I used to have several Battery Tender Jr devices that I used to maintain my tractor, motorcycle, scooter, power grader, and a couple other small equipment batteries. This worked, but required me to buy a device per battery and the power wasn't really enough to charge a battery that had been sitting a while if it was needed. Also, the jr's seemed to need to be replaced about every 8 years for something. I've had an LED stop working, wires break, and one just stop working. Not cheap to keep replacing them.
I looked at some of the larger Battery Tender models as well as a bunch of alternatives. The BateryMinder brand seemed to have good reviews, seemed to last, and I liked the fact that they compensated for temperature as I use them in an unheated garage. I also liked the idea that they could maintain several batteries at once.
At first, I was so paranoid about the AGM style batteries that I've been using, so I opted for the Battery Minder 12248 so I could select the battery type and more. The problem was that although this can charge fast and I can chain several batteries to it, I was never good at remembering to set the proper battery type. Come to find out, it really doesn't matter. After an entire winter season with 6 different batteries all running in "flooded" mode instead of AGM, they were fine. So, last year, I decided I wanted to mount another maintainer so that I didn't need to remove my motorcycle and scooter batteries, but rather just plug them in as needed. So, I purchased this simpler and cheaper model 2012.
It is foolproof. I connected up a special SAE Y splitter to this maintainer and I would just park the bike, pull out the SAE pigtail and plug in. Long periods of rain, winter hibernation, whatever - the machines were always ready to go. No more needing to reset the clocks or anything. Simply unplug, tuck the pigtail away and RIDE! I wondered if the two different size batteries would be a problem (the scooter uses a much smaller battery than the motorcycle) but the system never complained.
In October, the 12248 got damaged and rather than fussing with it, I replaced it with a 2012 as well. This time I mounted it out of the way and added a 5-way splitter with clips on a new shelf for the simple batteries and an extension to an SAE connector for the tractor. Everything is happy. I won't know for several years if this has any real issues, but my batteries last for many years since using maintainers - the one in my scooter is almost 9 years old and still works fine. The first one died in only 3 years, so I've already saved just in that battery the cost of the 2 model 2012 maintainers.
I have no idea if the desulfator does any good as I've not really had a bad battery to test it. The battery for the power grader used to start to run slow after a grading session, but the last time I used it ran strong the entire time. Hard to tell if I just used it less or it was made stronger. In my book, it can't hurt.
I was a little concerned about attaching multiple batteries to one charger, but once they are all in good shape that does not matter. It is only when I hook up a battery that really needs a good charge that I keep it connected alone. Once it's up to full, I hook up the rest again (basically overnight) The instructions recommend attaching a battery on its own to be sure it is good before adding it to a group. The instructions also recommend not mixing battery types, so all my batteries are now some form of AGM. I probably should have got the model 2012-AGM, but it was out of stock and I didn't see how it would matter.
I like the fact that the LEDs are easy to get a status at a glance. I have the devices mounted high and in clear view so that every time I pass through the garage, I can simply glance at the device and tell everything is in good shape. Every so often, I manage to catch the device in 'test' mode which always has me take a closer look to see what is going on. The pattern is different enough to catch your attention.
With small equipment batteries running nearly $200 a pop in some cases, these devices are cheap insurance for long life.
| Manufacturer | BatteryMINDer |
|---|---|
| Brand | BatteryMINDer |
| Item Weight | 1.8 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 9 x 3 x 10 inches |
| Item model number | 2012 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 2012 |
| Voltage | 12 Volts |
