Ive got 7 road bikes, 3 dirt bikes, 3 quads, 2 go karts......and I dont like to remove batteries every year. So I have these ALL plugged in during the winter.....and even some of the lesser ridden ones during the summer so I dont hop on something and find a dead battery.
Ive got 2 Battery Tenders (from local bike shop * $32), 2 Schumachers (from Wal*Mart $20), 2 Black and Deckers (from Wal*Mart in the clearance isle $8) and then the rest are cheapies from Harbor Freight (think they cost about $9).
They all do the job....but of course some are nicer then others. The Battery Tenders, Schumachers and Black and Deckers all have nice lights to give you status of charging.......while the cheapies from HF just have a red light to show that you have it hooked up right....you really dont know if your battery is charged/charging or what its doing.......but you get what you pay for.
If I was buying only one or two I would get the Battery Tender models.....and YUASA makes a good tender as well. However if your in my shoes I didnt want to drop $32x15......ouch.....so I bought some cheap ones to ease the pain.
Like I said....they all work.....and so far I have had the HF chargers for over a year.....they still work......they are just VERY basic.
The other chargers come with a couple plugs, a cigarette lighter attachment, a pair of clips.......while the HF charger just as the clips hardwire on the end. On all my machines Ive setup the 2 wire plugs like MOST battery tenders use, I just route the plug out under the seat so you can quickly connect the charger without having to gain access to the battery. The Harbor Freight chargers dont come with the plugs, so I just cut the clips off and soldered on a 2 wire trailer plug.....which is a perfect match for the battery plugs the other chargers use.
On the kids stuff I left the clips on.....cause if I dont they will jump right on and take off......and then 10 mins later I will notice them dragging my charger behind them thru the yard. After it happen 4 or 5 times I figured they were never going to learn.....so I make them pop the seat and use the clips....figure they arent going to take off with no seat.
|
