I get it now.

For a long distance commuter, the Prius has few rivals. If you needed a long distance cargo carrier, as I do, the Prius v station wagon.

 

A battery tender would be a MUCH better plan.
It takes a while to regain the charge expended in starting.

 

That won't keep the battery properly charged. Best to get a battery tender if you're not going to drive it much.

 

Hey Parts Ninja welcome to the happy Prius owners club! Glad your enjoying your car as much as we do! With Parts Ninja for a name,, do you work in the parts department at the Toy dealership? Any idea if I can upgrade the headlights on a 2014 Pri 3 --> to automatic? (Its Currently stock with on the tree on off controls). It amazes me Toy did not just make it standard as so many other brands have -- especially seeing my car does have the light sensor on the dash for the Nav display to know when to dim. I mean,, how much more would it have been to just make the headlights auto, too?? Maybe just a few PARTS????

 

congrats, all the best!

 

Oh good, an insider from the stealership that should be a great help to us. WELCOME!!!

 

One step above the tender/trickle charger is the pulse/smart charger:



I swear by this sucker !!

It was another PC member that turned me on to these bad boys - I seldom get my regular trickle charger out any more ... whether on our honda inverter/generator, our electric boat, or keeping the little prius or lexus battery up.
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Parts Ninja, if your at all cheap, like me, you might want to try one of the "automatic battery float chargers" from Harbor Freight. They cost all of $9.99 and seem to work fantastic as I have used one for years on my 69 Buick Skylark Convertible. My last battery "Die hard" lasted 7+ years, and i finally replaced it, even though it was cranking fine, just because I did not trust it anymore - due solely on its age. Here is a link,, if it works:

Automatic Battery Charger - 12V



If you find you have tons of time one day, I would be interested in knowing how much the parts would cost to "upgrade" my headlights to fully auto. If its ridiculus in parts price, it would be a good reason for me to quit complaining about it!

 

And what was the price step above a battery tender that's available for about $30 ??

There is no need to buy a scoop shovel when a teaspoon will do the job.

 

bamboo chopsticks may even cost less than teaspoons .... so it turns on how fast you wana move mass from point a to point b. Agreed, there's nothing wrong with the tender. Still - the pulse tech ($65 or so) models retard plate degradation - which extends battery life. Pay for more & you get more. Isn't that what you do when you get a Prius?

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That only works when the "pulse tech" is the unit that charges the battery ALL THE TIME.......and only if it is a conventional wet cell type battery.

AGM type batteries do not suffer that kind of plate degradation in the first place......and if you let it go too far before trying to correct it, your fancy charger is mostly worthless to accomplish that anyway.

You have been taken in my marketing hype. It happens all the time.

 

Perhaps you need to check your facts. AGM's do in fact experience sulfication. Now, if what you actually meant was that AGM batteries are less prone to experience sulfication - that would be true. But all that would mean is that pulse tech is preventing less damage/breakdown on AGM's. But big deal. Most folks use their chargers on more than one type of battery.

actually, it's not my fancy charger - it's a model that gets good reviews from the majority of purchasers ..... looking at 64 purchasers from Amazon dot com I see it averages a 4 out of 5. Consider most folks primarily use rating sites to vent their dissatisfaction - that would indicate that their "fancy chargers" work as good or better than purchaser's expectations. As for resurrecting a completely dead battery - First - that's not even the topic. Second - since you brought it up anyways, a pulse tech charger is more likely to help restore SOME usability to a nearly dead battery than a standard charger can .... but again that's sort of a tangent.

One has to experience a product falling below marketing claims in order to invoke that it's marketing is only "hype". All I have is 15years of empirical results (same battery use/demand - in the same weather/temps) . Flooded lead acid cells that last an average of 6.5 years in stead of lasting only 4years. From Web site's that post users opinions - that seems to be the consensus. That said, others are still entitled to differing opinions .... no one's desireing to convince anyone otherwise.
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The point about sulphation is that the design of an AGM battery prevents the deposits that form from creating a service affecting problem; they don't accumulate in the bottom of the cells and short them out. The deposits themselves only cause a minor drop in capacity that is undetectable in normal use.

And the overall point is that any kind of a smart battery tender will give you similar life extending results.......on a battery with usage patterns that requires a tender.......and at half or less of the price. What you have no doubt works just fine. The doubt is whether it works any better than less expensive models and my opinion is not; a strong NOT.

 

A smart charger extends a battery's life just because you're not helpless, you have an option besides battery replacement. Further, get a charger, and next you'll start getting cognisant of battery health, get a digital multimeter, pay more attention to potential 12 volt battery drainers. It snowballs.

 

+1, never really cared much about any batteries or their health until I bought a Prius. Now I am checking all the batteries in my house like some sort of crazy person.

 

+1... i take prius to most places nowadays... 50mpg for 10-year-old car is pretty darn good for me...
i just installed battery disconnect switches on my other cars since i don't drive whole lot...