I decided that it was time for me to get a battery maintainer for my car after going through the hassle of calling the auto club that I'm a member of and waiting for them to boost my car (at a somewhat inconvenient time when I needed to drive off in order to arrive on time for an appointment). I generally park inside an unheated garage and because I work downtown and it is more convenient (and less expensive) for me to take public transportation, it has happened that I didn't drive my car for over 3 weeks. After over 3 weeks of not using my car in the winter where temperatures outside where I live in the winter can stay at or go below -20C or -2F for multiple days/hours, even if my car was parked in an unheated garage, my car's battery was drained and couldn't start my car which required me to call CAA to get my car's battery boosted. I remember this happening when I went on a 2 week vacation in January and left my car in the unheated garage for those 2 weeks and then when I got back, I didn't drive my car for an additional 2 weeks and my car's battery did not have enough juice to start my car.
Rather than drive once a week or every few days when I didn't really need to drive my car just to maintain/charge the battery, getting a battery maintainer was something that I wanted/needed to do. I also didn't like the idea of boosting my battery repeatedly since this is not good for the battery.
I asked some friends for their recommendations and someone recommended that I take a look at the Battery Tender Junior. At the time that he recommended it to me, it was actually on sale along with it's "big brother" the Battery Tender Plus 12V. The Junior was rated at 0.75A and the Plus was rated at 1.25A.
After much consideration, I decided to get the Battery Tender Junior. The product information for the Battery Tender Junior can be found *HERE*.
After purchasing the Battery Tender Junior, I decided to immediately attach it to my car. At first I opted to use the battery alligator clips but then later decided that I would use the battery ring terminal cable because I didn't want to keep the hood of my car open while I was charging/maintaining the battery. Both cable attachments are fused for added security.
The battery alligator clips were very easy to use. Installing it was just as simple as popping up the hood of my car, carefully attaching the positive alligator clip to the positive terminal of the battery and then attaching the negative alligator clip to the negative terminal of the battery (my car has a negative ground). I then attached the alligator clips cable's quick connect to the quick connect of the main battery tender unit. After doing this, I plugged the unit into the AC outlet. The LED immediately turned red to indicate that it was charging the battery.
After approximately 30 minutes in this configuration, I decided that I would attach the battery ring terminal cable to the battery itself. Although I didn't time it, doing this took me approximately 30-45 minutes. I could have probably done it a lot faster if I had the proper tools initially with me. The configuration using the battery ring terminal cables took longer since it took some time for me to remove the nuts and bolt in order to attach the battery ring terminal. The installation document can be found *HERE*. After attaching the battery ring terminal cable to the battery, I attached it to the quick connect of the main battery tender unit and then I plugged the unit into the AC outlet. The LED immediately turned red again to indicate that it was charging.
With the ring battery cables connected, I was able to close the hood of my car which I couldn't do when the alligator clips were used.
Prior to me using the Battery Tender Junior in my car, my car sat idle in the garage for approximately 1.5 weeks. I didn't time the exact amount of time that it took the Battery Tender Junior's LED to change from red to flashing green but when I checked the unit after 24 hours, the LED was still solid red. When I checked the unit after approximately 36 hours, the LED was flashing green. When I finally checked again after 48 hours, the LED was solid green indicating that it was now maintaining the battery (in float mode).
When it came time for me to start my car, I unplugged the Battery Tender Junior from the AC outlet and then removed the unit's quick connect cable from the battery ring terminal cable's quick connect. I started my car and it started up immediately. In fact, my car seemed to start up easier/faster/better than it has every started in the past.
A copy of the product instructions can be found *HERE* and a copy of the troubleshooting guide can be found *HERE*.
According to the documentation, the Battery Tender Junior can be safely connected/plugged into the AC outlet 24/7 and is perfect when storing their car for the winter or for people like me who only drive their car occasionally. Rather than trying to remember when to plug in the device (based on how many days my car was not used), I decided to keep it plugged in whenever I park inside the unheated garage.
I have no problems recommending the Battery Tender Junior for anyone who doesn't drive their car a lot or who wants to store their car for the winter. However, if you're looking for something to quickly charge your car's battery or to boost your car's battery, the Battery Tender Junior is not for you.
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