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Which Battery Maintainer?

Keeping a lead acid battery healthy is more about chemistry management and less about electricity...

A well built charger must compensate with temperature, must stop charging before gassing occurs, brake effectively soft sulfation without harming the battery, must have quality electronics (precision is needed), and of course an algorithm...

Lead acid charging is not simple and not every charger / maintainer out there is 100% effective. Only a few are ok and can give us the best of our battery.

e.g. Oxford Maximizer seems that it's not one of them. On the other hand PulseTech, OptiMate, ctek & Yuasa chargers are really effective.
 
Supposedly the DieHard I use accounts for a lot of those issues too. But more importantly, I got a special stator that does all that and more too!

518579456bf3565c95defe94a34ee94a.png
 
I use the BatteryMinder 2012 which charges, tests, floats, desulfates, and is temp compensated. You can also hook up several batteries for storage, so one unit is all you need.
 
nm4_dude01 said:
I use the BatteryMinder 2012 which charges, tests, floats, desulfates, and is temp compensated. You can also hook up several batteries for storage, so one unit is all you need.
Click to expand...

I think I'm seeing there is a separate model 2012-AGM for AGM batteries. Is that so? If you have the base model 2012, is it not suitable for AGM?
 
for me the real game changer has been the earthX battery. when my NC's battery begins losing the plot I'll get one for it like my WR has in spite of the cost. Haven't needed any battery maintenance at all on the earthX even when sitting for long periods in the cold, and it will crank like a mutha in spite of this, even when it's way below 0F and has sat for a couple of months in an un-insulated shed. It's got great terminals and weighs next to nothing.

ETX18C - EarthX Lithium Batteries - OEM LIthium Batteries for All Motor Sports
 
I've got the lithium Battery Tender battery and the associated Tender for it.

I believe lithium batteries need a different kind of charger.
 
I've never even needed a charger for the earthX LiFePO4-based product, which also unlike other "lithium" batteries has a built-in balancer/maintenance system...basically if one was to use a charger with it the charger needs to be free of any de-sulfating mode. Optimate has a specific model for it but my experience is that on a motorcycle you should not even need it.
 
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nm4_dude01 said:
I use the BatteryMinder 2012 which charges, tests, floats, desulfates, and is temp compensated. You can also hook up several batteries for storage, so one unit is all you need.
Click to expand...

I know what the ad text says...... but.........Hooking up several batteries in parellel..........would mean all the batteries would receive the same charge profile no matter their condition or need. Sounds like that would defeat purpose of the smart charger. Especially if the batteries are different sizes, chemistry and capacity .
 
I've had good luck with a Deltran Battery Tender Jr. for about 10 years. I wired a switched outlet in the garage ceiling and just leave it plugged in up there - the cord is long enough I can use it in rotation on all the bikes and a spare battery I keep. I have a 1.5 and a 6 amp charger for other applications. All are smart chargers with at least 4 phases.

The best thing I guess is that the bikes get ridden a lot so they aren't on a charger/tender very much.
 
670cc said:
I think I'm seeing there is a separate model 2012-AGM for AGM batteries. Is that so? If you have the base model 2012, is it not suitable for AGM?
Click to expand...
The programing for the AGM version is specific to that design. Yes, it will work better for AGM batteries, but it can not be used for wet cells. The standard isn't as optimal for AGM, but it can be used for just about all lead acid styles. If I recall correctly, the AGM version will bring AGM batteries back to full charge quicker than the standard version as it can supply a slightly higher charging voltage.

In discussing my use with the company, the standard version was recommended unless I wanted to run multiple maintainers for different battery types.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
 
showkey said:
I know what the ad text says...... but.........Hooking up several batteries in parellel..........would mean all the batteries would receive the same charge profile no matter their condition or need. Sounds like that would defeat purpose of the smart charger. Especially if the batteries are different sizes, chemistry and capacity .
Click to expand...
You hook them up together only after each one is fully charged and passes the test. The instructions clearly explain the process.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
 
greenboy said:
for me the real game changer has been the earthX battery. when my NC's battery begins losing the plot I'll get one for it like my WR has in spite of the cost. Haven't needed any battery maintenance at all on the earthX even when sitting for long periods in the cold, and it will crank like a mutha in spite of this, even when it's way below 0F and has sat for a couple of months in an un-insulated shed. It's got great terminals and weighs next to nothing.

ETX18C - EarthX Lithium Batteries - OEM LIthium Batteries for All Motor Sports
Click to expand...
Yes, lithium needs a special charger. Although it sounds like the earthX product has that all built in. I'd still be weary of the cold as that is the one place that lithium does not generally do well. Also, they generally die sooner when producing a light output like charging a phone, and don't take too kindly to being jump started. The earthX might handle those issues, but they should be considered.

My issue with my NM4 is that several systems draw power even when off. Clock and ECM both draw. Leaving the battery alone for a month would drain it. The 2amp charging ability of the Battery Minder easily supplies that power as well as keeps the battery fresh.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
 
LiFePO4 has many advantages but must be properly sized for real life use. For example the proposed EarthX ETC18C is small. It's only a 6.2Ah battery which is ok* when the only need is to start the engine of a sport bike on the track...

Modern bikes have more parasitic drain, they have peripherals... My total parasitic drain is about 2.6mA to 8.6mA (depended on the alarm mode) which makes a small battery like this inadequate for the job. There is no peace of mind... I was close to lost my simple 4Ah LFP in about a week and stg...

A proper size of a LFP battery is equal or as close to the OEM (11Ah (10hr) for NC). That give us enough juice to warm up the battery AND start the engine when the temperature is low, the battery will be less stressed in general (it can accept more current from the dummy m/c charging system), and there is enough capacity to cope with parasitic drain...

So EarthX ETX36C with 12.4Ah is the proper LFP battery for the NC, or at least ETX24C with 8Ah...


LFP is a solution for me because of my short rides in the city. I need an AGM almost every 1.5 year because they die from sulfation. It was impossible to FULLY charge an AGM and stop sulfation. And I don't have the capability anymore to use a charger...

(* based on the assumption that the usable capacity of a lead acid battery is only 50% and 80% for LFP.)
 
LFP is compatible with AGM so they can charged by a simple charger for AGM batteries. There is one exception: You need a special LFP charger to balance the cells when there is no BMS (but it seems that it's not necessary when LFP is used for SLI solutions) or when there is BMS and the over discharge protection has been enabled. It's the only way to wake up the BMS and charge the battery...

As mentioned before there should be no desulfation / recovery mode because the over voltage will kill an LFP.
 
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I've been using the electronic Deltran, (have been around forever) Battery Tender Plus trickle charger for 20 years +.
I keep receipts/paperwork on everything I own but have had this unit so long (with no issues) I don't know how old it is, but it IS old and still working fine.
 
I went on a mission to improve my battery charger arsenal. Using a 5.5 year old Yuasa YTZ12S as a test subject, I embarked on a semi scientific experiment to see what different chargers could do. The battery is nearing end of life. It had an Open Circuit Voltage of 12.32 volts.

First, I hooked up my old Battery Tender Jr. After 10-15 minutes, the green light is on, indicating full charge. After an hour or two of rest, the battery OCV is still 12.32 volts, so the BT Jr. did nothing for me at all.

I purchased an Optimate 3 and let it go to work. After 2 days of recovery, charge, and test mode gyrations, the best it could do for the battery was get the OCV up to 12.37 volts. So, not a whole lot was gained with the Optimate.

I put the battery on a larger Peak smart charger I have that has a desulphate mode. After 48 hours on the desulphate mode and charging, it managed to get the OCV into the 12.4 to 12.42 range. Still this battery is sitting at about 50% capacity.

So, it seems there is little hope to fully resurrecting the battery. My key takeaways from the test:
1) The BT Jr. may look all happy, but it is too dumb to tell you that your battery is about to die. It will indicate all is well with a nearly end of life battery.
2) The more expensive Optimate shows off a lot of bells and whistles, and is surely a nice charger, but in the end the results aren't all that much different than the BT Jr. or even a $10 Nextool automatic charger I bought from Menards (see post #35).
3) The desulphate mode on my Peak 2-6-12 amp smart charger actually showed some results. I can't find that model for sale anymore, but I'm glad I have mine. It enabled me to keep my motorhome house batteries running for 19 years before replacement.

So I currently have 5 chargers running 24x7, moved periodically sharing time on the 15 batteries I'm maintaining.
 
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It's extremely difficult to desulfate a hard sulfate battery. Don't expect miracles... Only soft sulfation can be reversed.

I wonder if a PulseTech can do anything better in that case. It seems that they have really good results.

Also have in mind that many days of 'therapy' are needed to see any real result...
 
Gotta say, I don't think ranking one battery MAINTAINER over another when the battery's hit that place in its duty cycle/life, well it just doesn't mean much when one is only talking a 0.1 volt difference. Battery on it's way out is a battery on its way out ; }

The real job a battery MAINTAINER is meant for is to keep a good battery it in good condition for longer, and to keep it in an optimal state when it's not getting charged by vehicle's system -- regardless of other claims. Sure, it can eke a bit more usability out of a battery in decline, but it's really a maintenance item that should be pressed into service BEFORE a battery has gone too far into the pale.

Chargers, on the other hand, are quick-fix tools...
 
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