Or you can hook them up in series and use a regular 12V charger.

 

We use CTEK chargers this side of the pond. Does it all. I like the look of the Optima chargers, but but they are all silly low voltage!

 

Very informative thread. I have gleaned a lot of good information that I did not know. I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I did want to say thanks.

 

I have used CTEK chargers for years now, got introduced to the in the Corvette community. I have a CTEK pigtail running from my battery (in my 56 F100) up to the kick panel...makes I simple to hook-up if needed. Small size makes it easy to store in the glove box as well.

 

That's no hijack Jim.
I pretty much knew the answer to my original question. But, I know the guys on here have such a wealth of knowledge, so I didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to get their advice. As usual, they did not disappoint. I learned more than I hoped on this thread.

 

OK, so we have begun talking trickle charges. Now educate me on the differences between the brands.
I was at Walmart today and looked at the charges. The only 6V trickle charger was a Schumacher XM1-5 Maintainer, 1.5-Amp for $20.
There is the Black & Decker Battery Maintainer that does both 12V and 6V for $22
The 6 VOLT BATTERY TENDER JR. 1.25 AMP is $35 to $40
Sears has DieHard Platinum 6V/12V Battery Charger and Maintainer for $41
The CTEK (56-191) UC 800 6-Volt Battery Charger is ~$50

The saying goes, you get what you pay for, but the lower cost ones have pretty good reviews.
The Schumacher and Sears are the only ones that I don't have to have shipped.

What are your thoughts? I'm cheap, but I also want it to work.

 

Well, here are my thoughts.

How often do you plan to drive the truck? I've had an Optima Red Top 6 volt on my truck for a couple of years now, and I drive it at least 2 - 3 times a week. But I sometimes don't drive it for a couple of weeks. It always fires the truck right away. I've never had to charge it. So, I never put a Battery Tender on it.

 

Joe, That was my original thought. But since my battery discharged quickly, I got concerned. I'm sure it was just a bad battery. I just ran out and checked my charger and it has a trickle charger......for 12v. The one I stole from my father in law has a trickle charger but I have to return that one soon.

 

I have two Battery Tenders, one on my bike which I seldom ride any more, and one on the Ranger which gets driven more often than the bike, but not enough to keep the battery up.

They are a good idea if you seldom drive the vehicle. But both are 12 volts, so I couldn't use them on Betsy anyway. Now that's a good excuse to drive Betsy more often, eh?

 

There you go. Hey, I haven't seen the through the windshield thread pop up to the top lately. Get out there, go on a nice long cruise and take some video and pictures for us.

 

Let's be sure we're talking about the same things - a "trickle" charger is not the same as a battery "maintainer" or smart charger. All of them work fine but the important thing to look for is a charger that will shut off or switch to float mode, if the truck won't be driven for long periods of time.

 

Yes, you're right. I edited my original statement.

 

Optima = junk...

buy a real battery and never look back.

 

Well, I got my new battery today. I followed Optima's instructions for the parallel charging and the bad battery is now up to 6 volts.
I took a sharpie as soon as my new one came in and wrote BAD on the front of the deeply discharged one so I don't get them mixed up. We will see how they hold up.

Tomorrow I will put the new battery in the truck and see how it spins. The first battery spun the starter slower than I would have thought, maybe that was because that battery wan't so good.