Batteries

[gumby302ho]

 Lost two batteries over the winter months. Yuassa batteries, one was 4 years old the other was 3. To me 3 years is a bit of a bur under my FJ seat.
Next battery will not be yuassa. I will check rectifier to see if I am over charging but I dont believe this is the case. Maybe I am expecting to much from a battery. yadda yadda

[Pat Conlon]

Look at the specs on your Yuassa batteries.....does it read something like "...maximum charging voltage: 14.4 volts"?

Knowing that your FJ pumps out over 15 volts....

[Motofun]

I routinely get 8 to 10 years out of my Yuasa batteries.  Keep mine on a battery tender if they are going to be idle for more than a week.

[red]

Lost two batteries over the winter months. Yuassa batteries, one was 4 years old the other was 3. To me 3 years is a bit of a bur under my FJ seat.Next battery will not be yuassa. I will check rectifier to see if I am over charging but I dont believe this is the case. Maybe I am expecting to much from a battery. yadda yadda

Gumby,

Modern ("smart") battery tenders are nothing like the dumb old trickle chargers.  Batteries usually die of sulfated plates.  Any "smart" battery tender has an automatic de-sulfating cycle in the program, which keeps the plates much cleaner, much longer.  The charger specs will tell you if it has a de-sulfating cycle.  You can leave the Battery Tender connected all winter, and it will wake up and do its' thing automagically, as needed.

You got about half (or less) of the service that the Yuassa batteries can deliver.  I have had great service from them, but be sure that you do not buy a knock-off copy.  A Battery Tender comes with a fused lead to the battery terminals, direct to a SAE connector.  This hot lead is also useful for tire pumps and heated gear, if you like.  Using this hot lead avoids any excess stress on the factory wiring system from such heavy-draw options.

[giantkiller]

I bought a shorai battery for my 700 Raptor in 2009. (The battery that yamaha put in it didn't even make it out of its model year) Then I crashed it. And it sat out behind my house for a year until I got the frame straightened. Then it sat in storage unit for 3 years. Then it sat sat outside of my backyard shed for 2 more years. While I built my house. I live in Wisconsin. -20f is not uncommon. It still starts right up.  Parasitic drain can kill a lithium battery though. I put one in my fj1350r when I first resurrected it in 2010. Didn't realize that I had turned the ignition to park when going into the motel. On a trip around lake Michigan. Got up to a completely dead battery. Jumped it. Rode it a few hours before shutting it off. It finally gave up the ghost last fall. But it was never the same after running it flat. Still had way more power than any lead acid battery. But was never as strong as it was before running flat. Still it lasted 12 years.

[gumby302ho]

Modern ("smart") battery tenders are nothing like the dumb old trickle chargers.  Batteries usually die of sulfated plates.  Any "smart" battery tender has an automatic de-sulfating cycle in the program, which keeps the plates much cleaner, much longer.  The charger specs will tell you if it has a de-sulfating cycle.  You can leave the Battery Tender connected all winter, and it will wake up and do its' thing automagically, as needed.

You got about half (or less) of the service that the Yuassa batteries can deliver.  I have had great service from them, but be sure that you do not buy a knock-off copy.  A Battery Tender comes with a fused lead to the battery terminals, direct to a SAE connector.  This hot lead is also useful for tire pumps and heated gear, if you like.  Using this hot lead avoids any excess stress on the factory wiring system from such heavy-draw options.
 
  I use a style of battery tenders with the fused link on the FJ and my XRL(brand name). I dont leave them plugged in all season but I do plug them in once a month
to top them up. I heard a rumbling someplace that it was not ideal for battery to sit on max charge stagnet. We had a really strong blast of cold this winter that
might not have been good for these AGM batteries. My tenders are like 1.24 amps I believe and my batteries are never ran flat and left flat. Maybe I need the latest smart charger like you have mentioned as I thought I already had two smart wise chargers.

[red]

I use a style of battery tenders with the fused link on the FJ and my XRL(brand name). I dont leave them plugged in all season but I do plug them in once a month to top them up. I heard a rumbling someplace that it was not ideal for battery to sit on max charge stagnet. We had a really strong blast of cold this winter that might not have been good for these AGM batteries. My tenders are like 1.24 amps I believe and my batteries are never ran flat and left flat. Maybe I need the latest smart charger like you have mentioned as I thought I already had two smart wise chargers.

Gumby,

Okay, if the charger specs say it has a de-sulfating cycle, that is a smart charger, and you don't need anything newer.  Look for the websites which sell your model, to find those features listed.  An Amp or two worth of charging current would be fine, also; no problem there.  De-sulfating takes time, though.  The process runs in cycles, maybe a dozen times per day, but that will vary as needed. 

However, a quick top-up of the battery each month will not give the smart charger enough time to do its' thing.  A week ON, maybe with a few weeks OFF, would prolly be a nice mix there.  The good smart chargers do not charge constantly, no matter what.  It will read the battery voltage, check for sulfur on the plates, and if nothing is needed, it should do nothing.  I would not leave the smart charger connected when it is OFF; there may be some small drainage of power then.  Disconnect it and unplug it, when not in use.

[gumby302ho]

 So this is just an update. I lost 3 batteries in total over the winter. We had a snap of minus 40 C for a week and I think that severe
cold killed them. All where AGM. So I wont be leaving my batteries out over winter even with a full state of charge anymore. Also we joke
about oil threads, check out people using a stick welder to boil off sulphate bla bla to bring DEAD batteries back to life and baking soda
and epsom salts and that one calls for a dumb charger. My ITX is jumping out of gear worse now but it has a new battery

[RPM - Robert]

My teeth are chattering as I read this. Bring me the Joe and forget the batteries I'm burning some almond wood and enjoying the s'mores at those temps.

[Pat Conlon]

-40C is apocalyptic cold....I can not even imagine...

[giantkiller]

-40C is apocalyptic cold....I can not even imagine...

Yah coldest day I ever rode my 700 Raptor on the frozen rivers and  lake. Was -26f. With a shorai battery.  Never had any problems. Put the shorai in it. After the stock battery died in it's first year. In 2009 Raptor 700. So around 2010. Still starts it right up. Raptor sat for multiple years stretches. No tender. No starts. No problem. Hasn't ran since early last summer. I ran out in the back yard just now started right up.