FYI Deal on PulseTech Xtreme Charge XC400 battery maintainer

[gsxr]

This is the battery charger / maintainer I use, it is normally $100 (which is too much IMO). I've never seen it on sale this low before, $70 with free shipping. Full-time desulfating is the big perk here, few other charger/maintainers offer this feature.

Also available on Amazon for easy returns if needed, I expect the Amazon sale price will end 3/31 also:

The last deal I saw was BFCM 2023 which was $80 shipped (link) for the charger alone.

Xtreme Charge XC400 4-Amp All-Vehicle 12V Battery Charger & Maintainer

Part #: 200X010 Title: Xtreme Charge XC400 4-Amp All-Vehicle 12V Battery Charger & Maintainer The Xtreme Charge XC400 is a high-performance 4-amp battery charger, maintainer, and conditioner purpose-built for 12-volt lead-acid batteries—including flooded, AGM, VRLA, and EFB types. Designed for...

pulsetech.com

Amazon.com

SAVE $30! Was $99.50, Now Only $69.50! Offer ends 3/31/24.

 

[gsxr]

:

They are now also offering their Quadlink Kit for $170 delivered, same as the Black Friday deal in Nov-2023. Not shown in the photos, you ALSO get four battery terminal dongles with inline fuses, and four 5' extension leads, as part of the Quadlink. I bought this kit during BFCM 2023. I use a couple of these Quadlinks to maintain / desulfate multiple batteries off one XC400 charger:

4-Channel Battery Charger Multiplier Kit

Part #: 200X005 4-Channel Battery Charger Multiplier KitCharge and maintain up to four 6V or 12V lead acid battery vehicles The QuadLink 4-Channel Battery Multiplier turns the XC400 Battery Charger into a four-station battery maintenance station. The QuadLink Kit Includes: QuadLink (100x004)...

pulsetech.com

Amazon.com

If you have an Amazon credit card, you should get an extra 5% off with the usual statement credit.

 

[gsxr]

The Quadlink Kit is now on sale for even less, $140 with free shipping.


The Xtreme Charge and Quadlink are each available separately for $70 with free shipping, the "kit" throws in two free 25-foot extension leads and a tester:

4-Channel Battery Charger Multiplier Kit

Part #: 200X005 4-Channel Battery Charger Multiplier KitCharge and maintain up to four 6V or 12V lead acid battery vehicles The QuadLink 4-Channel Battery Multiplier turns the XC400 Battery Charger into a four-station battery maintenance station. The QuadLink Kit Includes: QuadLink (100x004)...

pulsetech.com

Xtreme Charge XC400 4-Amp All-Vehicle 12V Battery Charger & Maintainer

Part #: 200X010 Title: Xtreme Charge XC400 4-Amp All-Vehicle 12V Battery Charger & Maintainer The Xtreme Charge XC400 is a high-performance 4-amp battery charger, maintainer, and conditioner purpose-built for 12-volt lead-acid batteries—including flooded, AGM, VRLA, and EFB types. Designed for...

pulsetech.com

QuadLink 4-Channel Battery Charger Multiplier

Part #: 100X004 The QuadLink 4-in-1 charger turns any 6V or 12V battery charger into a four-station maintenance charger Packaging Includes: our eyelet lug adapter cables and 5' extension leads. Maintain large multiple battery packs (12-, 24-, 36- and 48V) during extended non-use periods...

pulsetech.com

 

[R129 UK]

Do you folk in the US of A have Ctek products available?

They seem to be the battery maintainer of choice in the UK / Europe.

 

[gsxr]

Do you folk in the US of A have Ctek products available?

They seem to be the battery maintainer of choice in the UK / Europe.

Yep, we can get CTek, and I do have one... but it only desulfates for a short portion of the charge cycle. It does not desulfate continuously. Most chargers/maintainers only desulfate for a short period, similar to CTek. Noco is another short-time desulfator.

Only a couple of chargers I'm aware of have full-time desulfation, one is the Pulsetech Xtreme, the other is BatteryMINDer. Might be one or two others that I missed.

 

[R129 UK]

This is an interesting read:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/battery-desulfators-do-they-work.171041/

 

[gsxr]

This is an interesting read:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/battery-desulfators-do-they-work.171041/

TLDR: The BITOG thread above is from 2012. Quite a few people posting something like "desulfation is fiction, it does nothing" but also have no evidence to support their claim. Most also do not state what desulfators they personally have used, with what batteries, under what conditions.


One person replied with a link to a separate page with a contrasting opinion:

Answer To The Question: Battery Desulfators - Do They Work? - Blog

Are you curious about if battery desulfators work? Visit our blog at Impact Battery and see how they do work! View the batteries and chargers that we offer...

www.impactbattery.com

TLDR 2: PulseTech is the original patent holder and their stuff works. It's used by the military and a lot of companies with large fleets. I've been using PulseTech products for nearly 20 years. Most of my vehicles have ab on-board, permanent-mount PowerPulse unit (link) intended for vehicles driven often, or kept on a maintainer when parked. BatteryMINDer uses technology similar-ish to PulseTech. Other technologies may not be as effective. Interesting that the author of the second article was in touch with CTEK and they ghosted him after they obtained a PulseTech unit for comparison testing.


I think I mentioned in a different thread that since using the above PulseTech products, I'm finding my average battery lifespan to be in the ballpark of 7-12 years over about a dozen vehicles. The oldest battery I had in service was just over 20 years old (not a typo) before it finally started to crank slowly on an M119.

 

[Bogeyman]

My '07 E320 Bluetec built 06/06 is on the original battery. Wish I understood why....

 

[R129 UK]

TLDR: The BITOG thread above is from 2012. Quite a few people posting something like "desulfation is fiction, it does nothing" but also have no evidence to support their claim. Most also do not state what desulfators they personally have used, with what batteries, under what conditions.


One person replied with a link to a separate page with a contrasting opinion:

Answer To The Question: Battery Desulfators - Do They Work? - Blog

Are you curious about if battery desulfators work? Visit our blog at Impact Battery and see how they do work! View the batteries and chargers that we offer...

www.impactbattery.com

TLDR 2: PulseTech is the original patent holder and their stuff works. It's used by the military and a lot of companies with large fleets. I've been using PulseTech products for nearly 20 years. Most of my vehicles have ab on-board, permanent-mount PowerPulse unit (link) intended for vehicles driven often, or kept on a maintainer when parked. BatteryMINDer uses technology similar-ish to PulseTech. Other technologies may not be as effective. Interesting that the author of the second article was in touch with CTEK and they ghosted him after they obtained a PulseTech unit for comparison testing.


I think I mentioned in a different thread that since using the above PulseTech products, I'm finding my average battery lifespan to be in the ballpark of 7-12 years over about a dozen vehicles. The oldest battery I had in service was just over 20 years old (not a typo) before it finally started to crank slowly on an M119.

I did deliberately say interesting and not informative...

My personal experience, I have owned vehicles for >30 years and I think I possibly replaced 1 battery over 25 years ago (but I cannot be sure just a hunch). Admittedly, typically only 2 cars simultaneously but I've never used any kind of battery maintainer or tender until I purchased my SL 2 years ago due to concerns over battery condition affecting the car (starting, parasitic drains and destroying roof ECUs through charging / jump starting etc.). Average age at purchase ~4 years old and average length of ownership ~4-5 years.

Not trying to poop on your thoughts and experience at all, just a different perspective not dissimilar to yours in terms of average battery life achieved.

EDIT to add- I'm not sure where you are in the USA but here we don't get massively fluctuating temperatures over short time periods which can potentially affect battery life / performance.

 

[gsxr]

Yup, different geographies / regions / usage / etc all make a difference. I've heard that in hot USA climates (southern Texas, for example) battery lifespan is practically measured in months. I want to say I've heard replacements every 3-4 years is not uncommon. @nocfn ?

Still, most battery mfr's in USA are only offering 3-4 year warranties now so if we can do anything to potentially double the lifespan of a ~$200 USD battery, that's still a good thing (especially if you own multiple vehicles).