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I have been using these devices for a while now and thought I would share. The first is the Battery Minder. I buy mine from Northern Tools because we have one close by. They can be sourced from other locations/stores. They are fairly cheap compared to other devices available. I catch them on sale at $24.99. They normally list for $39.99. Here is a picture of the device.
Like I said I have been using these for years now. My results have been very positive. I keep one constantly plugged in to all my equipment. I have five bikes a zero turn and my truck. I have had several batteries that are now over 5 years old and are still going strong. The battery minder not only maintains the proper charge on the battery it also goes into maintenance mode and hits the plates with a high frequency tone to keep them desulfated. If you notice from the picture, there is a temp sensor. That measures the ambient temperature of the air around the battery and adjusts the rate of charge accordingly, meaning when temperatures rise it cuts the rate of charge and when they drop it increases. I thought for a while that some of the things purported to might be false so I invested in the next item I want to talk about.
I am a fan of Harbor Freight and buy a lot of things from them, again because of price. Most things you buy from them have to be slightly modified to make them good products and tools. I started thinking about the batteries and those chargers. Even though the batteries, like I said are still going strong I thought well how can I prove that what I thought is happening is actually occurring. I purchased this little device.
This little test device reports the condition of the battery. The reviews on it state that some of the readings might not be as accurate as some of the more expensive testers on the market but for the purpose of letting you see the overall condition of your battery it serves it's purpose. My daily driver, a Toyota Tacoma has a battery in it that has been in there since about 2019. Getting some age on it and because I drive it almost everyday I never really constantly kept a battery minder on it. I thought perfect battery to see what the battery minder was actually doing. I waited for a 15% off coupon from HF and went and picked up the Viking 12V Digital Battery and System Tester. My first test of the battery showed that the battery state of health was at 89%, state of charge was at 88%, measured CCA was 690 (my battery is rated at 725 CCA), battery voltage was less than 13 volts and the internal R: was a bit more than 4.5. The internal R: reading is showing you the resistance of the battery which is indicating how much sulphation you have on the plates in the battery. Of course, a high resistance number is not good. You want to see that number in the 2 to 3 range. I hooked up the battery minder and once it reached a full charge I let it sit for a few days with the maintenance function operating. I retested my battery and all my numbers had improved. Let it go another couple of days and sure enough the battery tested even better. the charge and health both are at 100%, my CCAs are up close to 800, voltage is right at 13.2 and the resistance has dropped below 3. That was visual proof that the battery minder is doing what the product manual states it does. I don't want anyone to think I am saying go out and buy these devices, just thought it was worth a report of my findings. If you investigate on your own you may find these tools useful and might want to add them to your arsenal. The tester does a lot more then I reported, it will actually test your whole system and you can store up to 10 tests for comparison purposes.
Like I said I have been using these for years now. My results have been very positive. I keep one constantly plugged in to all my equipment. I have five bikes a zero turn and my truck. I have had several batteries that are now over 5 years old and are still going strong. The battery minder not only maintains the proper charge on the battery it also goes into maintenance mode and hits the plates with a high frequency tone to keep them desulfated. If you notice from the picture, there is a temp sensor. That measures the ambient temperature of the air around the battery and adjusts the rate of charge accordingly, meaning when temperatures rise it cuts the rate of charge and when they drop it increases. I thought for a while that some of the things purported to might be false so I invested in the next item I want to talk about.
I am a fan of Harbor Freight and buy a lot of things from them, again because of price. Most things you buy from them have to be slightly modified to make them good products and tools. I started thinking about the batteries and those chargers. Even though the batteries, like I said are still going strong I thought well how can I prove that what I thought is happening is actually occurring. I purchased this little device.
This little test device reports the condition of the battery. The reviews on it state that some of the readings might not be as accurate as some of the more expensive testers on the market but for the purpose of letting you see the overall condition of your battery it serves it's purpose. My daily driver, a Toyota Tacoma has a battery in it that has been in there since about 2019. Getting some age on it and because I drive it almost everyday I never really constantly kept a battery minder on it. I thought perfect battery to see what the battery minder was actually doing. I waited for a 15% off coupon from HF and went and picked up the Viking 12V Digital Battery and System Tester. My first test of the battery showed that the battery state of health was at 89%, state of charge was at 88%, measured CCA was 690 (my battery is rated at 725 CCA), battery voltage was less than 13 volts and the internal R: was a bit more than 4.5. The internal R: reading is showing you the resistance of the battery which is indicating how much sulphation you have on the plates in the battery. Of course, a high resistance number is not good. You want to see that number in the 2 to 3 range. I hooked up the battery minder and once it reached a full charge I let it sit for a few days with the maintenance function operating. I retested my battery and all my numbers had improved. Let it go another couple of days and sure enough the battery tested even better. the charge and health both are at 100%, my CCAs are up close to 800, voltage is right at 13.2 and the resistance has dropped below 3. That was visual proof that the battery minder is doing what the product manual states it does. I don't want anyone to think I am saying go out and buy these devices, just thought it was worth a report of my findings. If you investigate on your own you may find these tools useful and might want to add them to your arsenal. The tester does a lot more then I reported, it will actually test your whole system and you can store up to 10 tests for comparison purposes.
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