Charlie, I got my hands on a Battery Tender Jr. I am going to use that on the 16V from now on. I think the battery might be too drained for it to charge it back up as I have had it on there for a couple of days now and it has not charged up to 14v yet. It is at about 13v at this point (up from 10v where it started) but no green light yet - which I think comes on at 14v. I hope it is not bad to leave it on there for so long. I think the Pro/non-Jr version is more capable and I might pick one of those up as well.
I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for chargers that will bring a drained battery up to a good charge (Chad already suggested a hobby charger which I will look into). I was surprised to read in the documentation for the Battery Tender Jr. that they consider a battery drained at 11v and charged at 12.5v - meaning the difference between drained and charged is only 1.5v Thanks for the feedback all, as our cars age we will have to use more techniques from collectors/restorers to keep these cars purring. And thanks again for all the work you have put into your website, it continues to be a source of solid factual information - if I can help on that front in any way, let me know. Larry 91 GTI 16V -----Original Message----- From: a2-16v-list [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Charlie Russo Sent: Sunday, August 3, 2014 3:09 PM To: A2 16V List Subject: Re: [a2-16v-list] Battery Chargers and Tenders I have been using the "Battery Tender Plus" on my VWs ('80 Rabbit, '81 VW Pickup, '85 Golf, '87 GTI 16V, '02 New Beetle) over the last 14 years or so. Have also used them on my Toyota 4Runner, Tundra and Car Trailer. Way back then the Battery Tender (BT) was one of the few chargers using a microprocessor controlled power electronic circuitry. Back in the late 1990s I was restoring my '80 Rabbit and rarely using my '87 GTI 16V. Periodically I connected my traditional battery charger to the GTI 16V to charge the battery which I thought was good enough. After getting only 2-3 years out of a battery in the GTI 16V I figured there must be a better way. That is when I found out about the Battery Tender from Antique Car and Motorcycle owners. There may be other battery chargers out there that might be similar and less expensive but I doubt they charge a battery like the BT+ does. For vehicles that are seldom used or motorcycles that sit over the winter, the BT is the way to go for a lot of people (including me). Here is more information: http://batterytender.com/resources/battery-basics.htm/ http://batterytender.com/resources/frequently-asked-questions/ In case you are wondering, the following are some of my experiences with battery life using the BT in my various vehicles: - '80 Rabbit = 10+ years - '81 VW Pickup = 12+ years & counting - '87 GTI 16V = 12+ years - '02 New Beetle = 6+ years & counting - '04 Toyota 4Runner = 7+ years - Car Trailer = 5+ years FYI, if you decide to get a Battery Tender Plus or other BT charger you can usually find a better price on-line. Some brick & mortar retailers or the BT web site will sell them to you at MSRP which can be more pricey. Hope this helps. Charlie -----Original Message----- From: Larry Velez Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2014 7:03 PM To: A2 16V List Subject: [a2-16v-list] Battery Chargers and Tenders Any recommended brands or model battery chargers and tenders which have worked well for you? Larry 91 GTI 16v _______________________________________________ a2-16v-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list For list archives, see listinfo link above. _______________________________________________ a2-16v-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list For list archives, see listinfo link above. _______________________________________________ a2-16v-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list For list archives, see listinfo link above.
