Battery Tender II

Dellbertt · Dec 16, 2009

I went to Kalamazoo today to check on the availability of a 6v battery tender.
Walmart had Schumacher 6v/12v for $20. (Never had good luck with Schumacher products)
Meijer (local chain) had Stanley 12v for $22 but it was 6-8amp.
Harbor Freight had a 12v/1.5amp for $9.99.

Question: If I buy the 12v Harbor Freight and add a 12v to 6v ballasts resister to charge a 6v battery will that mess up the automatic operation of the float charger and perhaps make it never shut off. Or will adding the resister have no affect on the charger operation?

Thanks,
Dell

CraigChristian · Dec 16, 2009

Dellbert: Swallow your pride and get the Schumacher unit from W-M !! I've got 4 of them and they work just fine. CCL

glennster · Dec 16, 2009

oem tractor parts has the 6 or 12 v battery butlers for about 20 dollars. i have one of each and they work good
poke here

JMOR · Dec 16, 2009

(quoted from post at 19:03:47 12/16/09) I went to Kalamazoo today to check on the availability of a 6v battery tender.
Walmart had Schumacher 6v/12v for $20. (Never had good luck with Schumacher products)
Meijer (local chain) had Stanley 12v for $22 but it was 6-8amp.
Harbor Freight had a 12v/1.5amp for $9.99.

Question: If I buy the 12v Harbor Freight and add a 12v to 6v ballasts resister to charge a 6v battery will that mess up the automatic operation of the float charger and perhaps make it never shut off. Or will adding the resister have no affect on the charger operation?

Thanks,
Dell

true battery tender/maintainer/float charger must see the actual battery voltage, so no it will not work correctly if you try to insert resistance between battery and charger. A battery can be charged like that, if you monitor specific gravity regularly during charging, but no auto shut off, etc. and you must be careful not to overcharge and as for the"battery tender/maintainer/float" function, that just plain won't work with 12v unit & 6v battery.

55 50 Ron · Dec 16, 2009

I have 4 from W/M too and totally agree that they work just fine.

CraigChristian · Dec 17, 2009

Here's the hot set-up !! 20 bucks on Amazon, qualifies for free shipping and no sales tax !! Can't beat it with a stick IMO.
http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM-1562A-Speed-Charge-Maintainer/dp/B0009IBJAS/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1261051827&sr=1-12

JDemaris · Dec 17, 2009

The HF unit when first hooked will stay on the full 1.5 amp mode until it senses 14.8 volts, and then shuts off. Comes back on when battery voltage drops below 13.5 volts. So, I don't see any reliable way to make it work with a 6 volt battery, unless you take two of them and hook in series.

Jim Becker · Dec 17, 2009

(quoted from post at 08:17:00 12/17/09) Here's the hot set-up !! 20 bucks on Amazon, qualifies for free shipping and no sales tax !!

That is identical to the ones I got from Walmart. Looks like you would need to buy 2 to get free shipping.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 17, 2009

I use the Battery Tender brand ( 6 volt model)never have any problems. 6 volt tractor batteries are lasting years longer with them. I bought a couple Harbor freight ones they only lasted a couple days.

Battery Tender II

Dellbertt

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CraigChristian

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glennster

Well-known Member

JMOR

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55 50 Ron

Well-known Member

CraigChristian

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JDemaris

Well-known Member

Jim Becker

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Anonymous-0

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