Trickle Chargers. A trickle chargers' primary purpose is to slowly charge a battery and prevent overcharging – however, the same result can be achieved through the use of a standard charger. If storing batteries for a period of time is a common activity, then it's safe to say a trickle charger may be a good investment.
The most common way to deal with a dead battery is by jump-starting it. All you need to jump-start a car is a set of jumper cables and another car (a good Samaritan) with a functional battery. Keep in mind that you should never try to jump-start a car if its battery is cracked and is visibly leaking acid.
Trickle chargers are meant to be disconnected when they're done charging, while battery maintainers can be left plugged in. "A battery maintainer will only send a charge to the battery when the battery can accept a charge. So, as the battery reaches full charge, the maintainer stops charging the battery.
The answer is 'YES', yes the car battery does charge while the engine is idling. Then the alternator is producing AC current, thereby charging the battery while your car is idling.
A Battery Tender® battery charger maintains the proper storage charge of a vehicle battery when it's not in use. It's valuable for anyone living in long, cold winters, and it's a necessity for anyone who leaves their vehicle unattended for two weeks or longer.
Some trickle chargers can safely be left connected for months without doing harm to your battery, providing an easy long term battery maintenance strategy. Others may only be left connected for a few days at most. Be sure to check your trickle charger's manual for details.
Motorcycle battery tenders do not get weak from use. However, batteries do. On average, a motorcycle battery should last for 48 months. Lack of maintenance on the other hand could cause the battery to go bad faster.
In short, yes. Battery tenders can catch fire. They are designed to have a very minimal risk of this happening, however, and are considered to be very safe.
Battery Tender (and other intelligent trickle chargers/maintainers) is designed to charge the battery and keep it charged in floating (trickle charge) mode. You can (and most people do) leave it connected to your battery all winter, even for years if you need to.
Testing a battery tender is easy: hook it up to a known good battery, connect a voltmeter across the battery before, and during the tender's connection to the battery: measure the battery's voltage without, then with the tender.
If you know your car battery is relatively new and has been kept in good condition, it can probably sit unused for about two weeks before it goes flat. If you've left your car unused for over two weeks, it's quite likely you'll need professional assistance.
It's usually best to drive your car for about half an hour to charge a car battery. This is often enough time for charging so that the vehicle will start again once you turn it off. You should drive a little longer if your battery has been dead for a while, and you want to make sure the battery doesn't die again.
Remember: After you've done a jump start, you'll need to keep the vehicle's engine running for around 30 minutes to allow the alternator time to charge the battery sufficiently.
