Heading south for three months and I want to keep a trickle-charge on my 2001 XK8. I've never used one of these devices before. Any hints or risks I should know? I live in an area where winter temps rarely get below freezing, especially inside my garage. (Of course, I'd love to take the cat down south with me but, unfortunately,the boot doesn't have enough space for two sets of golf clubs plus luggage.)

 

Heading south for three months and I want to leave the battery on trickle-charge on my 2001 XK8. I've never used one of these devices before, so I'm asking for any tips or risks forum members might want to share. The temps in my area rarely get into the teens in winter, especially inside my garage. In case you're wondering why I'm not taking the cat south with me: two sets of golf clubs plus luggage won't fit in the boot.

 

The most popular brand of float charger is 'Battery Tender'. I have owned and used one for a dozen years on motorcycles and autos and they dramatically extend the life of a seldom used batteries. This unit is 'intelligent' in that it will not overcharge and boil the battery dry. That has happened to me with simple trickle chargers.

Simply connect and forget. The unit is ever polarity sensitive in that it will flash a warning if you connect it backwards.

 

Trickle chargers are great devices. I find as a safety feature I plug them in to a timer, so they one run for a few hours everyday. So many of the trickle charges are inexpensive foreign assembly and parts. If something shorts in them they go from a trickle charger to an overcharger. So by limiting the amount of time it's on works as double insurance.