jwiz1971

Looking for a good battery charger/tender. Not sure if this is a good idea as I was told that chargers or tenders that keep the battery at the peak charge are no good for pwc batteries. Not sure if there is truth to this or not. I figured cheap ones from Walmart would not be good, but other brands may be ok to use

98yota

Tenders are fine for all 12 volt batteries used from cars, trucks, boats, PWC etc... Just remember a tender needs to be put on a fully charged battery. It's rate of charge is only enough to offset the batteries rate of discharge. A battery sitting in storage has what is called a rate of discharge or decay. The battery will slowly loose charge over time, tenders take up the slack to keep the battery fully charged. If your battery need a charge get a charger. There are two types, automatic or manual. Manual chargers are great because you can bring a completely discharged battery back from extreme level of discharge (1-2 volts or less.) There is a very important detail about manual chargers is they will not stop charging until you turn the charger off!!! Forgetting to turn the manual charger can over charge the battery and even cause a fire. Automatic chargers are nice because they are well, they'er automatic. You can leave a battery on the charger and it will turn off once it is finished charging. Some automatic chargers will even turn back on and charge the battery again if the batteries voltage drops from sitting. The one problem with automatic chargers is the battery has to have 6volts or more to turn on the charger. You cannot charge a battery with less than 6 volts, so you cannot try to bring an old battery back to life. Hope this helps!

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1993 Yamaha WaveBlaster 701
1989 Yamaha WaveJammer 500

Ernest T

The cheap tenders like the ones sold at Harbor Freight are OK for flooded batteries (like the original Yuasa batteries that come on most Yamaha skis, but are not OK for more expensive sealed AGM type of batteries, because they can overcharge the battery. Even on flooded types of batteries, you have to carefully monitor the water level and watch for venting (it can ruin your floor or things nearby).

Get a Battery Tendered brand, which is made by Deltran and you will be safe for any type of battery. They are pretty cheap and easy to use:
They also make a waterproof one if you need to leave the ski outside and don't want to remove the battery:

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2008 Yamaha FX HO Cruiser
2010 Hurricane Sundeck 2100

TXSPORTSWOMN

Is it OK to charge the battery while it is still hooked up to the ski? I have always done it, but have heard mixed stories....

Ernest T

It's OK if you are using a good quality charger. I know you can do it with no problem with the Battery Tender brand. Some chargers could potentially put too much voltage into the system during the charge (especially possible with a cheap charger that does not have a peak voltage detection circuit).

Even with a bad charger it would be hard to damage the system, but use a good quality charger and you have no worries.

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2008 Yamaha FX HO Cruiser
2010 Hurricane Sundeck 2100