![]() ![]() You can buy an actual battery tender from other stores for $20-30.īattery tenders are microprocessor-controlled, so look for the word "microprocessor" in the description. The lowest-cost battery tender at Harbor Freight is $40. It floats the battery for 24 hours a day and never shuts off.Įven the $20 Harbor Freight battery maintainer is a float charger. The $10 Harbor Freight battery maintainer is a float charger. That can be a problem as float chargers can overcharge a battery if the voltage is too high and they are connected for an extended time. The float voltage of this charger was on the high side at 13.65 volts. Most of the charging took place at a very low charge current while in the float phase. The charger was first used with a discharged battery and the charger took more than three weeks to restore the specific gravity of the cells. It only provided a 2.0 ampere constant current phase followed by float. The first charger I purchased turned out to be a two stage charger. The CTEK MXS 5.0 appears to do a much more thorough saturation charge compared with the Battery Tender Plus. There can be differences even among three stage chargers. I have two chargers of this type including a Battery Tender Plus and a CTEK MXS 5.0. There is a constant current phase for the bulk charge, a constant voltage phase for the saturation charge, and a float phase to maintain the battery at full charge. The best chargers for lead acid batteries use a three stage charge algorithm. ![]() Talzara wrote: ↑ Tue 1:03 pmBattery tenders are microprocessor-controlled, so look for the word "microprocessor" in the description. We are located in the Seattle area if that matters. The car is still under warranty so I plan to bring it in to have looked at, but I was wondering if what I am seeing is more likely to be an indication of parasitic drain or a damaged battery, etc. So basically, it seems to drop around 0.05 volts per day so within a week it'll get to 12.2 or so, at the low end where the car will still start, corresponding to what we were experiencing. Here are the numbers:ģ/20 10amđ2.95 Unhooked battery tender after full charge ![]() I decided to run an experiment and see how the voltage changes after it is fully charged. I've subsequently bought a battery tender to charge the car while it is parked. In fact, during the initial trip, the auto stop/start will not kick on like I always thought it did in the past, which I assume must be the result of the car detecting low voltage in the battery. I jumped it without any issues, but ever since, after a week of not driving, it seems to have a little trouble starting back up. Near as I remember, we had no issues until the past winter when I think we may have unintentionally left it in the garage for a month or so. Around twice a year, it is also our vacation vehicle so then it goes on long trips that might total 1000 miles or more over two weeks. Normally, we use it maybe once a week for short trips, say, 5 to 30 miles. The usage pattern for the vehicle is a bit unusual. We have a 2020 Subaru Forester bought just before the pandemic started that is experiencing some problems with the battery keeping charge. Looking for some advice on what might be going on. ![]()
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