Battery Maintainer

[hap2]

The bike's now in the garage. Someone said I should put a battery maintainer on it. We get some awfully cold weather here in the winter (20 to 30 below F), so usually I just take the battery right out & keep it in the warm house.

It's only got 1/2 tank, so I need to put some stabilizer in, fill it up, & run it (is idle ok?) for 10 min or so?

I also should take the air out of the shocks & cover it up with a breathable sheet.

Maybe I can put the whole bike on a big rubber mat as well as the garage has just got a concrete floor, but I put my last 2 Wing's on the concrete for the last 3 winters with no problem.

The other question I have is is a battery maintainer / tender just as good as just a battery tender?

What do u suggest?

[mterrac]

Deltran Junior battery tender. Just plugs in to the wall. Won't overcharge your battery, can leave it plugged in for the winter. I've had one for years. I use it anytime I'm going to be more than 3 or 4 days without riding. Best 30 bucks I've spent (can probably catch it cheaper with Black Friday/Christmas season coming up).

[hap2]

Thanx alot. Any particular amperage?

PS: I'm here in Canada. Hopefully, I can still get one.

I might just still take the battery out as it can get perrty cold (< 30 F)

[WingAdmin]

Thanx alot. Any particular amperage?

PS: I'm here in Canada. Hopefully, I can still get one.

I might just still take the battery out as it can get perrty cold (< 30 F)

The standard Battery Tender Jr. will work just fine, you don't need much amperage to just float/maintain a battery. And as long as it is connected to the battery tender, you can likely keep it in the bike. My garage gets into the mid 20's during the winter, and the batteries in the various machinery kept in there (all on Battery Tenders) are just fine. A discharged battery can freeze (and explode!!!) right at about 32F, but a fully charged battery won't freeze until it gets down to about -76F. And if the interior of your garage is at -76F, you've got other problems on your hands!

[maintainer]

A battery maintainer just makes sense, keeping it fully charged is easier on it than recharging from a discharge. I have several charger maintainers but only trust the Tender Jr. for constant maintenance with complete confidence of no overcharging. I've used them for years with no negative consequences.

[hap2]

WingAdmin: From what u said, I should just bring the battery in the warm house for the winter & b done with it

The garage is not heated.

I had a little 2 amp charger around here somewhere. IF I can't find it, I spose I can just get another one. Then once every 6 wks or so, I can give the battery a charge.

[WingAdmin]

WingAdmin: From what u said, I should just bring the battery in the warm house for the winter & b done with it

The garage is not heated.

I had a little 2 amp charger around here somewhere. IF I can't find it, I spose I can just get another one. Then once every 6 wks or so, I can give the battery a charge.

You can do this - but does the battery need a 2 amp charge? Will it overcharge? Or will it undercharge? These types of batteries like to be kept fully charged, and if they are not, it shortens their life. Overcharging them shortens their life severely.

To me, it's false economy - I would much rather spend $25 on a Battery Tender that will make my battery last for many years longer than usual, than spend $100 on another new battery.

Quite honestly, I have not bought a new motorcycle battery since I started using Battery Tenders - and that's going on five or six years now.

[Dusty Boots]

Go to Crappy Tire!

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/batte ... lNFP9KrTVQ

[Maz]

I use a small solar panel on each of my 4 bikes. About £15 from EBay. I know our British winters aren't as severe as yours but these things only need daylight, not sunshine and they work through windows so they won't get snowed up. The battery must be fully charged first of course.

Maz

[rockford75]

The bike's now in the garage. Someone said I should put a battery maintainer on it. We get some awfully cold weather here in the winter (20 to 30 below F), so usually I just take the battery right out & keep it in the warm house.

It's only got 1/2 tank, so I need to put some stabilizer in, fill it up, & run it (is idle ok?) for 10 min or so?

I also should take the air out of the shocks & cover it up with a breathable sheet.

Maybe I can put the whole bike on a big rubber mat as well as the garage has just got a concrete floor, but I put my last 2 Wing's on the concrete for the last 3 winters with no problem.

The other question I have is is a battery maintainer / tender just as good as just a battery tender?

What do u suggest?

Iam in Edmonton north of you. I always put my wing away with a fresh oil change and full tank of gas with stabil in the tank. i also just pull the battery out and and leave on floor on a block of wood. i charge it twice a month. never had a problem. On a side note sorry the Stamps got there butts kicked yesterday by the Eskimos!! GREY CUP HERE WE COME!!!

[hap2]

I'm definitely very happy Reilly was finally on his game yesterday & kicked calgry butt big time.

We (Eskies) relaxed a bit in the 4th quarter & let them come back a bit, but once exhorted by the coach, kept calgry from coming back.

Of course, the Eskies are favored over Ottawa, so bringing the big Cup back to the City of Champions is expected & should b no problem at all.

[Happytrails]

Been using a battery tender and stabil. Just slip a piece of cardboard under the front tire. During the coldest part of winter toss a cover on the bike. My garage is integral so usually stays around 45-50 degrees in the winter. Might start using marine stabil. Also might look into a slightly more expensive battery tender contraption but so far not complaints. Trying my best to keep the bike ready to go if its a nice day but January-February are usually too much.

[Solina Dave]

My storage shed is 200' from my house, and there's no power out there. Whether it's a good idea, or a bad idea, for all the work that's involved, I just feel better removing the battery and taking it indoors for the winter. I connect a Noco Genius G1100 maintainer to it, plug it in, and other than taking a look at it every week or so, don't disconnect it until the spring. It's always done the job.
Here's a link to Crappy Tire. It was on sale for around $40 when I bought mine. I guess the price is up now due to demand at this time of the year.

Come on spring...................Dave

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/noco- ... lPZltKrQgk

[hap2]

Thanx Dave. Maybe I'll do that as I'm kinda leary re keeping the battery in during our potentially really cold (-35 F or less) Canadian Winters.

Maybe I can grab one from ebay.

How many amps is your Noco Genius G1100 btw?

[Solina Dave]

Your welcome Hap,

Actually I was going to mention that I went out to my storage shed last winter just to check up on things, and it felt like it was -76ºF. lol...Just kiddin'.
The output is 12.5 volts....1.1 amps.

Canadian winters......why do we stay?.........Dave

[hap2]

For $40, u gotta deal. They're about $73.00 now with gst.

Y do we stay here? Cuz we're Canadian & we can take it!

[edgus347]

I start my bikes up and run them at least once a week so this keeps the battery charged and keeps the engine oiled. If I'm not home I use battery tenders to keep the charge up.

[WingAdmin]

I start my bikes up and run them at least once a week so this keeps the battery charged and keeps the engine oiled. If I'm not home I use battery tenders to keep the charge up.

No, no, no, no no!! I don't know why this myth continues to exist. Starting the bike every week over the winter is just about the WORST thing you can do to your bike.

Have a read through How to winterize your motorcycle - if nothing else, read this, the most prevalent part from it:


Now, what do you do now that the bike is away for its winter slumber? Please, please, PLEASE resist the temptation to "start it up to keep the oil fresh" or whatever other reason you feel you need to regularly run the engine. Your engine does not benefit in any way from being started from dead cold for a short "warm-up." In fact, it's quite the opposite. Starting the engine puts lots of moisture into both the crankcase and the exhaust. If you are not going to go out for a good, hard half hour ride, neither the engine nor the exhaust are going to get up to full normal operating temperature - which means this moisture is not going to evaporate. Instead, it's going to sit in the bike and start corroding the insides of your engine, cylinders and exhaust system. Every time you start it, it is making it worse. The fact that it is cold outside makes it even worse - this means the moisture easily condenses on the cold surfaces, starting the rusting process.

"But I need to start it regularly to charge the battery." No you don't, hook up a $25 Battery Tender instead of ruining your $500 exhaust.

"It helps keep the seals lubricated and stops leaks." No, it doesn't. The seals do not magically lose their ability to seal because oil isn't regularly flowing over them. In fact, the continuous change of a very cold-soaked engine to warm engine and back can actually CAUSE leaks.

"It keeps the engine parts covered in oil to prevent wear." Actually, it does the exact opposite. The absolute hardest time on an engine, the time when it wears the most, is at start-up, before the engine-driven oil pumps get a chance to start pumping oil around. This is why some expensive aircraft and racing engines have special pumps to circulate oil before the engines are started. When the bike hasn't been started for a while, the lubricating film of oil is at its very minimum - which means massive amount of wear during start up. And this is what you are doing, over and over again all winter every time you start it up - causing wear to your engine when it is at its most vulnerable.

[hap2]

Thanx for that. It helps a lot.

[WINGER3]

I have used a Pro-Logic brand tender for years and they are great, when I put the bike away after a ride the first thing I do is hook up the tender, some say it don't need it when the battery is fully charged from a good ride. Here is the best reason to always keep the tender on, the bike I now have, the PO always had it on the tender and the bike still has the original battery in it and is now over 10 years old and holds a full charge and I have no plans to replace it for a long time. The bike battery is not like a deep cycle battery that is designed to run way down and recharge over and over, the more you recharge it the faster it will sulfate, which is really what kills an auto type battery and that is why you do not use them normally in rec. vehicles like boats and campers for the house battery, they are called deep cycle battery.

If you park any newer bike with a fully charged battery @ 14.5 Volts for 2 weeks and check it with a voltmeter it will be about 13 Volts as all the electronics on todays bikes draws a very small amount of juice just to keep all the electronics working while not running, the tender takes care of that draw so the battery does not discharge, and at about $120.00 for a new quality one, it's sure is nice not to need a new battery for a least 8-10 years when you use a tender.

[hap2]

I'm starting to think one brand is as good as the other as I've had 3 different guys swear by 3 different brand names. Also starting to think a battery tender / charger could b the way to go.

Thanx

[WingAdmin]

I have used a Pro-Logic brand tender for years and they are great, when I put the bike away after a ride the first thing I do is hook up the tender, some say it don't need it when the battery is fully charged from a good ride. Here is the best reason to always keep the tender on, the bike I now have, the PO always had it on the tender and the bike still has the original battery in it and is now over 10 years old and holds a full charge and I have no plans to replace it for a long time. The bike battery is not like a deep cycle battery that is designed to run way down and recharge over and over, the more you recharge it the faster it will sulfate, which is really what kills an auto type battery and that is why you do not use them normally in rec. vehicles like boats and campers for the house battery, they are called deep cycle battery.

If you park any newer bike with a fully charged battery @ 14.5 Volts for 2 weeks and check it with a voltmeter it will be about 13 Volts as all the electronics on todays bikes draws a very small amount of juice just to keep all the electronics working while not running, the tender takes care of that draw so the battery does not discharge, and at about $120.00 for a new quality one, it's sure is nice not to need a new battery for a least 8-10 years when you use a tender.

Not only that, standard automotive type lead-acid batteries SELF discharge over time - between 3-20% per month, depending on battery type. This self-discharge is unlike regular discharge from drawing current - self-discharge causes high levels of sulfate crystals to form, which is the death of a lead-acid battery. Keeping it on a battery tender will prevent this from occurring.

I agree with your experience: the battery in my GL1500 (a bike that is notoriously hard on batteries, and requires a LOT of power) is now going on 7 years old, and still functions like brand new - and it goes on a battery tender every time the bike is parked.

[hap2]

Getting a battery tender is more tempting all the time. Now the secret for me is to find a good deal on one.

PS: I'm, of course, here in Canada.

[edgus347]

Thank's a lot. I live here in Texas so I don't have much of a winter most times and I ride almost year around. Sometimes when it's cold but on a wing it's better than on anyother bike. But I use battery tenders when the weather is too bad to ride,and when they sit for a while.

[tfdeputydawg]

I start my bikes up and run them at least once a week so this keeps the battery charged and keeps the engine oiled. If I'm not home I use battery tenders to keep the charge up.

No, no, no, no no!! I don't know why this myth continues to exist. Starting the bike every week over the winter is just about the WORST thing you can do to your bike.

Have a read through How to winterize your motorcycle - if nothing else, read this, the most prevalent part from it:


Now, what do you do now that the bike is away for its winter slumber? Please, please, PLEASE resist the temptation to "start it up to keep the oil fresh" or whatever other reason you feel you need to regularly run the engine. Your engine does not benefit in any way from being started from dead cold for a short "warm-up." In fact, it's quite the opposite. Starting the engine puts lots of moisture into both the crankcase and the exhaust. If you are not going to go out for a good, hard half hour ride, neither the engine nor the exhaust are going to get up to full normal operating temperature - which means this moisture is not going to evaporate. Instead, it's going to sit in the bike and start corroding the insides of your engine, cylinders and exhaust system. Every time you start it, it is making it worse. The fact that it is cold outside makes it even worse - this means the moisture easily condenses on the cold surfaces, starting the rusting process.

"But I need to start it regularly to charge the battery." No you don't, hook up a $25 Battery Tender instead of ruining your $500 exhaust.

"It helps keep the seals lubricated and stops leaks." No, it doesn't. The seals do not magically lose their ability to seal because oil isn't regularly flowing over them. In fact, the continuous change of a very cold-soaked engine to warm engine and back can actually CAUSE leaks.

"It keeps the engine parts covered in oil to prevent wear." Actually, it does the exact opposite. The absolute hardest time on an engine, the time when it wears the most, is at start-up, before the engine-driven oil pumps get a chance to start pumping oil around. This is why some expensive aircraft and racing engines have special pumps to circulate oil before the engines are started. When the bike hasn't been started for a while, the lubricating film of oil is at its very minimum - which means massive amount of wear during start up. And this is what you are doing, over and over again all winter every time you start it up - causing wear to your engine when it is at its most vulnerable.

I've read both of these statements many times on many boards.
One question. is there anyone, anywhere that actually has had documented "damage" proven to be from starting a motor and letting it come up to operating temp during cold weather?????