Just ordered my Battery Tender

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
12/08/2015 at 19:26 • Filed to: None

It’s getting to be that time of year where I put my 135is away for the winter. Last year, I stored in in a storage unit without any power. This year, it’s going in my gf’s mom’s garage, which has power. So, Battery Tender time!

I share a townhouse with a 1-car garage with my gf. We have 3 cars: my 135is and Grand Cherokee, and her Civic. Since we alternate who gets the garage each week, putting the BMW away in the garage all winter would kick my gf outside all winter, and that’s not fair.

Last year I paid for a storage unit a couple miles from home. Some of the cost of that was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! while the car was stored. But this year, my gf’s mom stopped driving and got rid of her car, so she offered out of the blue to let me use her garage for the BMW. It’s 80 miles away, but hey, it’s free.

So this week we’re going to visit her mom, take both the BMW and the Civic, I’m making a nice meal, we get some family time, then we leave the BMW there and head home in the Civic. Moms just needs to poke her head in the garage every once in a while to see if the Battery Tender’s still hooked up. I still get to pay less money for insurance, which will actually save me money. Score.

Thanks, my not-quite mother-in-law!

(Side note: I also have a solar panel dealie that plugs into the 12V power outlet in my Jeep that thankfully is always connected even when the ignition’s off. So for most of the year while I’m DD’ing the BMW and the Jeep sits outside, it trickle charges from the solar panel.)

DISCUSSION (11)

whoarder is tellurium > Textured Soy Protein
12/08/2015 at 19:34

The battery tender is a glorious thing. Kept my CRX and first Audi alive for a long time.

bob and john > Textured Soy Protein
12/08/2015 at 19:35

I;ve got 2 of the things, one for each of the bikes. GREAT product

d15b > Textured Soy Protein
12/08/2015 at 20:12

OK, so you’re making them a meal. Probably should get her something when you pull her out for spring!

TheHondaBro > Textured Soy Protein
12/08/2015 at 20:14

Unnecessary

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Textured Soy Protein
12/08/2015 at 20:17

Had the same one when my daily commute was by train. Only drove 600 miles that year. Worked well.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > Textured Soy Protein
12/08/2015 at 22:33

I have several of those for the fleet, my dream is to get the big ass 4 bank one, just can’t justify the cost when the jrs were all $20/ea

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Textured Soy Protein
12/09/2015 at 00:18

never used one and never needed one. Every car I have stored in my parents barn over the MI winter has been fine in spring. Just unhook the ground wire and you will be fine

Textured Soy Protein > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
12/09/2015 at 00:50

I would disconnect the battery, except BMW has a pointless battery registration procedure. Installing a new battery, or connecting a battery after it’s been disconnected a few months, you could send up having to take the car to the dealer to reprogram the car to the battery. So rather than have to do that, it’s worth the 45 bucks to keep the battery connected and topped up.

Textured Soy Protein > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
12/09/2015 at 00:52

I thought about the Junior, but this will be in a rather cold detached garage, so the extra juice from the Plus seemed worth it.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Textured Soy Protein
12/09/2015 at 02:39

fuck that shit! another reason the only time i will own a BMW is if i decide to swap my 5.3 into it

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > Textured Soy Protein
12/09/2015 at 03:00

I thought about one for the Z, but I’ve settled for just going and starting it for an hour every two weeks... so far the alarm hasn’t drained the battery