the Battery Chargers listed and that is the Battery Tender Plus; it came with my 2001 Road Glide as a gift from the dealer and its been working great since with all my bikes.

[dm930]

I can only speak for one of the Battery Chargers listed and that is the Battery Tender Plus; it came with my 2001 Road Glide as a gift from the dealer and its been working great since with all my bikes.

Yes, I guess my questions are more so directed towards the Harley branded chargers.  I have used the Battery Tender Plus and Jr for years with no troubles.   Both my bikes came with the 2 Harley chargers I listed.  I really don't know much about them and would like to see if they stack up with the Battery Tenders.  I am guessing they even may be Tenders branded with the Harley name but one is 750 mA and the other is 800 mA.

[EmptyNapalm]

http://www.batteryminders.com/

I've used one of these for tractor, lawnmower, boat, 2 bikes, and spare car battery for the last several years (one will do all of them at once), then for the snowmobile and snowblower in the summer.  The Desulfating thing seems to work great.  I've had batteries go bad while on tenders in the past, but this not with one of these.

[grc]

Yes, I guess my questions are more so directed towards the Harley branded chargers.  I have used the Battery Tender Plus and Jr for years with no troubles.   Both my bikes came with the 2 Harley chargers I listed.  I really don't know much about them and would like to see if they stack up with the Battery Tenders.  I am guessing they even may be Tenders branded with the Harley name but one is 750 mA and the other is 800 mA.

Years ago the Harley chargers were in fact rebranded Deltran BatteryTender products, but I have no information on the current offerings from Harley.  Look at the fine print on the charger and see if the manufacturer is listed as Deltran.

I've had a BatteryTender Plus (1.25 amp) for the past 17 years and it just keeps on working.  That doesn't tell you anything about the projected results with a new one however, since products and product quality are constantly changing these days.

Any of the chargers you listed should do a good job maintaining the charge on a good battery.  There is really very little difference in the various brands when it comes to the actual charging process (no matter what the slick ads try to tell you), so as long as what you have is working I can't imagine why you would need to go out and buy something else.

Jerry

[dm930]

Years ago the Harley chargers were in fact rebranded Deltran BatteryTender products, but I have no information on the current offerings from Harley.  Look at the fine print on the charger and see if the manufacturer is listed as Deltran.

I've had a BatteryTender Plus (1.25 amp) for the past 17 years and it just keeps on working.  That doesn't tell you anything about the projected results with a new one however, since products and product quality are constantly changing these days.

Any of the chargers you listed should do a good job maintaining the charge on a good battery.  There is really very little difference in the various brands when it comes to the actual charging process (no matter what the slick ads try to tell you), so as long as what you have is working I can't imagine why you would need to go out and buy something else.

Jerry

I had no intention of buying another, just wondering which of the ones I have would be the better choice to use. 

[Royalroadie]

Battery Tender by deltron has always worked for me.    My batteries last at least 5 yrs.

[Para Bellum]

All of the ones you have listed, except the BT Plus, have almost the same max output of 750mA to 800 mA (the Junior is also 750 mA, since .75A is the same as 750mA).  The Plus is 1.25A, which equals 1250mA.  All of them will work fine to maintain a full charge on a non-defective and fully-charged motorcycle battery, but I have more faith in the BT brand than the HD-badged versions, just because HD always seems to reduce the quality for anything they re-badge.  They get a lower price that way; then, when they jack up the price for the "HD tax," they make twice the profit margin of the manufacturer for lower quality. Oh, and you have to buy a replacement ssoner, so they benefit even more!

OK, getting off the  now.

[dm930]

All of the ones you have listed, except the BT Plus, have almost the same max output of 750mA to 800 mA (the Junior is also 750 mA, since .75A is the same as 750mA).  The Plus is 1.25A, which equals 1250mA.  All of them will work fine to maintain a full charge on a non-defective and fully-charged motorcycle battery, but I have more faith in the BT brand than the HD-badged versions, just because HD always seems to reduce the quality for anything they re-badge.  They get a lower price that way; then, when they jack up the price for the "HD tax," they make twice the profit margin of the manufacturer for lower quality. Oh, and you have to buy a replacement ssoner, so they benefit even more!

OK, getting off the  now.

What are the true advantages of higher mA's?  Does it only apply if the battery is weak?

[CVODON]

Just choose one, they will all do the job. Whether it is .75 amp/hour or 1.25 amp/hour either will charge and maintain the battery. Also if you ever have a doubt about one of the chargers built by Deltran take it with you to Bikeweek in Daytona and take a 10 minute ride to the factory in Deland by the airport where they will gladly put it on the bench  and check it, I had one that I thought was fine and when the tech came back he handed me a new one in the package, said mine was not stable, the one in question was a Harley branded one, the one he replaced it with was a Battery Tender branded. Both identical in size and shape. Good company.

[Para Bellum]

What are the true advantages of higher mA's?  Does it only apply if the battery is weak?

What CVODON said.  These are so close they're essentially the same.  Remember, these are to keep a good battery from slowly running down, not to recharge a dead one.

[grc]

What CVODON said.  These are so close they're essentially the same.  Remember, these are to keep a good battery from slowly running down, not to recharge a dead one.

Exactly!  A battery tender's only purpose is to "maintain" a charge, not replace a real battery charger.  The only concern I would have about these things is whether or not they provide too much current when in float mode.  A fully charged AGM in good condition should have an open circuit voltage of approximately 12.8V.  The tenders I'm most familiar with apply just enough current in float mode to maintain that, about 13V.  If it goes much higher, over a long period of time it can damage the battery.  It's not a bad idea to use a volt meter to test them occasionally; with the tender hooked up and operating and the green light indicating it's in float mode, check the voltage across the battery terminals and see what you get.  I think you can get the specs for the Deltran models on their website.  Btw, you don't have to pop the seat and actually access the battery terminals, just use the hot wire to the starter as your positive and any good chassis ground as your negative.  Assuming your battery cables are clean and tight, you should get the same reading you would at the terminals.

Jerry

[coloradotom]

Not sure if you have the battery in the scoot or not - but if it's in, you can also create a thermal break between the kickstand and the floor by putting some wood or rubber in there. It actually makes more of a difference than you would think.

[dm930]

Not sure if you have the battery in the scoot or not - but if it's in, you can also create a thermal break between the kickstand and the floor by putting some wood or rubber in there. It actually makes more of a difference than you would think.

My scoot sits on a indoor/outdoor carpet with a rubber pickup bed liner on top of it as in this pic.  Front wheel is in the Condor Stand and the rear wheel is elevated off the ground with a small scissor lift in the cold weather months.  Is this what you are referring to?

[coloradotom]

Yeah, that's a good setup.