baterry tender Jr. vs. plus

[grshantz]

I'm thinking about buying a battery tender. What is the main difference between the junior and the plus models with regard to basic battery maintenece?

Thanks,
Glenn

[Wayne]

Well Glenn, I have been doing a little research on this lately. What I do know is if you are in an area where the tempuratures are extreme (hot summers or cold winters) then the Plus has a temperature compensator for the best charge voltage according to ambient temperature. Also the plus has the 3-step charging program (Bulk Charge, Absorption Mode, Float Mode). Where the Junior only has 2 modes (Bulk and Float).

The Absorption Mode can be important if you plan to store the battery. This mode keeps the battery from reaching its gassing voltage limit (approximately 14,4 V for a fully charged 12 V battery) xsive gassing can damage the battery and shorten its life.
You can read more about the modes at this site. http://www.victronenergy.com/Technic...it%20works.pdf (This might be overkill but...)


So is it worth the extra $20. Well with a good battery costing over $70-$80...could be.

Hope this helps.

[grshantz]

Thanks Wayne,
Yes that helps a lot. I just bought a new battery because the last one died over the winter. BTW the manufacturer(champion) recommends agains a baterry tender. . . claiming that it shortens the life of a battery. Anyway, I kept reading on both battery tenders trying to find the advantage of the plus but the information provided was very limited. Can it be hooked up to two baterries in series or am I looking at two baterry tenders?


Glenn
81H x 2

[Wayne]

AFAIK, You can only hook one battery to one tender.

[Mike Hart]

If the two batteries are the same, you can hook them up in parallel (still 12v, not in series, that is 24v) and trickle with one charger. But the batts have to be the same model (same amp/hr, etc).

[Wayne]

That does make sense Mike. I might have to try that with my two bike batteries. The one from my XS and Babe's Shadow.