[Kitulu]

Can the battery be charged intermittently, say, once a week, during winter storage, and it not cause harm to the battery?

I live in on-post housing in Germany. Fortunately, my assigned parking space (that I use for my bike) is right outside the front door, and has a convenient power outlet to plug in a tender. Unfortunately, (for my purposes) they plow and salt the sidewalks here. The first winter that I had plugged the bike in, they ran over the extension cord and ripped it out of the wall.

The second winter here, I removed the battery and plugged it in in my basement storage area.

This year, I am toying with the idea of just plugging it in once a week or so, when I will be home to keep an eye on it, and unplugging it after the charge lights goes green. I had considered stringing an extension cord from the power outlet, to the awning, over to the tree by my cycle shelter, and then into the shelter, but I am not certain that that will work.

 

[WarSquirrel]

Just remove the battery and keep that plugged in. Most tenders comes with the direct battery hookup. Make sure you use a fuel stabilizer and put air in the tires at max psi the tires can hold.

 

[Dvance800cc]

Cycle shelter? Is that separate from that parking space outside your front door? Seems like a no brainer, store the bike in a shelter and take the battery in the house and keep on a tender. Set it and forget it until spring.

 

[Kitulu]

Cycle Shelter is in the parking space...more or less permanently there until I move.

 

[reinie]

I just leave the battery in the bike and use the Battery Tender Junior connected to a pigtail cord which I connected to my battery. I park my Scout on a sheet of plywood to keep the tires off the concrete and put Sta-Bil into a full tank of gasoline. I usually take the bike for a short spin to get the stabilizer fully mixed and pumped into the fuel injection system for storage.

 

[55loren]

They do make solar power battery tenders.

 

[Dvance800cc]

Cycle Shelter is in the parking space...more or less permanently there until I move.

Got it, glad you have some shelter for your bike. I still say take battery out. Why run cords outside and worry about connecting and disconnecting them and are these battery tenders even rated for outside use (rain and snow). Again, set it and forget it in your house.

 

[rpsibew110]

If the indoor storage is heated (assuming it is) it will be better for the battery to pull it and put the tender on it in the storage. And despite the old facts about a battery draining on a concrete floor todays battery cases do not allow the battery to discharge into the concrete if it's in good condition.

But to answer your question sure you can put the charger on once a week and top it off.

 

[reinie]

I have an insulated pole barn with concrete floor. It will be heated but isn't hooked up yet. I had no problem storing my Scout in there last winter with my Battery Tender Junior hooked up to it. Nice thing is the ability to go for a ride whenever I get a freakishly warm winter day.

 

[Max Kool]

Just remove the battery and keep that plugged in.

Nope. A five month trickle charge can ruin a battery. The slow but gradual chemical process can make your battery loose most of its capacity while still looking fully charged. Better you put in on a tender for a night once every two or three weeks.

Your battery will thank you for it.

 

[WarSquirrel]

Nope. A five month trickle charge can ruin a battery. The slow but gradual chemical process can make your battery loose most of its capacity while still looking fully charged. Better you put in on a tender for a night once every two or three weeks.

Your battery will thank you for it.

Most tenders goes to “reconditioning” mode after the battery is above a certain percentage. This keeps the cells healthy and prevents sulfation.

 

[Bike Nut]

Very few trickle chargers will hurt your battery, just don't buy a cheap one, make sure it has a controller with the different modes. I have neglected an old bike I have on a Black & Decker (model BM3B) charger, for up to six months, the bike always starts and seldom needs water in the battery (yep, very old bike). Damage to your battery most always comes from over-charging, either bad regulator, or trying to bring a dead battery back too fast. Like 55loren, I was going to suggest a solar charger, they work great. I have used them on stored boats in the past. Make sure you get one with a controller, sometimes the controller has to be purchased separately.

Battery Tender 15W Solar Panel 12V Charger - DBT021-1165 at Batteries Plus Bulbs

DBT021-1165 is a Battery Tender brand 15W 12 Volt Solar Battery Charger. It has a built-in charge controller to prevent overcharging, temperature compensation sensor, and spark proof.

www.batteriesplus.com

Grainger, West Marine, eBay. You could mount it on top of your shelter.

 

[Kitulu]

I have a battery tender. I was just wanting to not have to take the battery out over the winter.

 

[rpsibew110]

I have a battery tender. I was just wanting to not have to take the battery out over the winter.

Then just plug in the tender once a week or so.

 

[Brother Scum]

I use a Battery Tender Jr. I rotate it between my Chief for a week, my sons Bonneville for week, and my RV or generator battery for a week. (those last two are inside and on the bench for the winter)
This has been working fine for years

 

[Dark-horse]

Can the battery be charged intermittently, say, once a week, during winter storage, and it not cause harm to the battery?

I live in on-post housing in Germany. Fortunately, my assigned parking space (that I use for my bike) is right outside the front door, and has a convenient power outlet to plug in a tender. Unfortunately, (for my purposes) they plow and salt the sidewalks here. The first winter that I had plugged the bike in, they ran over the extension cord and ripped it out of the wall.

The second winter here, I removed the battery and plugged it in in my basement storage area.

This year, I am toying with the idea of just plugging it in once a week or so, when I will be home to keep an eye on it, and unplugging it after the charge lights goes green. I had considered stringing an extension cord from the power outlet, to the awning, over to the tree by my cycle shelter, and then into the shelter, but I am not certain that that will work.

I plug mine in when the temperature goes below freezing and unplug it during the day. Your weekly charge should be fine, but the best solution is to ride the bike several times a week. I ride my bike to Wendy's to get my Frosty and my lunch.😋

 

[MilwDave]

I’ve used these for a few now. They work great with all types of batteries and will not harm them. No need to plug and unplug them.

NOCO GENIUS2X2, 2-Bank, 4-Amp... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F37P7H3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[RezRunner]

Can the battery be charged intermittently, say, once a week, during winter storage, and it not cause harm to the battery?

I live in on-post housing in Germany. Fortunately, my assigned parking space (that I use for my bike) is right outside the front door, and has a convenient power outlet to plug in a tender. Unfortunately, (for my purposes) they plow and salt the sidewalks here. The first winter that I had plugged the bike in, they ran over the extension cord and ripped it out of the wall.

The second winter here, I removed the battery and plugged it in in my basement storage area.

This year, I am toying with the idea of just plugging it in once a week or so, when I will be home to keep an eye on it, and unplugging it after the charge lights goes green. I had considered stringing an extension cord from the power outlet, to the awning, over to the tree by my cycle shelter, and then into the shelter, but I am not certain that that will work.

I live in Montana and deal with winter....a lot. My RV has a solar charger on it and it does fine all year....it has three batteries. I have a trickle charger hookec up to my Indian Trike.....it has two batteries...one for reverse and one to start, I have Can Am Commander that has a trickle charger hooked up whenever it is not running, I have a zero turn mower with a trickle charge on it all winter. I have Startron fuel conditioner in all. No problems....EVER. I have used the trickle charger for years without any problems.

 

[Indiansamiam]

I have been using deltran products for years, I have the solar version on my camper and the tender jr on four other bikes. I leave them plugged in all winter and I dont have starting issues or replace batteries frequently.

The deltran solar tender in 5 or 10 watts should serve you well if you can set it up to have a Southern exposure.

You can also buy wire extensions for these up to 25', I have one on my tractor that keeps the lead acid battery charged.

 

[simonwhite]

We can store energy by rechargeable batteries and use it at the night also, so it is not a problem. I also recommend this review websolarguide.com/backyard-revolution-review/