I bought a battery tender so as to maintain full charge on my
problematic rider battery. It bothers me that the male plug for the
ting is only 2-prong. Seems to me that I connect it to AC source
backwards, that it could cause charging problems. Can it?

Or am I just paranoid?

TX

geezer wrote:
I bought a battery tender so as to maintain full charge on my
problematic rider battery. It bothers me that the male plug for the
ting is only 2-prong. Seems to me that I connect it to AC source
backwards, that it could cause charging problems. Can it?

Or am I just paranoid?

Yup, paranoid. The charger is built around a transformer that isolates
the 120 VAC power input from the DC output. Reversing the plug does not
affect the DC output in anyway.

Having a third prong would permit the (metal?) case of the charger to be
grounded. This means that an internal short in the charger would not
give you a shock. But it is just as safe to make the case out of an
insulator such as plastic and physically arrange the wiring so it cannot
chafe or break.

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 08:53:49 -0400, Stubby
wrote:


Yup, paranoid. The charger is built around a transformer that isolates
the 120 VAC power input from the DC output. Reversing the plug does not
affect the DC output in anyway.

Having a third prong would permit the (metal?) case of the charger to be
grounded. This means that an internal short in the charger would not
give you a shock. But it is just as safe to make the case out of an
insulator such as plastic and physically arrange the wiring so it cannot
chafe or break.


Just now I connected the tender up and get proper indicator lights and
voltage polarities no matter which way I connect the plug.

So I would think that you are indeed very right.

Thanks for reply

One day I will find my short though. Now up to 7V! Must be the
starter itself.

Cya

If the battery is good, it should be unnecessary to use a battery
tender during the mowing season. If you use the mower once a week for
a half hour or so, that should keep it charged. The tender is needed
in the winter, when the battery isn't being charged by the mower. And
I sure wouldn't use it to allow leaving the battery connected. Until
you find the short, the battery should be disconnected after each use.

wrote:
If the battery is good, it should be unnecessary to use a battery
tender during the mowing season. If you use the mower once a week for
a half hour or so, that should keep it charged. The tender is needed
in the winter, when the battery isn't being charged by the mower. And
I sure wouldn't use it to allow leaving the battery connected. Until
you find the short, the battery should be disconnected after each use.

That assumes the charger circuit in the mower is working right. My
original was not and many people with Craftsman complain about the same
thing.

"geezer" wrote in message
...
I bought a battery tender so as to maintain full charge on my
problematic rider battery. It bothers me that the male plug for the
ting is only 2-prong. Seems to me that I connect it to AC source
backwards, that it could cause charging problems. Can it?

Or am I just paranoid?

Hope this is not a joke. The AC reverses 60 times every second so it will
not mater which way you plug it in as far as the output to the battery.

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 22:37:50 GMT, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


Hope this is not a joke. The AC reverses 60 times every second so it will
not mater which way you plug it in as far as the output to the battery.



Nope - not a joke. Just a question out of ignorance.

Thanks for reply.