Im tired of having to go get a new battery when spring rolls around. I bought one of these Lo-Bat battery indicators from HCR Electronics.
Has anybody else used one of these? What are your Thoughts on them?

 

Do you use AGM or plain ole acid batteries?

 

I prefer AGM. I don't have to change the battery every year. I just thought this may be a good way to save me some money. When it starts blinking ill go run the engine for a few min to keep a charge on the battery.

 

You may have a other problem some where. I store my ATV during our long and cold Nornther Ontario,Canada winter just in a shed and get 3-4 years out of the battery.

My Snowmobile is stored 9 months out of the year and still has the same cheap $40 acid Walmart battery for its 4th year in a row. I do not use a battery tender just start the machine up once every few months and let it idle for 5 min.

Changing a batter "every" year must mean there is another problem some where.

 

My friend has a 700 king and he could't keep a battery in it. Finally he stopped buying AGM batteries (because they're so expensive mainly) and started getting the cheapo lead acid batteries. Now they stopped dying.

I had a little better luck with an AGM... Well not really. My 250ex had an AGM since 2005 and gave no trouble until a couple weeks ago it left me stranded pinned between rocks and trees at 3400 ft, almost the highest point on the mtns here. I had to walk 1.5 hrs downhill back to camp and then 2 hrs uphill carrying a new battery the next day. I never seen a battery just quit like that. 1 minute it was starting my engine, the next it was completely dead. And it was literally 1 minute!

AGMs don't seem to be very forgiving. You can abuse a lead acid battery and it may get weaker, but it doesn't just die instantly like AGMs seem to. And I think AGM requires a delicate charging procedure not found on most chargers. My Battery Minder charger has a selection for AGM, Gel, and lead acid.

 

I end up buying a new battery every 2 years for my TRX 450 - just part of the service. Trickle charger does not seem to help extend the life.

 

I have a wet battery in my truck that's at least 4 yrs old. Another wet marine battery I use for all kinds of things (including amps for driving speakers and winches) that's pushing 10 yrs old. The thing about batteries is they don't like to be discharged or overcharged. They don't like to get hot or run out of water and have air touch the plates. If I use a battery, I charge it back up asap. Alternators are not battery chargers! That's a big misconception. They are voltage regulators.

This is a good read: Batteryminders Specials | BatteryMinders.com

TIP 19: Never leave an unregulated or so called "automatic" charger connected to your battery overnight, unless it shuts off completely.

TIP 20: Avoid the use of "trickle rate" chargers that do not have an automatic float mode or current control circuitry that is guaranteed not to overcharge your battery.

TIP 21: Keep your battery at full charge at all times without ever overcharging it. By doing so you will always have maximum power, eliminate additional sulphation build-up, prevent freeze-up (to - 40°F) and extend your battery's useful life.

I follow these rules and my batteries seem to be happy. Except the AGMs, which I have no use for.