The manual says to connect the charger + lead to the + battery terminal. And then connect the - lead to the car frame or engine. Note that the - lead gets connected to the battery - terminal if the battery is out of the car.

But when I use the ring leads rather than the alligator clips, I don't really have a convenient place to attach the rings.

Is it okay to just attach the - ring to the battery - terminal? Or why not? If not, do I need to run another wire from somewhere (attached to frame) and then attach the ring to that new wire?

I run a battery maintainer all winter long on my van connected to both posts on the battery without issues.

How are the "rings" supposed to attach? I'm not familiar with those.

I always read the instructions and then attach to the battery terminals anyway.

I use the rings on both posts, battery in the car and everything connected - no issues.

I do like these guys. Hook the rings to the terminals at the posts. Plug the charging cord halves together. Then plug the charger into the wall outlet.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I do like these guys. Hook the rings to the terminals at the posts. Plug the charging cord halves together. Then plug the charger into the wall outlet.

Yep.

-Rob

Cool. That's what I did despite the manual. But I was waiting for an explosion all night.

The thinking behind that is to make the final connection away from the battery to avoid any sparking near the battery cells. There's a possibility of explosive gasses (hydrogen, I think) from the charging process.

Unlikely in the case of a battery maintainer, more of an issue when connecting a fast charger, a booster or a set of jumper cables.

Good to know the basis.

Direct connection is fine. That’s exactly how trolling motor batteries are connected to an onboard charger in a boat.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
The thinking behind that is to make the final connection away from the battery to avoid any sparking near the battery cells. There's a possibility of explosive gasses (hydrogen, I think) from the charging process.

Unlikely in the case of a battery maintainer, more of an issue when connecting a fast charger, a booster or a set of jumper cables.

A battery charger of any type cannot arc or spark if it is not turned on until after you've connected it .

 
I use the ring connectors on my wife's car. The only time I had to "think" was when I added an extension to the 25 ft Batter Tender 25 ft extender cable. I only needed another couple of feet, but I had to plot out the positive to negative sides of the extension. Otherwise, using their cables, just connect them.
 

I use a Battery Tender on my motorcycles. Hook the charger harness to the battery per the instructions and anytime they're parked they're plugged in. I get 6 to maybe 8 years out of my batteries, and they crank over no problem. One of the best maintenance accessories I've ever brought.

I've had one on one car are another for 10-12 years. Always connected to the battery directly with the ring connectors. No issues.

RMD

Sounds like an engineer wrote one half of the instructions then an attorney wrote the other half.
For 50 points, guess who wrote which one?

Hey, sorry another dumb question.

Can I use two of the 25' Battery Tender extension leads in-line?

I want to place the Battery Tender in a particular spot near the AC outlet and use it for two cars. I can reach one car with a single 25' extension. But to reach the other car, I need an additional extension. Okay to use a second extension in-line (for long periods - days at a time - just driving to lubricate stuff / avoid tire flat spots / etc).

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Hey, sorry another dumb question.

Can I use two of the 25' Battery Tender extension leads in-line?

I want to place the Battery Tender in a particular spot near the AC outlet and use it for two cars. I can reach one car with a single 25' extension. But to reach the other car, I need an additional extension. Okay to use a second extension in-line (for long periods - days at a time - just driving to lubricate stuff / avoid tire flat spots / etc).

I've had good luck contacting Deltran directly on technical questions. They respond promptly everytime.

Thanks. I'll ask them.

Although generally I probably would tend to trust the practical experiences here than a theoretical answer from a company's support center. I'm just not sure who from the company is responding....

Longer runs may require heavier leads. Why not just buy a second Tender and leave both cars hooked up all the time?

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
Longer runs may require heavier leads. Why not just buy a second Tender and leave both cars hooked up all the time?

2nd Tender is not the issue. Placement of the Tender is. The Tender, just using one 25' cord, requires a small table (don't want to put the Tender on the floor) in order to reach the car battery. Table and Tender would be in the walk traffic area.

I'd like to place the Tender in an area of the garage not in a walk path (where we already have a work bench) and just run a longer cable.

There is a 12' extension -- that may be enough....