Restoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

[Don W.]

I have a restoration battery and would like to know what charger or tender to use. On the restoration battery website, their battery tender is discontinued. Others posts are several years old on the topic. thank you...Don

[Gary B.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Don,

I'd be surprised if restoration battery doesn't have a new recommendation. Sometimes it just takes a company a while to update their website. It seems they are pretty picky about battery tenders, and I would assume they don't want you using one that doesn't meet their specs.

Gary

[Michael J.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

I just received a Restoration Battery (real tar top) for my '64. They have numerous inserts with the battery from Antique Auto Battery (the manufacturer) with info saying it is an AGM battery and if you want it to last never jump it with anything but another car, and to use at least a 13.4 V and 6-8 amp (but not over 12 amps) output battery maintainer, like the Battery MINDer Model 128CEC1. I also notice my Odyssey Ultimizer has the same specs. This is a change from 3 years ago when I bought one for my other '64, where they recommended a 1.5-3 amp output battery maintainer.

[Mark E.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

I just received a Restoration Battery (real tar top) for my '64. They have numerous inserts with the battery from Antique Auto Battery (the manufacturer) with info saying it is an AGM battery and if you want it to last never jump it with anything but another car, and to use at least a 13.4 V and 6-8 amp (but not over 12 amps) output battery maintainer, like the Battery MINDer Model 128CEC1. I also notice my Odyssey Ultimizer has the same specs. This is a change from 3 years ago when I bought one for my other '64, where they recommended a 1.5-3 amp output battery maintainer.

I wonder if most chargers meet these specs when in AGM mode?

[Michael J.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Good question.

[Gary R.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

I went through 3 Battery Tender Plus in 5 years. The first two smoked.

[Randy C.]

Re: Restoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

I have a restoration battery and would like to know what charger or tender to use. On the restoration battery website, their battery tender is discontinued. Others posts are several years old on the topic. thank you...Don

I've used either the Battery Tender Junior (Model 021-0123) or the Battery Companion (a 6V or 12V battery saver unit) on my Restoration Battery for my '71 Corvette for 6-7 years with no ill effects. I just got a Restoration Battery for my '68 4-4-2 a little over a year ago an have used the same Battery Tender Junior on it since receiving the battery, with no ill effects.

Randy C.

[Terry M.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

I went through 3 Battery Tender Plus in 5 years. The first two smoked.

Gary, you must have bad electricity. I don't mean that as a joke since I have worked in the electric utility industry for over 40 years. Something is wrong with your electrical supply.

I have 4 Battery Tender plus (one has 2 outputs) and a CETEK and have had no problems with any of them for eight years.

[Gene M.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Gary, you must have bad electricity. I don't mean that as a joke since I have worked in the electric utility industry for over 40 years. Something is wrong with your electrical supply.

I have 4 Battery Tender plus (one has 2 outputs) and a CETEK and have had no problems with any of them for eight years.

Hi Terry,
Would a surge protector take care of Gary's issue?

[Gary R.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Gary, you must have bad electricity. I don't mean that as a joke since I have worked in the electric utility industry for over 40 years. Something is wrong with your electrical supply.

I have 4 Battery Tender plus (one has 2 outputs) and a CETEK and have had no problems with any of them for eight years.

Hi Terry
Well lets see. The 1st one lasted about a year. Not sure what happened, I don't recall any storms causing power line issues. Went into the garage and found it dead. The board had an issue with it. The cost ship it back and forth to FL was more then buying a new one so that's what I did. That last about year but I forgot to turn off the parking lights when I put the car away and found that dead a week later, this time I did ship it back and they replaced it. That one is now about a year old so far it's working and I left it on all Winter.

[Terry M.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Hi Terry,
Would a surge protector take care of Gary's issue?

It might, depending on what the issue is. If voltage spikes are killing his battery tenders a good quality surge protector might help -- it can't hurt. If it was voltage spikes though he would be having issues with other electronics in his household/shop. Computers and TVs are also sensitive to voltage spikes. I use a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for my computer and TV. That will help protect sensitive electronics from most voltage surges, but in most cases it is overkill for a simple battery charger/maintainer. Nothing can completely protect from a nearby lightening strike. A properly designed electrical system in your household/shop (not just to current electrical code, but properly bonded and grounded) can minimize damage from surges and lightening strikes, but lightening is so forceful that complete protection is impossible.

Leaving a battery maintainer open circuited (not connected to a battery while the AC is connected) for any length of time can damage them. Also trying to use a maintainer to charge a dead battery (overloading the maintainer) can also lead to a short life. They are not designed for that kind of use.

As a last resort, I suppose it is possible Gary just has incredibly bad luck with these things.

[Terry M.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Hi Terry
Well lets see. The 1st one lasted about a year. Not sure what happened, I don't recall any storms causing power line issues. Went into the garage and found it dead. The board had an issue with it. The cost ship it back and forth to FL was more then buying a new one so that's what I did. That last about year but I forgot to turn off the parking lights when I put the car away and found that dead a week later, this time I did ship it back and they replaced it. That one is now about a year old so far it's working and I left it on all Winter.

Trying to charge the battery with a load (the parking lights) on it is the killer. I would have to go look at the ones I have, but I think they are designed for a max of around 2 amps output. Trying to push more out of them for any length of time is fatal. I am glad they replaced it for you, but I would bet there is a caution in the instructions about overloading the unit.

[Gary R.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Yes I'll take the hit on that one but the 1st one I think was just bad.

[Terry M.]

Re: Resoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

Yes I'll take the hit on that one but the 1st one I think was just bad.

I don't know what their failure rate is, and I am sure they won't tell us. Everything goes bad once in a while, and as you well know, some things just wear out. Neither you nor I would have a livelihood if everything lasted forever. Electronics should last more than a year though. Maybe I've just been lucky with them. I wouldn't complain if the first ones I bought eight years ago took a dump. Eight years on electronics is more than one can expect.

[Debi L.]

Re: Restoration Battery Charger or Tender Recommendation?

I have a question regarding the use of a battery tender. Can they be used if you have the "spade" cut off? I do not have the Historic Battery but I do have the topper to appear more original. I will not purchase the Historical battery until I'm ready to flight the car. I do use the CTEX on my 2015 and it works great! I would like to install one on my C2 to support the life of the battery. I don't mean to derail this thread but I didn't want to start a new one since it is the same topic. Thank you.