[marclapierre]

Well, its almost time for storing the ol' F4I, and Im looking into a charger for my battery..... I fouind these ones at canadian tire.... i dont want to spend to much, butI want something to do the job....

heres #1= http://canadiantire.ca/browse/produ...older_id=1408474396672454&bmUID=1165878899358

#2= http://canadiantire.ca/browse/produ...older_id=1408474396672454&bmUID=1165878899410

#3= http://canadiantire.ca/browse/produ...older_id=1408474396672454&bmUID=1165878831555

whats the difference between the 3,mainly between 1 and 2, is it worht paying the extra? I just need something so my battery doenst get ruined

 

[Purplekawi]

ok.......1 and 3 are automatic. 2 requires you turning it off and on. 3 is geared more towards marine battery's but will work on cycle battery's too. 3 doesn't appear to come with the convenient battery attachment that allows you to attach the charger without having to remove your seat. 1 and 2 have these attachments. veeeeeeeeeery handy. 1 is the same as a product called a battery tender. buy 1. you'll like it. i've had one for........this will be it's 3rd season and it works great. put it on, plug it in and forget about it for months.

 

[michael]

According to the folks at Battery Tender, it's best to use a charger with no more than 10% of the cranking amperage of the battery.
Thus, for my 12 amp battery, my 1.25 amp Battery Tender is just the ticket.

Thus, I'd be careful of "big amperage," battery chargers.
(I couldn't connect with the links posted)

 

[Purplekawi]

ok upon further examination of the enlarged photo's, 2 is the one i have. 1 doesn't infact come with the convenient battery atachment. 2 is also infact automatic. so they're all automatic. 2 is your best bet. it's also only 1.5A so better for your battery then the bigger amperage ones.

 

[marclapierre]

ok.......1 and 3 are automatic. 2 requires you turning it off and on. 3 is geared more towards marine battery's but will work on cycle battery's too. 3 doesn't appear to come with the convenient battery attachment that allows you to attach the charger without having to remove your seat. 1 and 2 have these attachments. veeeeeeeeeery handy. 1 is the same as a product called a battery tender. buy 1. you'll like it. i've had one for........this will be it's 3rd season and it works great. put it on, plug it in and forget about it for months.

thanks, that is what i am looking for something to plug in and leave it.
I will get that one.

 

[flowrider]

30 bucks will get you a Yuasa charger at Burnaby Kawi. I think that was the price last time I looked. Since they make most of the batteries in bikes, stands to reason they know about chargers. Cheaper than buying a new battery every year because it wasn't charged properly.

 

[deanner]

This is the one i went with got it on sale for like $50-$60 http://canadiantire.ca/browse/produ...older_id=1408474396672454&bmUID=1165890717562 just plug it in and forget about it.

 

[Purplekawi]

thanks, that is what i am looking for something to plug in and leave it.
I will get that one.

door #2 is for you!!

 

[adiabatic]

I have #1. Despite that listing, it's an automatic maintainer and charger. You can't go wrong for $20.

 

[Purplekawi]

does #1 have the attachment to the battery so the charger doesn't have to be directly attached to it?? it doesnt say in the listing and doesn['t have it in the pic of it.

 

[marclapierre]

ohh cool it is automatic! #1 sounds good, i hope it has the attachment....

 

[heisenberg9]

This topic has a few threads on it from last year and the year before.

Polar Battery on Boundary was considered the place to go for a battery tender: Cliplight Battery Charger #612015. It was available for $40.00

1258 Boundary
(604) 294-1891

 

[TrueLies]

According to the folks at Battery Tender, it's best to use a charger with no more than 10% of the cranking amperage of the battery.
Thus, for my 12 amp battery, my 1.25 amp Battery Tender is just the ticket.

Thus, I'd be careful of "big amperage," battery chargers.
(I couldn't connect with the links posted)

My $60 Motomaster battery charger has two settings; 2A and 10A. Both charging rates can be set to automatic or manual.

The automatic setting is actually too conservative. It won't top up the charge on my bike's battery properly. I just set it to 2A manual and let it run for about 2 hours. I can feel the starter crank stronger.

In addition, at the end of the 2 hours, the charge rate on the gauge was barely above zero. Which is to say the charger will not overcharge a bike battery when set to 2A. Correct me if I'm wrong... isn't heat the most basic factor to overcharging? If the battery is hot, stop charging. Otherwise, a 2A charger, starting at about 1.5A, slowly ramping down on it's own to 0.1A, does not overheat the battery, will be just dandy.

I can't use the float charging, leave it connected for months, kinda charger anyways. Thats for people lucky enough to have their own garage.

 

[michael]

My $60 Motomaster battery charger has two settings; 2A and 10A. Both charging rates can be set to automatic or manual.

Sounds like a good unit.
The battery tender has saved a lot of batteries since I've owned it, but it's an overnight process to bring a car battery back to life.

Correct me if I'm wrong... isn't heat the most basic factor to overcharging?

I don't think you're wrong. I read someplace (damn this old memory, not accurate all the time) one of the issues with m/c batteries is the plates are relatively thin, and an aggressive charger (big amp) can create heat to warp the plates, and presto, battery gone bad.
This may relate only to the older style batteries, I'm not so sure about the newer ones.
Nowadays, I just ride the bike, and plug it in once a month (for 12 hours or more) during the lean months of rare riding.
Like now.

 

[heisenberg9]

So I spent about 6 minutes using the search engine and re-reading some threads. Here are some informative ones. The third thread listed has important info from some who designs batteries for a living. All have info worth reading

Thread One

Thread Two

Thread Three

There are more threads on this issue. I punched in "battery tender" into the quick search and came up with lots of threads.

 

[rivan]

adiabatic- "I have #1. Despite that listing, it's an automatic maintainer and charger. You can't go wrong for $20. "

+1 I bought the Eliminator 2AMP @ Cambodian Tire before they went on sale :rtfm

But I am still glad I have it......just set it and forget it.



Purplekawi- "does #1 have the attachment to the battery so the charger doesn't have to be directly attached to it?? it doesnt say in the listing and doesn['t have it in the pic of it. "

I don't think I understand what you meant...but I haven't seen any battery charger that charges a battery without being connected to the battery.

Oh yeah, and, I would recommend pulling the battery out of the bike to store your ride for the season....As SVR posted a thread with one very good reason for doing so. http://www.bcsportbikes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79227

 

[adiabatic]

does #1 have the attachment to the battery so the charger doesn't have to be directly attached to it?? it doesnt say in the listing and doesn['t have it in the pic of it.

Not sure what you're referring to.

#1 comes with ring terminals, clamps and a 12V "lighter" thingy (at least mine did). In theory, you could rig up an accessory socket on the bike somewhere (or use the power socket for a vest, etc) and then plug the charger into that.

I prefer to remove the battery from the bike and put it on a shelf. That's just in case the battery overheats or leaks (although I know that there's 0.001% chance of that). Also I move my bike around a bit during the winter to get at things in the garage so no wires to the bike is preferred.

 

[Purplekawi]

what i mean is this........#2 comes with an attachment that you permanently bolt to your battery posts. it's very similar to an RC car battery plug. it permanently stays on the motorcycle. you locate the plug end somewhere easy to get at and all you have to do is plug the charger into it rather then having to remove the seat to attach any clips. i have a pager alarm on my bike and it will drain the battery in a week or so of no riding. if i go away on holidays i toss on my charger but i don't have to remove anything to do so. just plug it into the wall and into the attached plug and away it goes.

 

[adiabatic]

what i mean is this........#2 comes with an attachment that you permanently bolt to your battery posts. it's very similar to an RC car battery plug. it permanently stays on the motorcycle.

You could use #1 in that way. All the different attachment methods have a plug that goes into the charger cable.

 

[waterman]

I needed a decent charger because this is the first winter I've parked my bike. I just bought the one you list as #1. Combustible Tire in Maple Ridge has 4 left (no discount sign on the display), Poco has none (although their website says they have stock), and Coquitlam has none. The sale ends tomorrow. Jeez I sound like I work for them, which I don't.

The charger comes pre-wired with the standard quick-connect (as used with heated vests). My bike was already wired for the vest, so no work at all to get it going. It also has a cigarette lighter adapter, as well as the conventional clips if you want to charge other stuff. It's a pretty slick little unit, with reverse polarity protection, a diode to stop the battery draining, led indicator lights etc. Also comes wall-mountable.