Customer Reviews

Battery Tender 021-0156 Battery Tender Plus 12V Battery Charger True Gel Cell Model

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just talked to the manufacturer. The regular Battery Tender Plus will charge lead acid, SGM, and Gel cell batteries. THIS model is not a regularly available model from the manufacturer, and should ONLY be used for the TRUE GEL BATTERY that is on the newer BMW motorcyles. This charger is optimized for that battery and is not optimized for other battery types (although it will work, but not optimally since it will not provide the best voltages needed.) A gel cell battery is not the same as a true gel battery, hence the confusion that people are having.

So .. will it work? Yes. Is it recommended by the manufacturer and optimized for other battery types? No.

The above is from my conversation with a representative from Deltran. Please do not flame me if you don't agree with what the manufacturer told me. I suggest you call them if there are disagreements. I just wanted to post this to provide some clarification since I am in the market for the Battery Tender Plus. Deltran's recommendation was to go with model 02-0128 unless I have the appropriate BMW motorcycle.

Thanks.

I purchased this product in February of 2011 and it seemed to work fine. It says that this model can be used as a battery charger and it will change from charge mode to float/maintenance charge mode without damaging the battery like trickle chargers. In July of 2011 it just stopped working while it was connected to my classic car battery in float/maintenance charge mode. Of course I bought this model for its 10 year warranty, but now I find out that in addition to having to pay to ship it to the company, I also have to pay $15.95 for them to do Warranty Evaluation, & shipping & handling fees. When you pay $47.00 for an item and it costs you around $30.00 to pay for shipping & return shipping, what is the point of the warranty? This is supposed to be "the best" of battery chargers and they basically want me to pay for anything done to the unit. I am not impressed!

This little charger works great and takes up very little space. Product dimensions are incorrectly listed as 11x4x11 inches and 2.4 lb - it is aproximately 4x3x3 inches, and can't weigh more than a half pound. It also lists the "Battery Tender 081-0069-6 Ring Terminal Harness with Black Fused 2-Pin Quick Disconnect Plug" as a "frequently bought together" item, but mine came with one. You only need more if you are planning to permanently mount them to more than one vehicle.

There seems to be some confusion as to what batteries this will charge. It is optimized for gel cells, which require a lower charging voltage than AGM or flooded. However, it is compatible with the latter 2 types. If you do not have true gel cell batteries, this is not the charger you want, but if you have a mix of 12V gel cell and 12V lead acid batteries, it will handle all of them. 021-0123 and 021-0128 are optimized for AGM batteries, compatible with flooded (STD), and not reccomended for gel cells. 021-0069 is optimized for flooded (STD) batteries, compatible with AGM batteries, and and not reccomended for gel cells. The 012-0156 does everything.

The only thing this charger won't do that I need is to charge 6V batteries, but at the price, I can't expect them to include that capability, so I'll buy their 6v model also.

Best little electronic item I have bought recently. Little is what it is. The Battery Tender unit is really tiny compared to the old horse of a charger I was used to using. Very effective and very smart little unit. I tried more for a chuckle to see if I could wake up a scooter battery that showed a .5 volt remaining out of 12.4v initial start. It made up over 10v of relative charge in what was a dead battery. I was amazed and very satisfied with the capability of the Tender. Since there is no line voltage output it is a very safe unit to have around. It will hold your battery at full charge for many years. Any vehicle with a battery in it needs a Battery Tender if it is stored for more than a month at a time.

Charges my Atv and Motorcycle batteries in no time!!! Didn't have to watch out for overcharging because of it storage mode...great product!!!!

This unit is simple to use, choose the connection type, plug it in to a electircal outlet and forget about having a dead battery the next time you try to start the engine.

I've been very happy with the Battery Tender. I use it on my motorcycle and lawn mower battery. The price and shipping was really good. It was brand new in the box.

This came the day my stored car's battery did it's final crank. Hooked it up, ran some errands for about 3-3 1/2 hours, came home and the battery was fully charged. This was on a lead liquid sealed battery, have not tried it on a gel battery yet. Solid construction, good long cables and good alligator clips.

I needed a trickle charger for my motorcycle over the winter months. A friend reccomended this charger and told me where to order from. Very pleased with the product and the speedy shipping of the order.

Nice product. Easy to use and takes up very little space. Has kept the battery on my S Type R fully charged for the last couple months. It comes with conventional alligator clips to connect to the battery or a more permenant connector you can hook up to the battery and then plug it in to the connector instead of using the clips.

Things like this either work or they don't, this one works very well.