So I bought a battery tender for my motorcycle a couple of months ago and got to thinking....

What about a couple of battery tenders mounted under the hood and wired to the plug so that when plugged in during cold weather, it would keep the batteries in check while warming the fluids.

Anyone ever do this before?

Pros, cons, what tender would I need? I don't see the motorcycle tenders being enough for the larger truck batteries.

Thoughts?

 

Had my batteries plugged into a tender all last winter.. 4 months. One tender to one battery. Forget were i bought it. Had it for years. It is a tender not a trickle charger.
I forget how it works. 12 hours slow drain/12 hours charge.. Something like that.

Both my motorcycles are also on the tender now for the winter. I used one of my bike tenders for my truck last year.. If i remember right i got them at walmart or ebay.

The only battery i had to buy was for my tractor. I forgot to get a tender for that one. It was a 80 dollar battery. That reminds me. I still need a tender for it.

 

I was planning on picking a couple of BatteryMINDers up for my RV batteries and thought of the same thing of adding one to the truck. They claim one unit can connect to multiple batteries.

All :: Battery Chargers by BatteryMINDers.com

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Got one in my truck, my batteries are about done for after 6 years but they are good to have IMO. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

Yea thats what i have on my bike Danskool. Actual tender and not a trickle charger.
I bought the one for my bike at a local Harley dealership. Not bad for $60. But if it works for my truck...I may have to see what I can do and where to mount them under the hood. Although, wouldn't a switch or something to disconnect them from the batteries be needed. Any side effects to the tenders if you keep them connected when the truck is running and charging from the alternator?

 

That is a good question.. Never thought about that.. Unplugging and leaving the tender plugged into the battery.. I don't see what would hurt, But not sure i wouldn't do it unless you got your answer, They are $60.. Maybe call the manufacture and talk to the tech support..

 

Here we go....I also did some snooping around and it seems that most tenders are also protected against reverse flow so they won't discharge a battery if not plugged into A/C. This also protects against reverse flow from the alternator if hooked up all the time to the batteries.

2-Bank International Charger - USA & Western Hemisphere - Automotive - Batterytender.com

This one designed for two batteries. Keeps the mounting area to a minimum.

 

And since the batteries are hooked in parallel......Should only need one. So there is this one...

Waterproof Power Tender Plus 12V @ 5A - Automotive - Batterytender.com

 

Hey fellas, Remember one thing on this...Its usually the slower the charge the better the charge, and less chance of killin a battery. You'd be better off usin a bike charger with no more than a 2amp charge. The ideal one to use would be a 1 to a 1.5 amp charge.

 

Then it looks like the dual station one would be the way to go. Charging rate of 1.25amps v.s. the single waterproof one at 5amps. Guess I could always make some sort of enclosure that would help keep it dry... Or just mount it somewhere inside the cab like under the dash and just run the wires through.