new battery or try battery tender?

Thanks for the help and replies. Didnt mean to have an arguement.

I purchased a ctek 4.3 polar, I can use it on the other batteries i have. I will purchase a new costco battery for the CRV if doesnt help. My first instinct was to get a new battery anyway. But also wanted to try to charge it first.
 
I would buy both. You may try to fix your battery, but likely not get more than a year more out of it. If you only can buy one, I say it would be the battery. Eventually, you should get a tender or charger. But when the going gets good, you will forget and never buy the charger. That happened to me, never owned a charger and borrowing one right now. So now I decided to buy a charger, a Schumacher SC1281 that will allow me to do different things and will replace my battery, which I have some pro-rated warranty left on it.

 
well a lot of good information here, but what I'd do:
load test the battery, if it fails replace
also, do a parasitic draw test, to make sure that nothing is pulling amps out of the battery when everything is supposed to be off. Should be between 30-50 milliamps. When doing the test make sure that the doors are closed, ignition off etc. Wait at least 15 min to allow all the modules to go to sleep.
If you get a higher than that draw you have to investigate because it will keep draining batteries no matter what brand you install.
 
I bought myself a cheap old school charger back in 1998. Hardly used it until this year. Now I use it every 10 days or so to top up the batteries.
 
Thanks for the help and replies. Didnt mean to have an arguement.

I purchased a ctek 4.3 polar, I can use it on the other batteries i have. I will purchase a new costco battery for the CRV if doesnt help. My first instinct was to get a new battery anyway. But also wanted to try to charge it first.

I have the same CTEK battery charger & maintainer on my Camaro.

You can try the recondition mode on the car battery you have; if your battery is NOT an AGM type car battery.

In my opinion:
Buy a new AGM car battery & use the CTEK battery charger & maintainer.

Note: Don't forget to put it in cold mode for when it is below 0°C or if an AGM car battery mode for higher charging voltage.
 
Thanks for the help and replies. Didnt mean to have an arguement.

I purchased a ctek 4.3 polar, I can use it on the other batteries i have. I will purchase a new costco battery for the CRV if doesnt help. My first instinct was to get a new battery anyway. But also wanted to try to charge it first.
Costco online has an Energizer AGM car battery for $199.99.

Energizer AGM warranty by Costco:
0-60 months - Full refund based on purchase price
61-80 months - 50% refund based on purchase price
81-100 months - 25% refund based on purchase price

Energizer 51R AGM Battery

 
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Hi guys

I have a 05 honda crv that has a group 51 battery. Currently it has a walmart ever start (non maxx), previous owner changed at 2017.

The vehicle is parked outside all the time, used monday-friday to work, stop and go traffic 30mins commute.

Now if it sits for 1 or 2 days in -30C the car will not start. The battery is not completely depleted, as the dash lights, and accessories power up, but doesn't have enough juice to turn.

Would you guys recommend me purchasing a smart battery tender/charger? I have my eye on this ctek rated for winter weather. https://www.amazon.ca/CTEK-56-958-Automatic-Extreme-Climate/dp/B00GODCLYU?ref_=ast_sto_dp

But for the same price I can get a Costco kirkland battery for 109 + tax.
Have battery tested. Preferably after charging it.
I would get another Walmart battery especially if it's made by East Penn.
 
I have the same CTEK battery charger & maintainer on my Camaro.

You can try the recondition mode on the car battery you have; if your battery is NOT an AGM type car battery.

In my opinion:
Buy a new AGM car battery & use the CTEK battery charger & maintainer.

Note: Don't forget to put it in cold mode for when it is below 0°C or if an AGM car battery mode for higher charging voltage.
A good charger should do temp compensation, hot & cold all the time unless it's 70F. Why does it need to be set into Cold Mode.
 
A good charger should do temp compensation, hot & cold all the time unless it's 70F. Why does it need to be set into Cold Mode.
My CTEK 7200 also has a ''cold mode" switch, which seems like a cheap and semi effective way to implement temperature compensation by raising target voltage 0.3 volts.

I wonder if the internal temperature sensor is only functional at higher temperatures, above 80F. Maybe that is why the 7200 doesn't have a "hot mode" switch. In the manual it states "automatic reduction of power at increased ambient temperature". but says nothing about automatic increase of power at colder temperatures.

NOCO also uses a "cold mode" switch on their $230 G26000.
 
Yeah, in the CTEK MUS 4.3 POLAR model case:

It boasts it from (normal mode) 14.4V to 15.0V.
& It is the Snowflake (cold weather) / AGM battery mode.

My point was the BatteryMinder detects the temperature, hot or cold and does temp compensation to raise or lower the voltage. No need to manually push a button when you think it's cold out. Hot temp is more of a concern than low temp.
 
Update, I've been happy with the charger so far. I brought the battery in Canadian tire and the parts guy said it passed. Probably just did a load test.

I've charged all 3 (24F, agm 35, 51R) of my cars battery outside during Manitoba's extreme cold warning (-35C) . Average about 8hrs on the 24F/AMG 35 and 10hrs on the 51R

My father in law gifted me a battery blanket and I would plug it in 3 hrs before I leave. So far the little 51R has been starting the crv everyday.
 
I used my Schumacher smart charger I just bought recently on both my truck that gets used every day (lots of short trips) and my girlfriend's Hyundai that mostly just sits and does occasional always short trips. We got our cold snaps this past couple weeks and had no issues. Not extremely cold but it got down to minus 19 minus 26 with the wind chill. Yesterday I got called out of bed to boost the neighbors Santa Fe. My truck cranked over very strong.
 
Frisco, if/when you do get a new battery, grab a larger one. I put in a Kirkland 24F in my honda element (similar K24 engine) instead of the little 51R in December 2013 and it worked fine starting the car this past week in single digits Fahrenheit temps (about -15C). It did take an extra couple cranks to start, but it did. I'll probably replace it before next winter.

I do top off the battery with a tender overnight a few times per year to make sure it stays fully charged. I am pretty confident that helped it stay in good shape since it usually isn't driven more than every couple of weeks.
 
Just replace the four year old battery. It is clearly on the way out. Rather than eke out a few more months on a dying battery and worry the whole time or possibly get stranded during the winter, just get a new battery. A dying battery puts a big strain on your car’s alternator.
 
After thinking about the cold weather and such in the last week I realized all the talk about charging batteries is for retired people and hobbyists. It really is supposed to work like this: You buy a battery, put it in. A number of years later the battery gets weak. When it gets weak enough that is doesn’t do a start, you buy a new battery. Although, I myself have a thread on checking a weak battery, I did it for fun. Life is too short to nurse old batteries. :) Flame suit on.
 
I came across this thread:

https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/larger-group-24-battery-install.35034/

And ordered the tray & box to try out swapping to a 24F in my '03 CRV. Not sure if the OP might be interested in doing so when the 51 battery dies. The battery in my CRV is only a couple years old but is not holding a charge anymore; not sure at this time why (parasitic load or bad battery?) but once sorted out, I'll probably put in the bigger battery.
 
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