Battery Tenders - Thanks Tom L

Hi Tom!

Can you tell me where you picked up the Battery Tenders?

Thanks

I called Deltran, (Batter Tender maker),

and they suggested that I purchase from

I thought this was odd, but it worked out just fine and it was cheaper than buying direct.

Two 12v Battery Tender Plus' and two 12' extensions. $124.00 including shipping.

Craig C.

Hey Craig!! Ya gotta stop pissin' off those net nannies!

Roy

There's a few of them in the Jeep ng. Nothing I can't handle. :-)

But there are also some really knowledgeable folks there. Mike Romain, for example. However, he doesn't work on Liberty's or diesels apparently.

Still, I like the folks here much better ... with a few OBVIOUS exceptions.

:-) Craig C.

Mike does seem to have it together.

Chris here, might have a answer for ya.

I hear that

Roy

Yeah ... Chris has been great. I've pestered the crap out of him with Liberty questions. I figured I'd give him a break.

:-) Craig C.

I think he like's the abuse, go for it.

Glad to hear it - but why two?

Two ... units (one for each battery)? Because once I calculated the cost of the patch cable and the extra set of eye-lets it would take to hook up to one unit, an additional unit was only $20 more. The guy I talked to at Deltran said *some* people have success charging two batteries with one unit without overloading it. With my luck ... I wouldn't fall into the *some* category.

Craig C.

Okay... but you're aware that there's this big, heavy, red cable running from one battery to the other, right? :)

It's not like the extra ampacity makes the battery tender work harder... it's a fixed current output regardless of the size of the battery - bigger batteries would just take longer to charge. The specs on the Battery Tender Plus say:

- Charge/Maintain up to 4 batteries (of similar type - in parrallel)

Strange they would tell you different - though they did wind up selling two units instead of one :)

Um ... no. I was under the impression that they were completely separate. One battery being responsible for the glow plug/grate thing-o-ma-jig and the other battery for starting and accessories.

:-)

I read that too. When I called, I was originally asking about the Battery Tender Jr. They said that it would NOT work at all and suggested the Battery Tender Plus. At which point I asked them, "Hey, I only need one of those, right?" And that's when they mentioned that it

*could* overload depending on the battery size. After computing the price of the cable and eye-lets and the *possibility* of overloading one unit, I decided to spring for the extra unit.

See what I mean about my luck?

:-) Craig C.

Yep - this is where I tell you that you're mistaken :)

Both batteries are connected together, which is why when one of my stockers exploded, I was able to run for a couple of days on a single battery.

Look inside the big wire loom running across the top of your radiator. It's a heavy red wire. Now trace it out. You'll see it goes from the passenger-side battery positive terminal to the driver's side positive terminal. True, the grid heater relays connect to the passenger-side battery, and the starter and IPM connect to the driver's side, but since both batteries are tied together (with that big red cable), every electrical load draws from both batteries. They're simply routed to their respective batteries as a matter of wiring convenience.

So here's the million dollar question: Am I currently frying something by having two Battery Tenders connected?

And another million dollar question. If I were to unplug one of the Battery Tenders as I currently have them configured, the remaining Battery Tender would charge both batteries with no other cables or configuration needed?

If so, I can use the spare Battery Tender for my boat battery.

Craig C.

I'd put one away as a spare.

Almost like magic.

Yeah... you meant to get one for your boat. That's the ticket :)

Cool. I figured there would be a need to connect the negative terminals.

Shhh. I won't tell anyone if you don't.

:-) Craig C.

Would you believe me if I told you they were connected together, too?

No way! Too good to be true.

Disconnecting the Battery Tender that belongs on my boat now.

:-) Craig C.

happy fathersday lol

LOL. Won't be telling the wife about this little debacle.

Craig C.