Maintaining a healthy car battery is crucial for vehicle reliability. While standard battery chargers are useful, a Good Battery Tender offers a smarter approach to battery care, especially for vehicles not driven daily or those stored for extended periods. My experience with a Schumacher ‘smart’ charger, though basic in interface, highlighted the benefits of using a battery tender to keep batteries in top condition.
This Schumacher charger, similar to their ProSeries line, impressed me with its gentle charging process. Instead of simply slamming power into the battery, it intelligently increased voltage gradually, staying just above the battery’s current level. This smooth, controlled charging is much kinder to battery chemistry, and I found it effective at fully charging even deeply discharged truck batteries, albeit over a longer period of about 24 hours. While deep discharging is generally bad for batteries, this tender proved surprisingly capable of restoring them.
One particularly useful feature was the ‘boost’ mode. I encountered batteries so depleted they wouldn’t accept a normal charge. Engaging the boost mode delivered a high-amp, 14V jolt that, within 15 minutes, effectively “woke up” the battery, allowing it to resume normal charging. The exact chemical mechanism is unclear, but it acted as if high amperage overcame some internal resistance or shorting issue within the battery.
Beyond charging, this device also functions as a maintainer. It applies small, infrequent voltage pulses to counteract self-discharge, keeping the battery topped up without overcharging. This maintainer function is a key advantage of a good battery tender, preventing battery degradation during storage or periods of infrequent use.
However, the user experience wasn’t perfect. The charger’s interface was minimal – just three lights and a button. Understanding what it was doing required constant monitoring with a multimeter. Without external measurement, the charger provided little feedback or control. This lack of clear information made me wish for a more sophisticated, instrumented charger, perhaps one with digital readouts or even data logging capabilities to track voltage and charging progress over time.
Ultimately, my experience underscored the value of a good battery tender. While basic models offer significant benefits in maintaining battery health and even reviving deeply discharged batteries, a truly excellent battery tender would combine this smart functionality with a user-friendly interface, providing clear feedback and control for optimal battery care and peace of mind.
