Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I use the Battery Tender Jr after I replaced my 6 month old battery this past spring. I've been very happy with it and being able to see the state of the battery when I first hook it up and after a short time later. Bike and battery will remain outside but completely covered from rain/snow/wind.

I have heard that over winter when the bike is not being used that I should put a timer on the battery tender because it uses a small current to check the state of the battery. Since its not being used a several months it should not be micro charging the battery since it is not getting used serveral times per week.

So, should I get a housefold light timer for the battery tender for the winter time? If so should I set it to check/charge only once a week and for how long? Since the light timer has no indictation if the battery is charged or not I'm thinking I should set the total time to sense/charge to a full day but once a week. Thoughts?

My only unscientific thought is won't leaving the battery tender on all the time create a lower freezing tmep of the battery itself? What temp will most batteries freeze?

Not sure what problem you're trying to solve - the microscopically small draw the tender users to monitor the state of the battery?

jstark47 wrote:Not sure what problem you're trying to solve - the microscopically small draw the tender users to monitor the state of the battery?

My tender monitors the battery as well and keeps the charge up when it's needed. It keeps the battery in top condition. And when it's turned off, it needs to be physically turned back on and set to the winter setting or it won't do it's job.

I've used a Battery Tender for the last 15 years or so and once hooked up for the winter I never touch it again until I take it off in the Spring. Never had the slightest problem. In fact, I can only recall having to replace a motorcycle battery once in all the years I have been riding (I rarely hold on to a bike for more than 5 yo 7 years at most).

Most tenders are self controlled as to the charge being put into the battery. Mine all have lights indicating exactly what the charger is doing at the moment. As said here already I, too, don't touch the charger from November to April. They do increase a battery's life many fold!! In fact if you don't ride your bike weekly in the summer would not hurt at all to keep the charger on during the warm months as well. Most chargers come with a pig-tail that can be left attached to the battery making it easier to re-attach the charger.

I have a few bikes and as the above poster mentioned I keep chargers on mine most of the year and I've never had an issue and routinely get 10 years or even more from a battery. The two worst things for a battery are overcharging and left sitting in an uncharged state. I prefer the Yuasu chargers which use a maximum of .9 amp.

The Battery Tender does the work of a timer. It determines when the battery is low and trickle charges it. If it doesn't need a charge, it won't...basically...it "Tends" to the battery. Keep in mind, not all battery chargers and/or maintainers do the same.

I've had my Battery Tender for 15 to 20 years. I leave my battery in the bike every winter, connect the Tender and walk away. My original battery in my current bike has lasted 9 years and I could probably still use it, but a small part of me is concerned about it finally dying while on the road one day. Therefore, I removed for that reason, but still keep the Tender on it.

I envy you guys and your 10 year old batteries. The heat out here kills mine every two years, like clockwork. The one time I did have to store the bike, the Yuasa tender worked like a charm. I still have the short bit attached to the battery, just in case. 2 amp fuses are hard to come by, though. I had to call Yuasa when mine came up missing.

Cold will kill a battery really fast. I never have problems with the heat. Mostly, it's the sitting idle, all by its self in the garage that kills a battery.