Permanently installed battery tender

[FrankThompson]

I don't drive much and I've found that my '22 powerboost doesn't last long when not driven. Sometimes it's 2 weeks, sometimes it's 1 week and I get the dreaded fordpass message saying it is going into deep sleep mode. (I try to drive it every few days, but depending on work/family/life itay just sit)

I'm considering adding a permanently installed battery tender. I've done this in my Pontiac Solstice as it can easily go months without being driven and it works well. The difference here is that I don't want to have to pop the hood.

So a few questions in case anyone has any input.

1. I've done some research and some say putting a 120v power inlet for the battery tender is a bad idea. Actually they suggest even putting the battery tender in there is a bad idea. I've never had a problem with this on my solstice. Can anyone think of why this would be a bad idea?
2. Even if I keep the battery tender exterior, I would want an easily accessible power inlet for it to connect to. So if it's 120v or 12v, I would need a location to put it. I'm thinking somewhere on the front bumper or just under it. Thoughts?

This is the 120v inlet I'm looking at. Though I hear there is one that can eject the plug when a 12v source is applied. I might look into that.

Battery tender makes a 12v one for their stuff (I'm sure other companies do too):

So the reason I'm leaning towards 120v is convenience. No matter where I go an extension cord could be used to keep the truck charged i.e. even right now my solstice is at mom's house a few blocks over. All I needed was an extension cord to hook it up (it stays over there during the Halloween season as we decorate). I also don't have a garage so if I use the 12v option, that means I'm leaving the battery tender outside in the open, though I guess I could devise a lock box for it.

Anywho, just thought I would lean on the vast knowledge of the forums to brainstorm this out.

*Note this is not meant for emergency jump situations. I have 30' 1ga set of jumper cables and a jumper pack just in case. This is so I can keep it topped off during times I'm not driving it a lot.

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[BlackCloud]

I totally agree with your Battery Tender idea. I started using them on my motorcycle long ago, and they are now on all my lesser used vehicles. I didn't know they had a 12v plug, as pictured above. I'll be getting a few of those.

The only reason I can think of for not having one under the hood, for example, is that they can get pretty warm. You would certainly want it located in a well ventilated spot. I do have all mine located so I can easily see the red or green lights that indicate charging status.

 

[FrankThompson]

I totally agree with your Battery Tender idea. I started using them on my motorcycle long ago, and they are now on all my lesser used vehicles. I didn't know they had a 12v plug, as pictured above. I'll be getting a few of those.

The only reason I can think of for not having one under the hood, for example, is that they can get pretty warm. You would certainly want it located in a well ventilated spot. I do have all mine located so I can easily see the red or green lights that indicate charging status.

Yeah I guess in my solstice it was really easy to put away from the heat. The battery is actually down behind the passenger fender. I just put the tender above that it's pretty far from a heat source (except the Florida sun on a black car...lol)

 

[Meterman]

Can you give me the model number of that Battery Tender. I looked on Deltran's website but don't see that model.

 

[FrankThompson]

Can you give me the model number of that Battery Tender. I looked on Deltran's website but don't see that model.

The picture I show above is either the NOCO power plug (just basically an extension cord you can install on your truck, car, trailer, etc), which you would plug a battery tender into. Link is here: https://no.co/gcp1

The other is just a battery tender plug and port (no actual battery tender). It provides a way for you to easily connect a battery tender device to whatever you want to charge (car, truck, boat, etc). For this one, you still have to have a battery tender external to the vehicle that you wire into the "plug" portion of the connector. Link is here: https://www.batterytender.com/dc-power-connector

 

[FrankThompson]

The picture I show above is either the NOCO power plug (just basically an extension cord you can install on your truck, car, trailer, etc), which you would plug a battery tender into. Link is here: https://no.co/gcp1

The other is just a battery tender plug and port (no actual battery tender). It provides a way for you to easily connect a battery tender device to whatever you want to charge (car, truck, boat, etc). For this one, you still have to have a battery tender external to the vehicle that you wire into the "plug" portion of the connector. Link is here: https://www.batterytender.com/dc-power-connector

I feel I should elaborate on the first one. It's a 120v plug you can install for external access. You place the battery tender in the truck somewhere and run the 12v to the battery to charge it. This way you are only using an extension cord to trickle charge your truck/car/etc.

The latter is just basically letting you run a 12v line from the battery to an external port and the battery tender would live outside the truck/car/etc.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

The battery tender connector pictured is for trolling motors , so it is designed to accept up to 6 awg wire. You could easily extend the cable from the battery connection and feed it out thru the grille or bumper area for a whole lot less. If I have to park the truck outside on the tender, I place the tender on top of the engine cover and close the hood. Sits there fine. I only do this when the truck is doing an update because the signal gets blocked in my garage, otherwise the truck sits in the garage on the tender. The tender doesn't put out any more heat than the engine, so I don't see any problem having the tender under the hood. You just need to remember to remove it before starting the truck. Sorry for the long winded reply.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

I feel I should elaborate on the first one. It's a 120v plug you can install for external access. You place the battery tender in the truck somewhere and run the 12v to the battery to charge it. This way you are only using an extension cord to trickle charge your truck/car/etc.

The latter is just basically letting you run a 12v line from the battery to an external port and the battery tender would live outside the truck/car/etc.

I would suggest the battery tender 12v, 800mA maintainer. it is water resistant and small enough to velcro under the hood someplace. It is a maintainer only, so you would plug it in as soon as you stopped using the truck. It is not a charger. Battery Tender does make a 3 amp unit that is flatter and could be velcro under the hood, not sure how splash resistant it is. Hope this helps.

 

[FrankThompson]

The battery tender connector pictured is for trolling motors , so it is designed to accept up to 6 awg wire. You could easily extend the cable from the battery connection and feed it out thru the grille or bumper area for a whole lot less. If I have to park the truck outside on the tender, I place the tender on top of the engine cover and close the hood. Sits there fine. I only do this when the truck is doing an update because the signal gets blocked in my garage, otherwise the truck sits in the garage on the tender. The tender doesn't put out any more heat than the engine, so I don't see any problem having the tender under the hood. You just need to remember to remove it before starting the truck. Sorry for the long winded reply.

So the concerns I've heard over heat is the engine heat hurting the battery tender while you're driving around, not heat build up while trickle charging and maintaining.

In my solstice this definitely isn't a concern because of placement. I'm sure I could find a spot in the truck's engine compartment equally protected.

I've considered just popping the hood to plug it in, but as I drive this more often than the solstice, that seems like an inconvenience. Esp when I have to run out on lunch without much notice and have limited time to get out and back.

I figured that port was for their chargers, wasn't sure and didn't know it was for trilling motors. I don't even know the cost because honestly, I was just going to go the 120v option and install the NOCO power plug somewhere with a battery tender under the hood. After reading some concerns online about keeping it under the hood, I thought I would safer than sorry and ask all the fine folks here who are more experienced with these trucks and their engines.

I would suggest the battery tender 12v, 800mA maintainer. it is water resistant and small enough to velcro under the hood someplace. It is a maintainer only, so you would plug it in as soon as you stopped using the truck. It is not a charger. Battery Tender does make a 3 amp unit that is flatter and could be velcro under the hood, not sure how splash resistant it is. Hope this helps.

I believe that is the one I use in my Solstice I think I'm on my second one in 12 years or so. I think the first one died because I didn't have it "installed" in the engine bay. It sat more expose to elements (like the FL sun)

this is the one I have which I'm sure is the one you're talking about and would either put this one in or NOCO has a similar one I've thought about trying

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CITKCE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


(NOCO for reference: https://a.co/7ZLPa1j)

 

[powerboatr]

good idea
i did a similar thing on my 06 dually, it sat for long periods and i had removed the door handle roads so it could not be jimmed, so battery is all that would open the doors, vice breaking glass
i had a battery tender in the bed tool box with a cord end popped through a hole, to plug into an extension cord
but you would think that the onboard BATTERY pack for the powerboost part could be programmed to ...i dont know? keep the 12v batteries charged up. The battery pack is just sitting there holding all those electrons

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