Granite Digital Battery Maintainers???

leo

leo

Well-known member
I've had and used my 6 and 12 volt Battery Tenders for years and have had no problems with them. I recently saw one of these units in the Snyder's catalog which seems to bring the product to a new level. They claim to charge and maintain both 6 & 12 volt batteries with features the prevent battery sulfation among others. Sounds great, does anyone have any experiences to opine?
 
I've been using one for a couple of years. Picked this one vs. the one M2M shows or others for the de-sulfation which is the main killer of batteries. There is no way to really know if that works but I have nothing to lose other than the charger cost. There has been some mention in the battery charging arena that de-sulfation requires much more power. Here is the manufacturer or peddler: http://www.granitedigital.com/saveabattery12voltchargermaintainer-2.aspx
 
I bought my first one 4 years ago at Hershey, Now I have 4. The original ones were single voltage. It seems every year they improve with more features.
 
All flooded lead-acid batteries "sulfate", that's how they work. Recharging simply converts it from the plates back into the electrolyte (sulfuric acid). So "desulfator" is kind of a misnomer.

It is true that sulfation will turn hard and resistant over time with battery neglect. It's said recharging a battery with sulfation is like trying to wash your hands while wearing rubber gloves. Anyway with a good charger or maintainer no special treatment is required. Keep the battery charged up and it won't be a problem in the first place. Like most things, prevention is better than the cure.
 
Harbor Freight has a battery maintainer for less than $10. I have been using one for the last few years and it works great.
 
Bob Bidonde said:
Harbor Freight has a battery maintainer for less than $10. I have been using one for the last few years and it works great.
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"UL APPROVED" no doubt. Yikes. Just what I want left unattended in my garage, hooked up to the mains power. What could possibly go wrong??
 
I have read the reviews of several units from different manufacturers. While most reviews are good there are enough bad to cause concern. Prices are all over the place and doesn't seem to affect customer satisfaction.
 
My question is: how do you know it is actually preventing "battery sulfation"? Would you just assume it's working as long as it exceeds warranty?

David Serrano
 
The claim is, that they can reverse the effects of permanent sulfation by different charging strategies, "pulsed" and I don't know what all. For example, a dead battery that has been sitting for a year. Maybe. It does take a long time. Hot weather increases the tendency towards sulfation because the natural rate of self-discharge accelerates as temperatures increase. Supposedly at anything below about an 80% charge some permanent sulfation can occur in a matter of days. This normally reduces the capacity of the battery. The solution seems obvious, keep the battery fully charged and maintained on a tender.
 
"UL APPROVED" no doubt. Yikes. Just what I want left unattended in my garage, hooked up to the mains power. What could possibly go wrong??


Arent all of these made in China?
 
Chrankster, thanks for the information.

Ronn,

The Pevious Owner gave me his old 6v Battery Tender when I bought our Roadster four years ago. He said he kept it attached the the battery all time and the battery lasted well beyond the warranty. I did the same until I read here on the Barn that some people experience fires, so I began plugging it in for a day each week or two and unplugging it.

I recently bought a dual 6v/12v Battery Tender at Costco to replace the old one. I have more confidence in the new one. I have two trickle chargers I bought from Walmart and the two Battery Tenders as well as a battery charger/maintainer from Sears. I'll check to see if any are made in China.

I gave one of the Walmart maintainers to my neighbor to keep the battery charged on his new Corvette, but he said it didn't help so he gave it back.

David Serrano
 
Crankster said:
"UL APPROVED" no doubt. Yikes. Just what I want left unattended in my garage, hooked up to the mains power. What could possibly go wrong??
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Well, first the battery will explode and splatter battery acid all over the cars in the garage, which will leave permanent stains in the paint. But don't worry about that, because when the garage burns down you'll never see the spots.:eek:
 
I periodically use a "Battery Saver" battery maintainer made by Granite Digital, though my Optima has never given me any problems, even after a long storage with no maintainer. I use the "Battery Saver" primarily to maintain my very old 6V battery on my garden tractor.



I have installed a female end of a cigarette lighter in a discreat location in the engine compartment of each one of my Model A's.
BSpowerport1.jpeg

Then when I pull into my garage to park, I simply lift the hood and plug in the "Battery Saver" using the male cigarette lighter plug.

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I use the cigarette lighter plugs since I found them very easy to plug in and unplug with no fumbling around and always good contact. I can plug it in and unplug it with one hand (while the other hand holds the hood open). Schwoop-dee-woop and it is plugged in.

The "Battery Saver" automatically detects either a 12V or 6V battery and automatically adjusts accordingly.....so I can use it on my modern cars, my Model A's, as well as on my garden tractor. One "Battery Saver" maintainer can maintain two batteries at once, reducing the number of maintainers needed if you have several batteries that need maintaining. I also like the meter on the "Battery Saver" - it gives me a quick snap-shot of the health of the battery.

Happy Holidays,
Brad in Maryland
 
Brad in Germany said:
I periodically use a "Battery Saver" battery maintainer made by Granite Digital




The "Battery Saver" automatically detects either a 12V or 6V battery and automatically adjusts accordingly.....so I can use it on my modern cars, my Model A's, as well as on my garden tractor. One "Battery Saver" maintainer can maintain two batteries at once, reducing the number of maintainers needed if you have several batteries that need maintaining. I also like the meter on the "Battery Saver" - it gives me a quick snap-shot of the health of the battery.

Happy Holidays,
Brad in Maryland
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Wow, that one does everything but check the electrolyte levels. :p:p
 
One thing I wish these companies would do, is use cables and cords that are made of materials that reflect the environment they are expected to operate in. When it gets real cold, the cheap plastic they use gets stiff as a dead road-kill squirrel. Flexible cords and cables down to 0° isn't that much to ask. I have a "brand name" modern digital LCD display charger that will not turn on when the temperature reaches freezing. Pathetic, some actual testing of the design in real life by real people would have exposed this flaw.

The modern battery tenders &c are great, don't misunderstand I own a couple and use them, but don't throw away the old school "dumb" chargers, they have their uses and advantages over the latest and greatest. In practice I tend to charge a battery periodically thoroughly with a 40 year old Shumacher from Sears, and then connect the maintainers for long term float charging. Batteries last a LOT longer (and better performance) if they get even a little bit of attention now and then.
 
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