Do I need a battery tender?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

The past seven weeks my car has hardly been driven due to me going through a health challenge. When it is driven at all, it is only for a mile to five miles. This is hard on the battery and engine!

This situation may last another few months before I’m able to resume driving far enough, often enough to keep the battery well charged. I’ll have a better idea about that within another few weeks.

Question: Should I get a battery tender to keep the battery deep charged? If so, suggestions for one that is budget priced?

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A battery maintainer/smart charger will automatically bring the battery to the proper charge level and keep it there.

Look for the cheapest smart charger you can find.

Tester

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Get well soon kiddo.

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The brand Battery Tender can be bought from Amazon for $35 or a fancier one for $60. There are several other options if you search “battery maintainer” you will see a number of options.

There is a cheaper CenTech brand from Harbor Frieght for $18.

I’d suggest the Battery Tender brand but really any of them will do the job in the short term.

All charge at a low amerage… typically 1 to 2 amps. A somewhat discharged battery can be brought up to a full charge in a day and then the charger will “float” to keep the battery at full charge.

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I’ve been using this one for 13 years, I’m happy with it.
Amazon.com: Battery Tender Plus 12V 1.25 AMP Car & Motorcycle Battery Charger and Maintainer, Float Charger for Automotive, and ATVs - Smarter Than a Trickle Charger : Automotive

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Thank you everyone for your responses. I appreciate the help.