Compare Battery Tender JR and BatteryMINDer

Rode Weary

Rode Weary

Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
65
Location
Parma Ohio
Bike
2007 ST1300
Looking to purchase a battery "maintainer" and it seems as though everyone here loves the Battery Tender series of chargers.

Has anyone compared the Jr. to the BatteryMINDer unit? The claim is that it pulses to clean the sulfation off of the batteries plates. The price is about the same, $29 for either one plus shipping.

http://www.batteryminders.com/batte...-Amp-Charger-Maintainer-Conditio-p-16134.html

I would like to hear from anyone that has one and if they like it. Or if you've done any research into it.

Thanks,

Dennis
 
I have used the Battery Minder for ten years and have been very satisfied. I keep my bike plugged in all the time I am not riding and have never had a battery failure. I replace batteries every five years on principal, but never because I HAD to...........

The desulphanization feature seems to help keep the batteries in good shape.
 
Tender, 8 years, 6 years on original battery and I replaced it just because.
 
"Has anyone compared the Jr. to the BatteryMINDer unit? The claim is that it pulses to clean the sulfation off of the batteries plates. The price is about the same, $29 for either one plus shipping."

Interesting concept, it generally takes 16 volts plus or minus a few tenths at very low current to clean the suflate from lead plates. I would not want to subject my electronics to that level voltage. It would be nice if they had specifics. What I like about the battery tender jr is its lower float voltage. Mine seems to be around 13.07 volts.
 
I am using the Battery Tender Jr. and it has been doing a great job.

It also helps when I am working on the bike and need to turn on the ignition to power up the circuits, without draining the battery down to much all at once.

:yes::yes:
 
Just bought this one Linky last week at sears for the standard $29.99. Now it is on sale at Kmart for $22.99. Has connectors to charge through the standard cigarette style plug, clamps for the battery or SAE plug.
 
Hi Dennis,
With the low cost of these small multi-stage battery chargers, I don't think you can go wrong with either one of them and I think their performance is going to be about the same. I don't know about the claim that pulsing converts the sulphate on the plates back into the acid, it has been my experience under very controlled current and temperature, it takes 16vdc to reverse some of the sulfate, and to do that you must remove the battery because you don't want to expose your electronics to that level voltage.

Another brand you may want to look at is CTEK, I just recently ran across.

A recent battery episode I just had, my '06 Yukon Denali battery just went flat. We have not been driving it much these past several months and so I am assuming there are devices turned on all of the time regardless of key position (vehicle being turned off). I know this because I get monthly On-Star reports about the systems in the Yukon, so the SUV has to be queried via the imbedded cell phone and the computer/monitor gives its updates. (It informed me the tire pressures were low - which they were!)

So the battery eventually went flat, I connected one of those Sears unregulated battery chargers. They will cook a battery if left unattended. After a couple of hours, I measured the battery and closely monitored the voltage with a digital volt meter until it got up to 13.8 volts. I then pulled it off and connected my Battery Tender Jr. and let it charge overnight. I did not have to worry about it because I knew the charger would hit about 14.5vdc and shut down - which it did the next day. It then went to the green flashing light stage and when the battery voltage fell to 13.02vdc, it went to solid green and stayed there until I pulled it off. This is a 100 amp-hour battery, far bigger than the ST's battery, but can still charge and maintain larger batteries if you are patient enough. The Sears unregulated chargers are great and very efficient for bringing up a dead batter in a shorter time span, but you really need something more sophisticated to top it off with. For $30, you can't go wrong. The last 4-stage battery charger I bought was in the neighborhood of $600. It had a built in inverter and was great for the application and not uncommon for batteries to last 10 years or more on a daily use basis.

Good luck with your selection,

Mike
 
Coyote1 said:
Harbor Freight Tool has a Float Charger for $8. Maintains voltage and has Auto Shut Off. Comes with terminal clamps but you can remove them and use a 2 wire pigtail to make perm connection.:04biker:
Click to expand...

I had one of these and used it on a less than one year old battery over winter. It killed it, dead. I guess you get what you pay for.

I went with the BatteryMinder. Have used it on several batteries over the past month. Including the ST's and my wife's Reflex.

So far I am impressed.

Dennis
 
Click here: Battery chargers I have used the BatteryMinder on airplanes with very good luck. Airplane batteries are $300 each, so we take care of them. The BM will de-sulfate your battery and perk up an older battery. BM also has very good warranty service if you have problems. I had on that went TU out of warranty, sent it back to BM and they me a brand new one and even paid for the shipping. Usual disclaimers, just a happy customer. Dave B. Denver
 
It's 4 amps max (if the battery is flat). If the battery is 90%, it does about 1.2 amps. The spec list is for another model. The next model down has a 2 amp (max) mode and no 75 amp startup mode. In my other thread on "Battery and charging amps" I talked about my first test with this one, while monitoring temperature, amps and voltage output. It worked real well.
 
Bill Woods said:
Happy to hear of your pleasure and great experience with a Battery Tender.
Being the designer of the BatteryMINDer product line, it hurt to have our products' U.S. patented desulfation feature referred to as "snake oil".
If you call me I would like to propose a way of proving, to your satisfaction, that your current feelings are incorrect. It won't cost you a dime and maybe you can help us make a new friend and believer.

Bill
Cell (631) 445-1064 (ET)
Office: 800 379-5579 ext 201 (ET)
BillWoods@vdcelectronics.com
www.batteryminders.com
Click to expand...

Can I get a free one for a trial?
 
I bought a BatteryMinder a couple of months ago. I have used a battery tender type of charger for years. I have noticed that the BatteryMinder will charge a battery to a higher state then the other chargers I have. Even though the other chargers will go into trickle/float mode, the BatteryMinder will take about a half hour to go into condition/float mode on motorcycle batteries, car batteries take about 12+ hours after the other charges indicate a full charge. I have more volts stored when using the BatteryMinder per my volt meter.
 
Makes me wonder because others have mentioned it, what, if any, effect the voltage spike may have on the electronics. Perhaps Mr. Woods can enlighten me?
 
It is well known that newer VRLA "sealed" batteries like a higher float voltage than older automatic smart chargers commonly provide. The VRLA battery in the ST1300 will maintain an at-rest voltage at 12.8 to 13.1 volts so if your automatic charger floats at 12.8 to 13.2 volts it isn't charging the battery as much as it could be if floated at 13.6 to 13.8 volts. I have an older Tender Junior that floats at 13.1 volts and a Cliplight charger that floats the same battery at 13.6 to 13.8. I used the Junior on the wet flooded battery in the Passport but since I sold it all my bikes now have VRLA batteries and I no longer use the Junior in favor of the Cliplight because of the higher float voltage of the latter. I have no experience with the Minder and wonder what float voltage it provides.
 
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