Trying to decide which battery tender I need.
The car goes for as much as 3 weeks without driving in the winter.
Battery Tender Junior

021-0123
or

Battery Tender Plus
Battery Tender® Plus 12V @ 1.25A

Never used one before. Do I leave the hood up (even a little) while the
tender is attached?

Appreciate the advice from those of you who use them.

 

Links don't work, leave hood closed, make sure you do not pinch power cable.

.

 

Links fixed.
Thanks for the reply, Ghost.

 

I wonder why the more expensive one is not for sale in California or Oregon? I would buy a quality one. Read the ratings.

 

I've had good luck with the Battery Tender Jr. for the past 5-6 years. Very high quality product for around $25.
I route the cord through the rear of the hood and put the hood down but unlatched.

 

We go to Florida for February & March. I had bought a Schumacher Battery Tender years ago. Used it on my 87 Mustang. FRIED the battery two years in a row. Sears did replace one, the first year. THREW that thing away and just disconnected the Neg. terminal for the rest of the time I had the Mustang. OK now, with the electronics in this XF I was a little nervous disconnecting the battery for two months. After checking around I came to the conclusion the best out there was the "Battery Tender". I went for the bigger one you show. I have contacted the Company because of concerns and have been assured that that unit is designed for just what I wanted. I bring the leads up through a hole in the car cover, close the hood completely with the charger outside the cover. It has been great so far. Just my $.35 cents worth. OH, the car is in a un-heated garage, in MA.

 

Thank you, Harbor.

 

Thank you, Billto.

 

I added the two prong connector and a FUSE IN LINE to the battery. The cord comes out the hood on passenger side near wiper and if I gets stupid the thing will disconnect when I back up first. I can hook and unhook the cord with the hood closed and the fuse allows safety from shorts or pinched wires on hood hinge. Safety is easier before you need it. I use the wall mart charger tenders and always test the voltage with a meter before leaving it on the battery. Now and then a tender will go high and cause a problem as noted above. Float should be in the 13 volt range, not 14s or higher , for a FLOAT charger. Enjoy, Woody

 

You might want to look at the BatteryMINDer type I use them on my cars and airplane. Have had them for years, they will not boil your battery and state it can reduce the sulfide build up in the battery, I have it where I can plug in just in front of the passenger windshield.

Dan

 

I've been using a (small) Schumacher automatic charger (1.5 amp) for awhile with no problem. It is keeping the battery @ 12.30. Received as a gift, couple of years ago. Model XM1-5-CA
I DO NOT recommend a Yuasa 900 SmartShot which I've used on motorcycles because when tried on the Crossfire, it did not want to switch over to "storage" for some reason & could overcharge.

 

I've been using a (small) Schumacher automatic charger (1.5 amp) for awhile with no problem. It is keeping the battery @ 12.30. Received as a gift, couple of years ago. Model XM1-5-CA
I DO NOT recommend a Yuasa 900 SmartShot which I've used on motorcycles because when tried on the Crossfire, it did not want to switch over to "storage" for some reason & could overcharge.
Yuasa output: 12Vdc; 900mAdc; perhaps too low, causing the malfunction.

 

I have used this one year after year and like it

Duracell D2A 2 AMP 12V Battery Maintainer / Charger

 

I would not keep any charging unit attached to the battery 100% of the time, especially if I could not check it every few days. Too many times since I have been on this forum someones battery has been fried, due to overcharging. I think that the auto cut off fails and the battery gets a 100% of the current all the time which heats up the acid which slowly evaporates and then the temperature really goes up and the battery is toasted.

I plug in my CTEK MULTI US 3300 (CLICK) until it is charged, leave it for a day of pulse charges and then unplug it. I purchased mine from Canadian Tire when it was on sale for less than half the Amazon price shown.

That did not help my battery last year which died just as the two year 100% replacement warranty expired.

I used to open my old Varta and fill it with distilled water just to the bottom of the six fill holes, maintenance free it may have been but the electrolyte does evaporate little by little. When those plates are above the fluid level damage occurs and the full charge is not reached.
I keep that Varta as a one of two spares all charged up for emergencies, I should do as James 1549 says and hook her up to the car and see the amps when starting the car. It may be a boat anchor, not that we would heave it into the nearest lake these days.

 

Ditch the old school chargers, get yourself a newer style, much smaller NOCO brand SMART charger, we have been using these for years, and like them so much we recently became a dealer. These will not overcharge your battery, are very safe and reliable, and have a lot of other beneficial features, plus they offer cable accessories for quick plug in with voltage status indicators.

https://no.co/

 

Be careful with that Schumacher, that is the one I had on my Mustang years ago. (See my post above) Two years in a row it fried my battery. The first year I thought it was the battery. (Sears Die Hard) The second year I realized it was the charger.. Just saying,

 

Thank you. The Duracell that Valk posted looks pretty good. The Battery Tender brand is well known, might even still make some in the USA.
Now that She's our garage queen, I have to keep an eye on it.

 

I think the Battery Tender (c) by DelTran , that's "Deland,Fl. Transforme Co." , makes fine products. I have used two of their models without issue, they performed as advertised. I keep one on the SSB roadster since I rarely drive it.

 

For my lithum batteries for my fleet of R/C planes, I use a charger and have gone to a timer controller. You can also use them for the car and set them to 1 hour or so a day and not have concern of baking the battery.

The timers will allow a charge without staying on 24-7. Works for me and I monitor the battery voltage with a harbor freight meter as well as a cigarette voltage monitor when driving to see alternator is happy. WDY

 

Here's some of those A/C plugin timers that will work fine for $6.25 each, free shipping.
Buy 3 or so, throw away if doesn't work :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-24-Hour-Mechanical-Electrical-Program-Timer-Power-Switch-Energy-Saver-lot-DP/112216904314?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40791%26meid%3D4d46fbee8d3b4ebbaa0cea24a44ef455%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D232125391202