Kawa 4whlr - Need Battery advice

[Tx Bohemian]

Need advice from a battery expert.

We got a ’99 Kawasaki Bayou 4whlr we bought a couple of yrs ago.
This thing may sit up for a couple of months (or more) without running or starting.
I put a “battery tender” on it to keep the battery charged. Not sure how old the battery is.

Twice already the battery acid level was low and thus battery dead.
Last time I pulled the bat, filled, and put it on a charger for about 4 hrs. But it is still dead so I need a new one.

Two questions:
I have a choice between a Gel filled or Acid filled.  (1) Which is better?
(from the local Honda dealer)
Acid filled - $50, 6 month warranty.
Gel filled - $100, 2yr warranty.

(2) Any idea why the acid boiled out of the old battery?

I guess I need to check the output and cutoff on the battery tender but this is the same one I had on my bike for a few yrs and never had any problem.

[Gavin_Sons]

I would say you had a bad cell or 2 in the battery. Causing it to keep trying to charge it and it boiled over. I have used the gel batteries on a fourwheeler i use to have and it seemed to be ok, not sure if it was worth the extra 40 bucks i paid, didn't keep the quad long enough to find out. If i were you i'd put a regular acid battery on it being as old as it is.

[da prez]

  Either or will work. If the toy sits, think about a battery disconnect. Test your trickle charger to make sure it is not boiling the battery. By dis-connecting the battery , you have eliminated a battery draw. (or unhook the ground) It is possible that the toy might be snacking on the battery. Also , clean all connections , do not just look at them. Remove and clean.

                                                         da prez

[YoungPUP]

Not sure as to why the battery took a crap. but IMHO the gel acid is the best choice for an ATV as they seem to handle the bumps bouncing and bruises better then an regular battery.

[gordonv]

My thought is that you don't have the right charger, it is not "tending" the battery, but continuously charging it, therefore boiling it off.

Which name/model charger do you have? I had a Battery Tender Jr, and went to the CTEK instead, and no more problems.

As for the type of battery, I would buy an Lithium Iron battery. Might cost a little more, but is rated as a 1%/month discharge rate, when not being used. No charger required. A little more money, but should be able to do the job a lot better, and you can choose different sizes and CCA amounts to fit your need.

[Tx Bohemian]

Thanks for all the info guys.

Looks like we're all on the same page here.  The battery is probably old and just played out. 
I need to make sure the tender is not "over tending".

I'd think that if the battery does have a couple of bad cells the tender is trying to keep it up and that's why the the water boils out.  The tender eventually does go into "safe mode", I guess when it senses when the battery will not take/hold a charge. As I said this was on my bike for a year or so and I had no problems.

I'm not sure what brand this tender is as I've accumulated 4 of them over the years (long story). The 4 whlr and tender is not at my house but 50 miles away (thus the reason for lack of information).

Doing a bit of research on the Lithium batteries right now these seem to be the wave of the future.  They seem to exceed any current batteries (gel, acid) greatly except in one area, they give no warning when their about to fail, they just quit.
And cost. 2-3 times higher.

I'll probably just get a new Gel battery (mainly for the warranty) and go from there and keep an eye on it.

Thanks again fellas!!

[signart]

A battery tender on the blink can and will ruin a battery. Trust me.