Clarity failed to start...
- Thread starter Heino
- Start date
- Replies 72
- Views 15K
Clarity_Newbie
Active Member
Gadgeteer
Your statement is nothing more than...arbitrary, subjective and anecdotal. Any proof to back up your assertions? If you do...please provide the links and/or the source.
Are there internet reports out there which describe horrible experiences with battery tenders? Yes there are. Shirley you know bad reports can be found on all brands...correct?
I offer consumer reports, multiple automotive testing sites, electronic tech sites…(aka reputable sources)...as a means for the average Joe to research devices such as a battery maintainer/ low amp charger suitable for purchase. Little common sense and a proficient internet search engine can answer lots of questions.
Are there dubious internet sites? Are there dubious ratings and recommendations out there? Sure.
Are there some ripoffs and poor quality items for sale? Sure there are.
Are there nameless, faceless internet posters on forums who are stooges for certain companies and products? Surely. Company stooges are on all forums.
Deltran offers a decent product no doubt..I own one...but there are multiple companies that make quality products. I own another brand as well which has performed perfectly for many years. There are alternatives out in the wild and competition is a good thing.
I guess if you and a few others on this site eschew all reputable rating sources and figure yourselves to be the most qualified to assign a rating for product X...go for it...that’s your prerogative.
To put it another way...there are several companies out there who make quality automotive battery monitoring equipment. To say otherwise is bull feces.
I’ll stick to research and draw conclusions from several trusted sources...and encourage everyone to do the same.
The Gadgeteer
Active Member
True Deltran is not the only one that can make a good battery tenders but it is hard to argue they are not the most well known and respected. I did my research and I encourage others to do theirs.
I meant no offense. Based on a previous thread we had a consensus on this topic and recommendation of Deltran. My advice was only meant for others that do not care to research heavily specific models from specific brands of tenders since this was researched and discussed already.
Anyway, Deltran is just a safe choice because all their tenders models employ their same patented safe approach to battery maintenance not just some models and are not rebranded 3rd party products or simple trickle chargers (yes, this part does sound like I am a company man). However, there are other choices.
I did not mean to come off as anyone with any vested interest in any one particular company; I am not.
I meant no offense. Based on a previous thread we had a consensus on this topic and recommendation of Deltran. My advice was only meant for others that do not care to research heavily specific models from specific brands of tenders since this was researched and discussed already.
Anyway, Deltran is just a safe choice because all their tenders models employ their same patented safe approach to battery maintenance not just some models and are not rebranded 3rd party products or simple trickle chargers (yes, this part does sound like I am a company man). However, there are other choices.
I did not mean to come off as anyone with any vested interest in any one particular company; I am not.
Last edited:
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
As neglected as many of these cars were, sitting on dealer lots for many months, undriven and uncharged for long periods of time...ESPECIALLY the non-California 2018 models that languished forever...I wonder how many times the factory 12v battery on many of these cars were deep discharged and then recharged by the dealership prior to sale. Some may have been weakened by such treatment, and therefore now are suffering premature failure.
FWIW I have personally been involved in the repair of 3 different vehicles that suffered massive structural corrosion under their batteries, caused by unattended battery tenders that boiled over the battery while cars were in storage. All 3 were Deltrans. So you won’t catch me leaving a battery tender of any brand on a battery for any longer than a couple days...unless that battery is physically removed from the car and sitting on a plastic tray to catch the acid. Or just leave it in there untended and let the battery die, and replace when needed. A battery is MUCH cheaper to replace than a fully corroded inner structural panel of a car is...trust me.
FWIW I have personally been involved in the repair of 3 different vehicles that suffered massive structural corrosion under their batteries, caused by unattended battery tenders that boiled over the battery while cars were in storage. All 3 were Deltrans. So you won’t catch me leaving a battery tender of any brand on a battery for any longer than a couple days...unless that battery is physically removed from the car and sitting on a plastic tray to catch the acid. Or just leave it in there untended and let the battery die, and replace when needed. A battery is MUCH cheaper to replace than a fully corroded inner structural panel of a car is...trust me.
Last edited:
MrFixit
Well-Known Member
Interesting... I just purchased a Deltran (not for the Clarity, but for a tractor that gets little use). I'll have to keep watch on this. It makes me wonder why they don't incorporate a mode in these things that would run them for a few hours a week and shut them down otherwise. You could use an outlet timer but they are usually 24 hour devices. Maybe run it for an hour per day. Any less would require a more specialized timer device. With the tractor, I am certain that the parasitic drain is actually zero, but I figured that just sitting in the freezing cold for a few months might partially drain the battery even without a load.
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
3. How long can I leave the Battery Tender® Plus battery charger connected to a battery?
In theory, you can leave the Battery Tender® Plus battery charger connected to a battery forever. That’s a really long time. Sales people like to say, “Just plug it in and forget about it!” However, practically speaking, it is a good idea to check on the battery at least once every couple of weeks. Strange things can happen. Sometimes a battery can have a weak cell that won’t show up until the worst possible time. Of course, that time is usually when the battery is connected to a charger, and you are out of town on vacation.
If something goes wrong, then you have to deal with the question of the chicken and the egg. Which came first? Did the battery fail because it was connected to the charger or did the charger fail because it was connected to the battery? Good luck sorting that one out.
With a battery and a charger connected together, it’s a much better idea to be proactive and anticipate problems, however unlikely they may be. In more than 99.9% of cases, nothing will go wrong. That still leaves about 0.1% where something might. Learn to respect electricity. A little common sense can go a long way.
Also consider this. No matter how good a product is, anything can break. In fact, everything will break, eventually. There are only 2 questions to be answered. 1) When will it fail? & more importantly 2) How will it fail? If a product is designed and built well, a manufacturer will set a long warranty period, usually several years, to support that notion. Deltran, and other responsible manufacturers, invest a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money to ensure that their products will fail in a relatively safe manner. For electronic products, at the very least that means no electrical shock or fire hazard.
Above quote is from Deltran Battery Tender website. Even they don't openly recommend long term ignoring of their product. Me? I now happen to own an Optimate...but I'm really not brand loyal, they're all about the same, however I will never leave ANY of them unattended and plugged in for more than a few days. I'll absolutely use the maintainer to top off a little-used battery, then fully unplug it and let the battery sit, and then repeat in about a month throughout the off season. That's how I maintain mine (I have a BUNCH of equipment that is seasonal -- 8 batteries maybe?), and that's what I recommend. I highly discourage the "plug it in and forget it" routine that most people do. I'd say those 3 cars combined that I was involved in had between $10K and $15K worth of damage done to them that would not have occurred if they had simply not owned a battery tender. One was an insurance claim I paid. One was a neighbor's pristine 1968 Firebird that needed a fender skirt replacement plus a partial subframe spliced in under the battery following one winter's storage. And the first one was my own car some years ago -- 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora (had battery under back seat, hooked up by remote terminals under hood.) That battery boiled over apparently during storage, the acid rusted clean thru the floor pan of the car, and the entire battery hit the pavement after a good bump one day. What a blast. That car was 5 years old and had no rust issues otherwise. I hacked that floor back together with fiberglass and traded it in...was never properly fixed. Tossed that Deltran tender in the trash and bought the Optimate to replace it. But again one defect does not a bad product make...I'm still not brand loyal...surely Optimates fail too. Which is why I trust none of them.
These are just the stories that caused damage. I'm active on snowmobile forums. Right now, every single year, over and over again, at the beginning of the snowmobile season, is the following topic: "I just got my sled out of storage and the battery is completely dead...I had it on a Tender all summer long....what gives?" Answer: "Tender left on for the past 9 months straight probably cooked the battery to death...happened to me once too." It's like clockwork on those forums. And then the other 90% jump to Deltran's defense and swear by their Tenders and keep using them. And then the topic repeats again next season. So choose your poison, I don't pretend to "know" the answer. But I do know I don't trust those little boxes while they're hooked up to my batteries, and an absentee boilover failure can be excruciatingly expensive to fix. I look at mine daily while in use, and unplug as soon as battery is topped off.
In theory, you can leave the Battery Tender® Plus battery charger connected to a battery forever. That’s a really long time. Sales people like to say, “Just plug it in and forget about it!” However, practically speaking, it is a good idea to check on the battery at least once every couple of weeks. Strange things can happen. Sometimes a battery can have a weak cell that won’t show up until the worst possible time. Of course, that time is usually when the battery is connected to a charger, and you are out of town on vacation.
If something goes wrong, then you have to deal with the question of the chicken and the egg. Which came first? Did the battery fail because it was connected to the charger or did the charger fail because it was connected to the battery? Good luck sorting that one out.
With a battery and a charger connected together, it’s a much better idea to be proactive and anticipate problems, however unlikely they may be. In more than 99.9% of cases, nothing will go wrong. That still leaves about 0.1% where something might. Learn to respect electricity. A little common sense can go a long way.
Also consider this. No matter how good a product is, anything can break. In fact, everything will break, eventually. There are only 2 questions to be answered. 1) When will it fail? & more importantly 2) How will it fail? If a product is designed and built well, a manufacturer will set a long warranty period, usually several years, to support that notion. Deltran, and other responsible manufacturers, invest a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money to ensure that their products will fail in a relatively safe manner. For electronic products, at the very least that means no electrical shock or fire hazard.
Above quote is from Deltran Battery Tender website. Even they don't openly recommend long term ignoring of their product. Me? I now happen to own an Optimate...but I'm really not brand loyal, they're all about the same, however I will never leave ANY of them unattended and plugged in for more than a few days. I'll absolutely use the maintainer to top off a little-used battery, then fully unplug it and let the battery sit, and then repeat in about a month throughout the off season. That's how I maintain mine (I have a BUNCH of equipment that is seasonal -- 8 batteries maybe?), and that's what I recommend. I highly discourage the "plug it in and forget it" routine that most people do. I'd say those 3 cars combined that I was involved in had between $10K and $15K worth of damage done to them that would not have occurred if they had simply not owned a battery tender. One was an insurance claim I paid. One was a neighbor's pristine 1968 Firebird that needed a fender skirt replacement plus a partial subframe spliced in under the battery following one winter's storage. And the first one was my own car some years ago -- 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora (had battery under back seat, hooked up by remote terminals under hood.) That battery boiled over apparently during storage, the acid rusted clean thru the floor pan of the car, and the entire battery hit the pavement after a good bump one day. What a blast. That car was 5 years old and had no rust issues otherwise. I hacked that floor back together with fiberglass and traded it in...was never properly fixed. Tossed that Deltran tender in the trash and bought the Optimate to replace it. But again one defect does not a bad product make...I'm still not brand loyal...surely Optimates fail too. Which is why I trust none of them.
These are just the stories that caused damage. I'm active on snowmobile forums. Right now, every single year, over and over again, at the beginning of the snowmobile season, is the following topic: "I just got my sled out of storage and the battery is completely dead...I had it on a Tender all summer long....what gives?" Answer: "Tender left on for the past 9 months straight probably cooked the battery to death...happened to me once too." It's like clockwork on those forums. And then the other 90% jump to Deltran's defense and swear by their Tenders and keep using them. And then the topic repeats again next season. So choose your poison, I don't pretend to "know" the answer. But I do know I don't trust those little boxes while they're hooked up to my batteries, and an absentee boilover failure can be excruciatingly expensive to fix. I look at mine daily while in use, and unplug as soon as battery is topped off.
Last edited:
Mowcowbell
Well-Known Member
A good plan might include using a wifi outlet and then set a schedule where the plug is active only a few hours a week. Have the Battery Tender (or whatever brand of choosing) connected to the wifi outlet.
The Gadgeteer
Active Member
Interesting... I use my Deltran for the motorcycle in the off season. My Deltran literature says it will automatically shut off after 80 hours which is a little over 3 days. According my Wemo it does stop pulling power once charged. However, I will only connect periodically in light of this new info.
I won’t dispute anyone’s battery tender calamities.
My experience is that for the past 10 years I’ve had one vehicle or another on a battery tender for up to 6 months. Additionally, there has been a riding lawn mower, or car, on a solar maintainer for 3-6 months at a time. The exception to this being that, for the past 4 weeks, the Clarity has not been on a tender.
Lead acid batteries will discharge at a rate of ~10% per month. These maintainers put out less than 1A. Maybe it’s just luck.
I do like the idea of a plug-in timer set to run a few hours each day.
My experience is that for the past 10 years I’ve had one vehicle or another on a battery tender for up to 6 months. Additionally, there has been a riding lawn mower, or car, on a solar maintainer for 3-6 months at a time. The exception to this being that, for the past 4 weeks, the Clarity has not been on a tender.
Lead acid batteries will discharge at a rate of ~10% per month. These maintainers put out less than 1A. Maybe it’s just luck.
I do like the idea of a plug-in timer set to run a few hours each day.
6 days should not discharge 12V battery unless something else is draining it, or it was close to being discharged already, or battery is bad. Ive had cars sit for months between drives without any issues. Clarity should be no different. My Clarity has not had this issue, but I had a similar on 2017 Accord I had before the Clarity. Its an ICE, but Ill share the story anyways. Basically my commute is 6 miles one way, in general (I have no science to back it up but what I have heard) it takes 7 miles or so of driving an ICE car to recover the charge that it took to start up the car. This means that little by little 12V battery was getting lower and lower, unable to recoup 100% of what was spent on starting the car. Add grocery store and other stops (2mile or so drives) in there and after about 6 to 8 months the car wouldnt start. I put battery charger on it (12v 4AMP) and charged overnight. Everything went great. About 6-8 months later same thing happened. So ever since then (up until I traded in the Accord for the Clarity) I just got into a routine of topping off the battery via the charger every 5 to 6 months. Also, if you have multiple drivers and your seats do the adjustment when the door is opened every day, or even multiple times per day, thats a huge drain on 12V battery.
I realize that Clarity is a whole another beast. It doesnt have an alternator, so it must get its charge from the main battery, which is a much better system, because you dont need specific conditions (like over 2k RPM on ICE) to start the charge etc.. but still, my commute hasnt changed, I have had clarity for 2 weeks.. we'll see if all of a sudden it fails to start on me in 6 to 8 months.
I realize that Clarity is a whole another beast. It doesnt have an alternator, so it must get its charge from the main battery, which is a much better system, because you dont need specific conditions (like over 2k RPM on ICE) to start the charge etc.. but still, my commute hasnt changed, I have had clarity for 2 weeks.. we'll see if all of a sudden it fails to start on me in 6 to 8 months.
Good news. After one month, 12/5/19-1/5/20, with the Clarity in the garage, unplugged, and the HV battery at ~70%, the resting voltage of the 12v battery was 12.45v. About what I’d expect, assuming it was ~12.7v a month ago.
With the ignition on, the charging voltage was 14.6v.
Based on this, I’d imagine the car could be left to sit for 2-3 months without creating a low voltage situation with the 12v battery.
With the ignition on, the charging voltage was 14.6v.
Based on this, I’d imagine the car could be left to sit for 2-3 months without creating a low voltage situation with the 12v battery.
Sandroad
Well-Known Member
Whew!
I agree. The Clarity I ended up buying had to be jump-started by the dealer before I could test drive it due to the time it had been sitting since it was last driven. My rule of thumb for any of my vehicles is to throw a battery maintainer on it if it will sit for more than 2 weeks. Living in a northern state, I have vehicle and boat batteries that get stored the entire winter season with a battery maintainer running on them continuously, and never had any issues. Only had issues with batteries going bad over winter if they were NOT kept on a maintainer. An alternative is to pull the battery out and store it indoors. Even then I will put a maintainer on it overnight about once a month.
When we test drove a 2006 Highlander Hybrid the car wouldn't start because the 12V battery was dead and had to be jump started (the salesman didn't believe my wife at first, thinking she just didn't understand how the hybrid car worked lol). When we bought what must have been the same car 2 weeks later, the 12V battery was dead again and had to be jumped; yes I should have made them replace it before we bought it.
For the first couple of years we had it, any time you'd leave a door open/dome light on for an hour or so (my young son's door didn't always close right) it would be dead and need a few minutes of charging; we just assumed that was normal and it was quick to charge (no 12V starter motor, so no high amperage jump needed). Finally I replaced the 12V battery and we never had an issue again, even after accidentally leaving a door open for most of a day. Clearly the 12V battery had been drained to the point of damage while on the lot.
Cash Traylor
Well-Known Member
There is a lot of discussion about battery tenders and I just wanted to throw out another brand and manufacturer that may not have been discussed. These are premium units. My company uses their aviation grade units to maintain batteries that costs thousands of dollars each (lead acid 24 volt can run $5000). I have used them for years and due to very strict battery testing criteria can attest to them extending the life of those batteries by years (often 50% longer life) over "normal use." Anyway, just wanted to throw out another product recommendation. Also, I do not work for BatteryMinder/VDC Electronics however have spoken to their engineers directly about their use cases. I think these are overkill for most automotive applications, especially the Clarity considering the 12 volt battery gets a "boost charge" anytime the HV battery is charging and anytime the vehicle is "on" so more that most automobiles. Not to mention it is never subject to high "cranking" loads like most conventional vehicles.
https://www.batteryminders.com/car-battery-maintainer-automotive-charger
Yes, I do have a 12 volt version of their charge at home that maintains my generator start battery that is in storage.
Cheers,
Cash
https://www.batteryminders.com/car-battery-maintainer-automotive-charger
Yes, I do have a 12 volt version of their charge at home that maintains my generator start battery that is in storage.
Cheers,
Cash
Last edited:
Tek_Freek
Active Member
I have a Deltran. It's a piece of garbage. Absolutely will not charge a battery. I ended up buying
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0797KK3N2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The Deltran is in a box in the back of a cabinet where it belongs. I'll probably end up throwing it away when I buy something useful that needs the space it takes up.
Tek_Freek
Active Member
I'd use something like this:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B078SRSFD7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It can be controlled from your phone/tablet from anywhere you have an Internet connection.
KentuckyKen
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear your having problems with your Deltran. Mine have been bullet proof.
Deltran is a very respected brand which has stood the test of time (almost 60 years) and is in heavy use and highly recommended by the RV community. I’m very surprised yours would not work and would be even more surprised if Deltran did not stand behind their product. They are a very responsible and responsive family owned business.
1. Have you contacted them and or sent it in for R/R?
2. By any chance were you trying to charge a depleted or low charge battery?
The Deltrans I am aware of are not battery chargers, they are battery tenders or maintainers. They are low Amperage and made to safely float charge a battery for as long as they are connected. So they are hooked up to keep your already charged battery ready to go when it’s not been in use for an extended time. For example on your riding lawn mover over the winter or on your car if not driven for weeks at a time. I have a separate higher powered charger/starter for low or dead batteries. I keep the Deltran on the mower over the winter and occasionally switch it to the car when I’m gone for a few weeks. Polarized quick connects make this easy peasy.
3. Here is a good source of info on the company and their products.
Last edited:
Cash Traylor
Well-Known Member
Greetings and a warning - this is useless geek info that follows...
I wanted to just put something out there regarding lead acid battery maintenance. There is a lot of information on the web and here, and most is very good. The one thing that is often misunderstood is the relationship temperature has to the state of charge and charging process (bulk, absorption, float, etc). There are a large number of battery systems out there within the lead acid genre: Flooded cell, sealed, gel, AGM, Spiral, starter, deep cycle, reserve capacity priority, Gas Recombination, valve regulated, etc etc. All these can be designed with completely different manufacturer use and maintenance specification (peak charge voltage, equalization voltage, float voltages, etc). However, almost without fail all have different parameters for the above depending on the current temperature of the cell/battery. Why I bring this up is that really the idea of turning off a charger or cycling it doesn't matter. ALL LEAD ACID BATTERIES will live longer when maintained at their recommend (for a given temperature) full charge standby/storage float voltage. The reason is that anytime the cell is at less than a full charge (via open cell voltage, or specific gravity measurements) it is sulfating, the higher the temperature, the more rapid the sulfation and performance degradation. The higher the temp, in general the lower the maximum voltage. All lead acid batteries self discharge, some rapidly depending on design as a compromise for its intended use.
Now the really interesting thing is that cheap chargers can do more harm than good by not managing the charge process (voltage and current, and temperature). Also, a lot of systems these batteries are used in may be set according to a generic lead acid battery type. This is why you can sometime end up wasting money putting a very expensive battery in an older car that has a charging system designed for a flooded cell. If it was set to charge at 14.8+ volts when the battery begins boiling electrolyte at 13.8v well... (some are much higher, no big deal for flooded cell - just add the water it boiled away) You get the idea, right battery for the right purpose in the right charging system. This is why your "maintenance" charger, regardless of brand, is worthless if it will not either let you set the type battery and relative size (max charge rate), and/or let you select a purpose built unit for a specific type of battery. If it doesn't have a battery temperature probe, it really cannot be said to be a full duty maintenance device unless it also specifies the battery be maintained at X temperature anytime connected (sometimes difficult to do, my wife frowns on my charging batteries on the kitchen table). At some temperature point it will be either over or under charging the battery. If you have the right maintainer, you can - and SHOULD, leave it connected, 24/7/365 to maintain a battery in "storage." If it has a desulfation stage, then the longer it is connected between uses the better. Now, buying a $300 battery maintenance product to "preserve" a $50 battery is exactly what it sounds like (Blowing a $300 circuit board to protect a $0.50 fuse).
Yes, I know this post jumped the shark on "TMI" and I apologize, battery systems are a hobby of mine, I sit in the IEC 62133 and UN38.3 space for a side gig.
Sorry, I do not give refunds on personal lost time, if you are here - you read the warning...
Cheers,
Cash
I wanted to just put something out there regarding lead acid battery maintenance. There is a lot of information on the web and here, and most is very good. The one thing that is often misunderstood is the relationship temperature has to the state of charge and charging process (bulk, absorption, float, etc). There are a large number of battery systems out there within the lead acid genre: Flooded cell, sealed, gel, AGM, Spiral, starter, deep cycle, reserve capacity priority, Gas Recombination, valve regulated, etc etc. All these can be designed with completely different manufacturer use and maintenance specification (peak charge voltage, equalization voltage, float voltages, etc). However, almost without fail all have different parameters for the above depending on the current temperature of the cell/battery. Why I bring this up is that really the idea of turning off a charger or cycling it doesn't matter. ALL LEAD ACID BATTERIES will live longer when maintained at their recommend (for a given temperature) full charge standby/storage float voltage. The reason is that anytime the cell is at less than a full charge (via open cell voltage, or specific gravity measurements) it is sulfating, the higher the temperature, the more rapid the sulfation and performance degradation. The higher the temp, in general the lower the maximum voltage. All lead acid batteries self discharge, some rapidly depending on design as a compromise for its intended use.
Now the really interesting thing is that cheap chargers can do more harm than good by not managing the charge process (voltage and current, and temperature). Also, a lot of systems these batteries are used in may be set according to a generic lead acid battery type. This is why you can sometime end up wasting money putting a very expensive battery in an older car that has a charging system designed for a flooded cell. If it was set to charge at 14.8+ volts when the battery begins boiling electrolyte at 13.8v well... (some are much higher, no big deal for flooded cell - just add the water it boiled away) You get the idea, right battery for the right purpose in the right charging system. This is why your "maintenance" charger, regardless of brand, is worthless if it will not either let you set the type battery and relative size (max charge rate), and/or let you select a purpose built unit for a specific type of battery. If it doesn't have a battery temperature probe, it really cannot be said to be a full duty maintenance device unless it also specifies the battery be maintained at X temperature anytime connected (sometimes difficult to do, my wife frowns on my charging batteries on the kitchen table). At some temperature point it will be either over or under charging the battery. If you have the right maintainer, you can - and SHOULD, leave it connected, 24/7/365 to maintain a battery in "storage." If it has a desulfation stage, then the longer it is connected between uses the better. Now, buying a $300 battery maintenance product to "preserve" a $50 battery is exactly what it sounds like (Blowing a $300 circuit board to protect a $0.50 fuse).
Yes, I know this post jumped the shark on "TMI" and I apologize, battery systems are a hobby of mine, I sit in the IEC 62133 and UN38.3 space for a side gig.
Sorry, I do not give refunds on personal lost time, if you are here - you read the warning...
Cheers,
Cash
Last edited:
MrFixit
Well-Known Member
@Cash Traylor -
Thanks for conveying some of your knowledge on this topic!
What would you say about this -
It seems clear that (1) would be a poor choice. Would you say that generally (2) would be better than (1)? Or, is there a significant likelihood that (2) would result in such a mismatch that the battery would be damaged worse than doing nothing? A significant problem would be that this could actually kill (or noticeably shorten the life of the battery instead of extending it). Also, as pointed out earlier, you don't want to connect the 'tender' and totally ignore it because if it happens to be boiling the electrolyte it can cause some ugy acid damage if it's spraying on surrounding metal.
It seems that almost all Clarity owners don't need to think about any of this (unless their car is being stored for an extended time). Even if you use the car only once every week or-two, this whole process seems pointless.
I also agree that a $300 tool to possibly extend the life of a $50 battery makes little sense.
Thanks for conveying some of your knowledge on this topic!
What would you say about this -
- Let's establish the scope of the problem to be a battery that does not get used at all for a significant period of time (maybe 2-3 months or more). This would rarely be the case for any Clarity owner, but perhaps a lawn mower, snow blower, tractor, motorcycle, boat, etc.
- Let's further assume (based on your discussion) that there are three approaches you could take to 'maintain' a battery.
- Do nothing. Just let the battery deteriorate over this time without intervention.
- Use a 'simple' maintainer (Deltran, or similar) where it operates in a generic way without regard to the specific battery architecture or temperature conditions (and you leave it connected 24/7).
- Use a sophisticated maintainer which is programmed to the specific battery characteristics and measures the cell temperature as part of it's algorithm (OK to leave it connected 24/7 as you state).
It seems that almost all Clarity owners don't need to think about any of this (unless their car is being stored for an extended time). Even if you use the car only once every week or-two, this whole process seems pointless.
I also agree that a $300 tool to possibly extend the life of a $50 battery makes little sense.