Trickle Charger Vs Battery Tender

Typically, electrical energy is converted into stored chemical energy in a battery. When it comes to getting a new battery charger, you will get many options that may confuse you. For instance, there are Battery Tender®, battery chargers, battery maintainers, trickle chargers, etc. available on the market. But you may get confused when you think about trickle charger Vs Battery Tender®.

In most cases, you will end up with a trickle charger and Battery Tender® options to get the job done. But, are they similar? Or, do they have any difference? This exclusive article will tell you everything you need to know about them. So, stay with me throughout this article to have a clear idea about trickle chargers and Battery Tender®.

What Is Trickle Charger?

A trickle charger is a feature of a charging device. It is a descriptive term. When a battery charger comes with a low amperage that charges your battery slowly is called a trickle charger. The charging process may take around 24 hours or even more.

Now, a trickle charger may come with a battery maintenance feature or not. That said, your battery may or may not get damaged if you leave it connected for a prolonged period due to overcharging. But, if it comes with the battery maintenance feature, your battery will be maintained properly even when it is fully charged.

In a general sense, trickle chargers will be in between 0.75 amps and 4 amps. Needless to say, this range is quite relative. So, when you want to consider a device as a trickle charger, you must take into account the overall battery size. Now, as I said before, some trickle chargers are not designed to leave them unattended for a prolonged period when connected.

If it is designed with a microprocessor controller and comes with a maintainer, it will not be overcharged and harm your battery. In modern days, you will get maintainers in most trickle chargers.

If your battery is 100AH and your charger is only 4 amp, you can call it a trickle charger easily. But, a 4 amp charger for a 12 AH battery can’t be considered a trickle charger.

What Is A Battery Tender®?

Battery Tender is a trademarked name of a Battery charger brand. Generally, A Battery Tender comes with both the trickle charger and battery maintainer feature. So, it can slowly charge your battery which is in turn known as trickle charging. But ever wondered what happens when your battery is fully charged with a Battery Tender?

Certainly, you will be amazed to know. With a Battery Tender, you can simply forget about charging after hooking up the charger with the battery. You don’t need to disconnect the battery after even it is fully charged when you use a Battery Tender.

That’s the beauty of this amazing user-friendly charging device. Because it is a battery maintainer as well. It means your battery will be maintained properly even after it gets completely charged up.

It works in 4-stage and the entire process is controlled by a microprocessor. Those stages are as follows-

• Initialization: At this stage, verification of voltage, polarity, and secure connections are done.
• Bulk Mode: This stage involves full current and voltage so that your battery can be charged up from 0% to 80%.
• Absorption Mode: At this stage, the voltage will be high and the current will be reduced. The battery will be charged from 80% to 100%.
• Float Mode: The voltage will be low and constant so that it will match the self-discharge rate of the battery. It will keep the battery topped off very safely.

When you talk about a Battery Tender, it comes with the ability to detect the exact required voltage and amperage to charge up your battery. It identifies the required voltage and amperage for every single step. It will help the device to maintain the battery properly and also to remove any event of potential overcharging.

Every battery works in a principle. It converts electrical energy from the charger into stored chemical energy. There is a certain rate at which it can do the conversion. At any particular time, the state of charge of the battery will determine the rate at which the energy conversion will be done.

The voltage and amperage used to charge the battery from 80 to 100% should be less than what was used to bring the charge to 80% from 0%. Otherwise, the electrolyte of the battery will be easily cooked off.

The Battery Tender knows that well and it will prevent it from overcharging the battery. The control of the microprocessor in this device made it pretty much possible.

Trickle Charger Vs Battery Tender®: Which One Is Better?

When you talk about a Battery Tender®, it is a trademarked name. On the other hand, a trickle charger or even a battery maintainer is a feature of charging devices that can be from any brand.

Interestingly, a Battery Tender® has features of both the trickle charger and battery maintainer. So, it can be said that all Battery Tender® is a trickle charger, but not all trickle chargers are not Battery Tender® s.

In a nutshell, you will be able to trickle charge your battery with a Battery Tender®. But at the same time, it will also act as a battery maintainer. It means your battery won’t overcharge and it will maintain the 100% state of charge on your battery. As the Battery Tender® prevents overcharging, your battery will not be damaged often.

Now, a typical trickle charger may come with all of the features of a Battery Tender®. In that case, you can safely leave it hooked up to the battery for a long period. As it comes with a battery maintainer feature too. You don’t need to worry at all about overcharging.

On the other hand, the trickle charger only comes with the slow charging option, but without any option for maintaining the battery. So, which is the best one? Which types of charging options you should choose?

When you deal with a trickle charger, you should always remember one thing in mind it may or may not go in maintenance mode when it reaches the 100% state of the charge. It depends on the fact that whether it comes with a battery maintainer or not.

So, it is a wise decision to check the user manual properly when buying a new trickle charger. It will help you to know whether it has any maintenance or float mode. On the other hand, when you talk about a Battery Tender, it has both trickle charging and battery maintenance features.

So, you can leave it unattended when connected to the battery for a long time. Because the maintenance mode will take care of your battery and protect it from any kind of damage.

In my opinion, you should avoid a trickle charger that can’t act as a battery maintainer as well. Instead, the best idea is to go for a trickle charger that comes with a battery maintainer option. It can be from any good brand. Or, simply it can be a Battery Tender®.

Wrapping Up!

There is no denying the fact that we need chargers to charge our batteries. We can’t also avoid batteries. We need them to serve various purposes. Whether you own a boat or a car, you will need the battery. That said, without the right battery charger, you will suffer.

There is no doubt that there are plenty of options you will get. That is the main reason, you will get confused very easily. In most cases, you will get two options in front of you. Either you want to buy a Battery Tender or a trickle charger.

The interesting fact is a Battery Tender is a trademarked name that can be used to trickle charge a battery without worrying about overcharging. It means you will get a battery maintainer feature in this kind of charging device. On the other hand, the trickle charging term is often used to describe a charger’s feature. When a battery charger takes much time to charge as it charges slowly, it is known as trickle charging.

There are many trickle chargers available in the market. But not every trickle charger comes with battery maintenance or float mode. As a result, there is a risk of overcharging which can harm your battery.

In this battle of trickle charger vs battery tender, my opinion is to go for any trickle charger that comes with a battery maintenance mode. That said, it can be the Battery Tender as well. Because this trickle charger has a good battery maintenance feature.