Maintenance charger for battery

[Frank8]

my local indie said he installs a lot of leads that go from the battery to a plug in the grill that is capped off. When in garage one can uncap it and plug in a maintenance charger.

Is this a worthwhile thing to do? It sounds as tho it might be a good 5hibg for a battery in cold climates.

Frank

 

[cperez]

I have an inexpensive maintenance charger for my son's car while he's at college. It came with a pigtail connector that can stay on the battery posts and quickly connect to the charger's main cord for a similar type of access. It's not very long, though, so it might require popping the hood each time you wanted to connect. I'm sure that longer cords can be fabricated or purchased.

I think it can only help your battery. These chargers are smart enough to plug and forget and will also condition your battery as needed.

 

[ryanjl]

How long do you go between driving your LR4? I've always thought of maintenance chargers as things for weekend cars and not so much daily drivers. With the Land Rover charging system, though, who knows; could be a good idea.

 

[Frank8]

How long do you go between driving your LR4? I've always thought of maintenance chargers as things for weekend cars and not so much daily drivers. With the Land Rover charging system, though, who knows; could be a good idea.

Good point. I use it frequently but for example it’s 1 1/2 miles to the P.O. most of my local driving is under 20 miles. I do the occasional 200-500 mile trip but that’s rare. Most of it is very local.
It’s an intriguing idea to have an accessible maintenance charge plug. Would it help the battery?

 

[cperez]

I've always thought of maintenance chargers as things for weekend cars and not so much daily drivers.

I also noted @Frank8's location in Vermont. Having just taken a road trip up there in mid February, I can confirm that cold temps are a real factor.

 

[cperez]

Would it help the battery?

I'm gonna stick with "can't hurt." Schumacher makes a line of decent units for this.

 

[TheWidup]

Won't hurt until you forget to unplug it as you pull away...

 

[jwest]

Good point. I use it frequently but for example it’s 1 1/2 miles to the P.O. most of my local driving is under 20 miles. I do the occasional 200-500 mile trip but that’s rare. Most of it is very local.
It’s an intriguing idea to have an accessible maintenance charge plug. Would it help the battery?

If you never really run it for more than 10 minutes a day on short trips with 2 starts, then the maintainer might be good. Just be sure it's a proper smart maintainer, not a simple trickler that may drive too much in when topped off.

 

[Frank8]

Won't hurt until you forget to unplug it as you pull away...

Yeah, with me that’s a worry. I’d probably keep the unit on the hood. But even then....

 

[avslash]

I have a Noco G7200 mounted under the hood, with a male 110V receptacle mounted in the front bumper.

Works great for camping where shore power is available and for keeping batteries topped up at home.

I would do it again.