stevenjmerrill
New member
I just picked up a 2004 R1150RT and was wondering if anyone used the Battery Tender Junior to keep their gel battery charged in the winter? Thanks.
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Battery Tender Junior for Gel Battery
- Thread starter stevenjmerrill
- Start date
B
BUBBAZANETTI
Guest
i ride in the winter but use the bt jr with my bmw exide gel battery. if i haven't used the bike in a week or two and it's been real cold i'll put it on the night before. no problems.
J
jld2872
Guest
Battery tender on gel battery
Mine stays hooked up to my Battery Tender whenever my R1100R is parked. No problems!
Mine stays hooked up to my Battery Tender whenever my R1100R is parked. No problems!
Battery Tender
I agree. The Battery Tender will work just fine.
Congradulations on the new bike; and welcome to the site! You couldn't have come to a better place to get information about your bike. These folks have an amazing amount of knowledge and expertise.
You'll have to let us know how the new bike is working out.
Easy
Kerrville, Texas
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
Yogi Berra
I agree. The Battery Tender will work just fine.
Congradulations on the new bike; and welcome to the site! You couldn't have come to a better place to get information about your bike. These folks have an amazing amount of knowledge and expertise.
You'll have to let us know how the new bike is working out.
Easy
Kerrville, Texas
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
Yogi Berra
L
LOKHANKIN
Guest
I also have '04 R1150RT and was looking into this tender thing.
Batteries on 2003 and 2004 are gel ones and BMW recommends one type for these batteries, while another one - for prier years.
Gel battery has a computer inside and just plugging in any tender could lead to a different than charging/maintining results.
Junior tender is indeed cheaper, than $80+ BMW one, but being cheap - I didn't by either one of them. I just ride my bike on every nice day, despite tempreture.
Batteries on 2003 and 2004 are gel ones and BMW recommends one type for these batteries, while another one - for prier years.
Gel battery has a computer inside and just plugging in any tender could lead to a different than charging/maintining results.
Junior tender is indeed cheaper, than $80+ BMW one, but being cheap - I didn't by either one of them. I just ride my bike on every nice day, despite tempreture.
B
BUBBAZANETTI
Guest
lokhankin said:
i know bmw has computerized every other aspect of the bike in the past few years, but i think the battery is still computer free. it has more to do with the compounds and the "soak" cycle of the more expensive battery tender models.
B
BMWRich58
Guest
stevenjmerrill said:
Battery Tender Junior +1...
Inquired about this back in 2004 with Deltran. Lost the E-Mail tho...
Had used a Batt Jr on my 2002 RT with "gel cell" for two years. Never a problem.
Anywho,it's a "voltage thing"...Battery Tender Jr will not harm gel cell batteries.
BUT the regular Batt Tender and Batt Tender Plus will.
MOA magazine (a few years ago) had done an article on the "Batt Tender Issue". It explained how and why the different "Batt Tenders" effected the batterys during charging. Batt Jr was shown to be non-harmful compared to the regular Batt Tender and Batt Tender plus.
stevenjmerrill
New member
Just ordered my BT Jr.
Thank you all for the informative discussion. I just ordered my Battery Tender Junior online....
Have a great day.
Thank you all for the informative discussion. I just ordered my Battery Tender Junior online....
Have a great day.
Last edited:
PacWestGS
25-MPH NEXT 1OO MILES
Here's the deal IIRC
GEL batteries don't like to exceed 14.7 vdc ever. Some chargers will go over 15vdc on initial and then trickle charge at 13.5 or greater. This will shorten the life of the battery.
The "new" BMW chargers and I believe the Bat Tender Jr. are both OK. They initialize at 14.4vdc, trickle at 13.4 and then hold at/around 12.8-13.2vdc.
Another thing is that batteries need to cycle, so if you are one to plug it and forget you may shorten the life span some. If I can't ride 'em they get un-plugged every once in a while for a week or two. (Which isn't hard - one charger - two bikes)
Welcome Steven J.M. glad you found us.
Ride Hard, Ride Safe, Have Fun.
Doc
GEL batteries don't like to exceed 14.7 vdc ever. Some chargers will go over 15vdc on initial and then trickle charge at 13.5 or greater. This will shorten the life of the battery.
The "new" BMW chargers and I believe the Bat Tender Jr. are both OK. They initialize at 14.4vdc, trickle at 13.4 and then hold at/around 12.8-13.2vdc.
Another thing is that batteries need to cycle, so if you are one to plug it and forget you may shorten the life span some. If I can't ride 'em they get un-plugged every once in a while for a week or two. (Which isn't hard - one charger - two bikes)
Welcome Steven J.M. glad you found us.
Ride Hard, Ride Safe, Have Fun.
Doc
U
userw5
Guest
I have a Smart Battery Tender, that I purchased about 8 years ago for my previous motorcycle.
Should I not use that on the battery of my '04 Rockster?
Thanks,
Jeff
Should I not use that on the battery of my '04 Rockster?
Thanks,
Jeff
B
BMWRich58
Guest
userw5 said:
Hopefully you can find your answer(s) on the Battery Tender site
http://batterytender.com/faqs.php
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userw5
Guest
BMWRich58 said:
Thanks for the reply, I've been to that site. My model is about 8 or 9 years old, so I need to determine which current model it the equivalent. I'm guessing the Battery Tender Plus, but need to research it further.
