https://www.costco.ca/battery-tender-po ... 95600.html

Battery Tender is a very reputable brand for chargers / battery tender. Its a good price for this unit, you may want one to keep the car battery charged due to lower driving ( for those that may be going out less or working from home now)

Last edited by renegadeavenger on Oct 21st, 2020 3:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Title edit

99 replies

Oct 21st, 2020 3:29 am

Keigotw: Deal Expert; Mar 25, 2003; 17003 posts; 5494 upvotes; Markham

Oct 21st, 2020 3:29 am

there is also this
https://www.costco.ca/energizer-automat ... 73537.html

4A $42.99
8A $55.99

48TB Node 304 / i5-3570 / Server 2016 Essentials
12TB HP Mediasmart EX 495 (E8400, 3.0GHZ, 4GB Mushkin), with Server 2016 Essentials
16TB Qnap TS-459 Pro

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 4:54 am

congo80: Sr. Member; Mar 17, 2014; 979 posts; 773 upvotes; Vancouver

Oct 21st, 2020 4:54 am

is this the one that you plug-in to your car battery when you are planning to store your car for sometime??

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 6:37 am

vkizzle: Deal Expert; Aug 22, 2011; 39977 posts; 27364 upvotes; Center of Universe

Oct 21st, 2020 6:37 am

congo80 wrote: ↑ is this the one that you plug-in to your car battery when you are planning to store your car for sometime??

Exactly.

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 6:49 am

BCguy2: Jr. Member; May 5, 2009; 185 posts; 70 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 6:49 am

I think this is a charger, not a tender?

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 6:55 am

vkizzle: Deal Expert; Aug 22, 2011; 39977 posts; 27364 upvotes; Center of Universe

Oct 21st, 2020 6:55 am

BCguy2 wrote: ↑ I think this is a charger, not a tender?

It says battery tender in the description.
What made you think it's a charger?

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 7:59 am

nanyte: Member; Jan 2, 2009; 476 posts; 217 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 7:59 am

Battery tender is the brand. This is a small charger(4.5 amps) that is also a maintainer. You can get cheaper maintainer only (in the 1 amp range).

vkizzle wrote: ↑ It says battery tender in the description.
What made you think it's a charger?

+9

Oct 21st, 2020 8:03 am

angryaudifanatic: Deal Addict; Nov 10, 2018; 4674 posts; 5229 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:03 am

Keigotw wrote: ↑ there is also this
https://www.costco.ca/energizer-automat ... 73537.html

4A $42.99
8A $55.99

More isn't better. The formula is 0.2xC, C being the AH of the battery you're trying to charge, (0.2C is the max). I would personally choose the 4A charger so it charges the battery nice and slow which generates the least amount of heat possible which prolongs the battery life itself.

For legal topics and discussions, the opinion, guidance, and thoughts provided are my own and are not considered to be legal advice, in any manner.

+8

Oct 21st, 2020 8:03 am

vkizzle: Deal Expert; Aug 22, 2011; 39977 posts; 27364 upvotes; Center of Universe

Oct 21st, 2020 8:03 am

nanyte wrote: ↑ Battery tender is the brand. This is a small charger(4.5 amps) that is also a maintainer. You can get cheaper maintainer only (in the 1 amp range).

"Quickly charge lithium and lead acid batteries. The fully automatic 4 A power tender is a top-of-the-line 12 V or 6 V switchable battery charger, perfect for automotive, motorcycle and marine repair and maintenance shops."

Oct 21st, 2020 8:06 am

lleb13: Deal Addict; Aug 27, 2009; 1414 posts; 1709 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:06 am

ELI5? Does this replace just a battery charger?
My old battery booster is comparatively huge, clunky and evidently has no screen. It just has the +/- clamps to connect to the battery terminal.

Does this device just boost/charge cars from the 12V outlet? I never found those effective when a battery is completely dead...
I have a separate charger that plugs in 110V with the clamps as well. It's inherited, 20-30 years old and I see no reason to replace it.

Last edited by lleb13 on Oct 21st, 2020 8:12 am, edited 6 times in total.

Oct 21st, 2020 8:06 am

angryaudifanatic: Deal Addict; Nov 10, 2018; 4674 posts; 5229 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:06 am

vkizzle wrote: ↑ "Quickly charge lithium and lead acid batteries. The fully automatic 4 A power tender is a top-of-the-line 12 V or 6 V switchable battery charger, perfect for automotive, motorcycle and marine repair and maintenance shops."

They're all mostly sort of right and sort of wrong.

A battery tender is not to be confused with a battery charger, but one wouldn't call this device a tender. Tenders are meant to keep a battery's SOC, and a charger is meant to, well, do just that. Most tenders are in the 0.75a to 1.25a range, and chargers are typically 4A>. A typical case of a layperson not knowing this and writing a bad description.

FWIW: https://ama.ab.ca/auto/vehicle-maintena ... ry-tenders (tenders)

In this case, "Battery Tender" is also a brand which just so happens to make tenders and chargers...[sigh].

For legal topics and discussions, the opinion, guidance, and thoughts provided are my own and are not considered to be legal advice, in any manner.

+5

Oct 21st, 2020 8:19 am

jslabonte: Member; Aug 8, 2010; 348 posts; 300 upvotes; Quebec

Oct 21st, 2020 8:19 am

None of theses two mention they can withstand cold climates. These tenders often get brittle if left overnight at -15 c. and crack/break when handled in the morning. Any experience?

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 8:27 am

nanyte: Member; Jan 2, 2009; 476 posts; 217 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:27 am

vkizzle wrote: ↑ Read the next sentence of your quote.

"Quickly charge lithium and lead acid batteries. The fully automatic 4 A power tender is a top-of-the-line 12 V or 6 V switchable battery charger, perfect for automotive, motorcycle and marine repair and maintenance shops."

Oct 21st, 2020 8:28 am

nanyte: Member; Jan 2, 2009; 476 posts; 217 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:28 am

jslabonte wrote: ↑None of theses two mention they can withstand cold climates. These tenders often get brittle if left overnight at -15 c. and crack/break when handled in the morning. Any experience?

Any suggestions on a maintainer that can handle cold climates? The ones I have seen are silent about that.

Oct 21st, 2020 8:32 am

angryaudifanatic: Deal Addict; Nov 10, 2018; 4674 posts; 5229 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:32 am

jslabonte wrote: ↑ None of theses two mention they can withstand cold climates. These tenders often get brittle if left overnight at -15 c. and crack/break when handled in the morning. Any experience?

Higher end battery tenders leverage temperature compensation to adjust the floating voltage. If you don't use one of these, you're likely to damage your 12V battery if you're charging that cold. That said, your question is not in regards to that but of build quality, of which, well, I've never seen any residential ones hold up that well.

That said I would NOT be charging car batteries at that temperature. As a rule of thumb, I always charge in the morning after a car has sat overnight such that the battery is being charged AS the temperature is rising during the day. The temp of the battery must *ALWAYS* be colder than the temp of the charger/battery tender otherwise you risk a floating voltage that's too high.

That said never charge a frozen dead battery. That's a one way ticket to the afterlife...

For legal topics and discussions, the opinion, guidance, and thoughts provided are my own and are not considered to be legal advice, in any manner.

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 8:43 am

Bobberts: Sr. Member; May 12, 2014; 989 posts; 801 upvotes; Markham, ON

Oct 21st, 2020 8:43 am

angryaudifanatic wrote: ↑ A battery tender is not to be confused with a battery charger, but one wouldn't call this device a tender. Tenders are meant to keep a battery's SOC, and a charger is meant to, well, do just that. Most tenders are in the 0.75a to 1.25a range, and chargers are typically 4A>. A typical case of a layperson not knowing this and writing a bad description.

Isn't a battery tender and a battery maintainer the same thing? This charger is also a maintainer.

The manufacturer's site does not have information for the OP's specific model, but the line is called Battery Tender Power Tender and the following is the manual for the 5amp version.
https://www.batterytender.com/faq?q=pm
https://www.batterytender.com/site/batt ... 215-RE.pdf -"When the battery is fully charged, the green status indicator light will turn on and the charger will switch to a storage/maintenance charge mode. The BATTERY TENDER® charger will automatically monitor and maintain the battery at full charge."

Last edited by Bobberts on Oct 21st, 2020 8:46 am, edited 2 times in total.

+1

Oct 21st, 2020 8:45 am

slidxe: Deal Addict; Mar 14, 2007; 1694 posts; 505 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 8:45 am

I saw this at Richmond Hill costco ytd 49.99 instore

Oct 21st, 2020 8:47 am

Npno25: Member; Jun 21, 2017; 388 posts; 435 upvotes; Ontario

Oct 21st, 2020 8:47 am

Seems to be a bit of confusion in this thread... This IS a battery "tender" (maintainer) in addition to a charger (read the label - "Battery charger AND maintainer".

ISM™ (Infinite Sequential Monitoring) of the fully automatic 4-step charge process (qualification, bulk charge, absorption, float)

It will maintain the battery's voltage without boiling off the electrolyte.

+2

Oct 21st, 2020 8:57 am

tebore: Deal Guru; Feb 9, 2006; 13164 posts; 8032 upvotes; Brampton

Oct 21st, 2020 8:57 am

Keigotw wrote: ↑ there is also this
https://www.costco.ca/energizer-automat ... 73537.html

4A $42.99
8A $55.99

They cleared these out in store 2 years ago. Between $15-20 I picked up 5 of them for gifts and what not. 4 of them either died or malfunctioned within a year (overcharged the batteries past cut off etc). The warranty isn't worth the paper it's printed on. You pay shipping both ways.
They were used to charge or as maintainers. The ones used as maintainers didn't do a good job of maintaining (overcharged/overfloated).

In the end I returned all of them to costco.

A lot of people on RFD are happy with it tho, but maybe they didn't keep as close an eye on the charger as I did.

+3

Oct 21st, 2020 9:01 am

clergykid: Sr. Member; Jun 28, 2004; 503 posts; 93 upvotes

Oct 21st, 2020 9:01 am

I'm no expert in this area but this unit looks quite decent spec wise. It mentions charger and maintainer, with a 4 step program. My understanding is that this means the charger will charge quickly (ie. 4A) as needed until it reaches full, at which point it switches to float to maintain your battery at lower amperage. This gives you the flexibility of a faster charge where you need versus just a pure maintenance where amperage is < 1A.

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