Zero Knievel Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Got the battery out of the bike. The charger I have says it's for maintenance as well as charging. Thing is...how often? I will not leave it plugged in 24/7, and the unit has a green light when it's fully charged. I did use the screw on leads so I could just plug it up and let it charge. Not a big issue to unscrew them and put it in the bike if the weather turns favorable. It sits on the workbench for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobZ Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 My Bird stays plugged in when not in use, even though I ride it quite often. It does no harm and it only takes a few seconds to plug it in and vice-versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elefant Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 My Bird stays plugged in when not in use, even though I ride it quite often. It does no harm and it only takes a few seconds to plug it in and vice-versa. +1 Deltran. 03 with original battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 Yeah, but how often? Once a week? Every other week? Once a month? I won't leave it plugged in 24/7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Yeah, but how often? Once a week? Every other week? Once a month? I won't leave it plugged in 24/7. Don't understand why you can't leave it plugged in, except for when your riding the bike of course. Once a week should be often enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 Yeah, but how often? Once a week? Every other week? Once a month? I won't leave it plugged in 24/7. Don't understand why you can't leave it plugged in, except for when your riding the bike of course. Once a week should be often enough. 1. Anything plugged in is using power. Costs $$$. Pennies add up to dollars. 2. Potential fire/explosion hazard. Know it's highly unlikely, but why leave it plugged in when the job is done? 3. Takes up space. Rather plug it in every Saturday morning until the light goes green then clear the workbench of excess gear than leave it there all the time. Once a week sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 1. Anything plugged in is using power. Costs $$$. Pennies add up to dollars. 2. Potential fire/explosion hazard. Know it's highly unlikely, but why leave it plugged in when the job is done? For real??? I guess you don't have any electric clocks, night lights, etc? Any how, if you leave it on until the green light comes on, it should be charged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganDonor Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 My batteries seem to fry out when I leave them on my BatteryTender all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmike Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Read the specs that came with the trickle charger. Many or most are "smart" chargers that stop sending the full 1.5A/hr (or whatever the unit's inherent charging rate is) when a full charge is reached and reduce it to a minimal "floating charge" of just a few milliamps (thousandths of an amp). These you can safely leave hooked up whenever she's parked. If the paperwork doesn't reference the above ability, assume you can't leave it hooked up - it could probably cook the battery given enough time and inattention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted November 9, 2010 Author Share Posted November 9, 2010 1. Anything plugged in is using power. Costs $$$. Pennies add up to dollars. 2. Potential fire/explosion hazard. Know it's highly unlikely, but why leave it plugged in when the job is done? For real??? I guess you don't have any electric clocks, night lights, etc? Most everything in the home is on a power strip that gets turned off or it is unplugged. Clocks and in-cabinet appliances are pretty much the exception. Comes mostly from living in Florida where we were in a heavy lightning-strike zone. Too easy for stuff to get fried. So, when it wasn't being used, it was unplugged. When storms came through, things got turned off and unplugged. We even use to unplug the hot water heater to save energy (most of the day nobody was home so why pay to heat a tank of water just to sit there). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryG Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 My Bird stays plugged in when not in use, even though I ride it quite often. It does no harm and it only takes a few seconds to plug it in and vice-versa. +1 Deltran. 03 with original battery. +2 I plug it in when not in use. I don't think my 36 mi round trip commute charges the battery fully. Going on 3 yrs with the bike.....same battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaygermeister Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 24/7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearXX Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 Never. I take out the battery in the fall when the season is over, and charging it before putting it on the bike in the spring. Lasted 7 years on the first Bird. Haven't changed the 2005 yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Dave Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 +1 what Ironmike says. I keep my Battery Tender plugged into my CBX all the time except when I swap it over to the Kaw Turbo and Kaw triple for 1 day each per month. CBX battery is 7 or 8 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partsman Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 Once a month is fine. I have a 12 year old Yuasa ytx9 in my 600,sometimes that battery goes 4-5 months without a charge,every winter I alternate the 2 batteries once a week.The XX on the other is hard on batteries ever since I took it off the road and onto the track,'bout a battery a year,not sure why.It gets charged from June to Oct before every race and its dead within 2 days,charges back up etc. Charging system checks out.Was great when it was street legal. You can let the battery stand for a month with no use,check the voltage,I find it usually still reads at least 12.7 . But batteries last longer when they are being charged,plain and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVLXX Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Never. I take out the battery in the fall when the season is over, and charging it before putting it on the bike in the spring. Lasted 7 years on the first Bird. Haven't changed the 2005 yet. +1 I have a Battery Tender Jr. that I use for the dirt-bike and 4 wheeler. The Bird only gets the Battery Tender maybe once a year, if that, and the last battery was still going strong at 8 years I think, but I decided to change it just because they can start getting hard on your charging system when they're that old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 Never use one as I ride my Bird all year round I do have a trickle charger but have only used it a few times when I've had work to do on the bike like redoing the forks and head bearings etc and the bike was off the road for a few weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR71BLACKBIRDXX Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 1. Anything plugged in is using power. Costs $$$. Pennies add up to dollars. 2. Potential fire/explosion hazard. Know it's highly unlikely, but why leave it plugged in when the job is done? 3. Takes up space. Rather plug it in every Saturday morning until the light goes green then clear the workbench of excess gear than leave it there all the time. "Surely you cant be serious"..RIP Leslie... Anyhow..you have a flatscreen at your place? Using that for 30 min a day will likely cost you more per year than a battery tender used 24/7/365. If a tender costs $10 a year, Id be surprised. The battery in my 01 is original. Plugged in every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted November 29, 2010 Author Share Posted November 29, 2010 Anyhow..you have a flatscreen at your place? Using that for 30 min a day will likely cost you more per year than a battery tender used 24/7/365. If a tender costs $10 a year, Id be surprised. Power consumption is just one concern. Just a practice I've always lived with. When it's not being used, turn it off. Frige/Freezer, emergency lights, etc. anything that NEEDS to be hooked to power 24/7 is all that is left that way. PC, TV, etc. all are on power strips that get turned off when not in used. Biggest annoyance is how products don't save time/date settings when cut off. In spite of the "green" movement, most everything is made on the assumption it will be plugged in all the time. And, of course, if something takes up counter space I might need for other things, I put it away until I need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR71BLACKBIRDXX Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Just a practice I've always lived with. When it's not being used, turn it off. Frige/Freezer, emergency lights, etc. anything that NEEDS to be hooked to power 24/7 is all that is left that way. PC, TV, etc. all are on power strips that get turned off when not in used. Im with ya brother, believe me. "Not in use, turn off the juice". (my father tells me that to this day) The tender certainly does not need to be plugged in all the time, but I think its better than the alternative, which is buying a battery every few years. Battery threads are worse than oil threads, but its been my experience that the tenders work very well, pretty much double the life of a battery, take up zero room, and cost next to nothing to run. Me thinks its a no-brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted November 29, 2010 Author Share Posted November 29, 2010 Just a practice I've always lived with. When it's not being used, turn it off. Frige/Freezer, emergency lights, etc. anything that NEEDS to be hooked to power 24/7 is all that is left that way. PC, TV, etc. all are on power strips that get turned off when not in used. Im with ya brother, believe me. "Not in use, turn off the juice". (my father tells me that to this day) The tender certainly does not need to be plugged in all the time, but I think its better than the alternative, which is buying a battery every few years. Battery threads are worse than oil threads, but its been my experience that the tenders work very well, pretty much double the life of a battery, take up zero room, and cost next to nothing to run. Me thinks its a no-brainer. I should post a pic of the basement. Not many outlets to choose from...or counter space. For all the talk of "finishing" it, it may never happen. Kinda just shift piles around for whatever project you're working on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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