to tender or not to tender?

[bp405]

that sums it up my friends. so today a group of us were out. i'm new to the game and this ride was EPIC. at times i wondered how we were going to make it out. 3 RZR's 2 sport quads and me. needles to say i had to do some winching. the battery lite comes on. think nothing of it, keep winching. gets to the point were the bike wants to stall. so i chill and somebody else takes on the winching. get home to unload and she's dead. terminals are tight and shes charging at 14.5V's. shes dirty so after i clean her i'll pull the battery and 1. chk to see if it's maintence free 2. fill with distilled water if she isn't and 3. clean and protect the terminals. so i've been told this quad doesn't have a alternator and the charging is done through a magneto type system, is this true? little background, my ride is 5 months old, i ride it 2-3 times a month for 4 or more hours, i ride it 2-3 times a month for 15-60 mins. the quad is garage kept and there is a little residual heat from the house that gets in there. always thought i did enough riding to keep it charged. so i understand alot of guys r using a battery type tenders and wondering if i should as well.

[blueline15]

You probably don't need a tender if you're riding it every 10-15 days average. They are important if its going to sit a month or longer.

Also, correct. ATVs and motorcycles do not have an alternator, they have stators. Winching does put a high stress load on any battery. If you get her charged up, it should be fine.

Don't let the battery sit dead too long. It'll shorten its life span.

[Russ C]

if you need a new battery, buy an agm one, you can get one at local parts store, $130 for the one in the 800

[bp405]

little update pulled the battery on monday and charged it. installed it today. wire brushed the terminals and the leads. the battery is maintenance free, so no distilled water had to be added. shook the battery a little and didn't feel any liquid, so im assuming these polaris factory batteries are dry cell. anyway ordered up c-tek 3300us battery tender. can't hurt. @russ c the agm battery is that dry cell?

[bp405]

so today started her up no problem, no battery light, and i checked the voltage and it was 14.6VDC. waiting on my c-tek from summit racing and another ride to get my final judgement on this battery situation.

[Dronepilot]

I keep mine on a tender all the time....The 600 is so cold blooded that the first start drains a lot out of it, so I am always at a deficit at the start of the day and if I have to add winching to it.....

[Forrest]

yep, mine is in the garage and on the tender anytime it's not in use.
I figure I'll get the most out of the battery that way, it should last longer.

[bp405]

just recieved my c-tek via ups. i'll hook it up tomorrow.

[bp405]

well i installed the c-tek 3300. straight forward install. bolted the c-tek leads to the battery terminals. then routed the wires and connector to a spot underneath the seat. i hope this solves the battery problems i've been encountering.