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In the analysis of buying a Tender Jr. vs. a Tender Plus, the main issues are time to full charge, battery size, & parasitic draw. The Tender Plus (1.25) will get the job done twice as fast as the Tender Jr. (0.75). Both now are similar architecturally, save it be the charging power & lack of temperature compensation on the Jr. They both are 4 stage, both have the same sophisticated computer chip technology running the charging process, etc... I spoke to The Deltran(The Manufacturer) customer service department on 3 different occasions, making sure I had the facts right. The first 2 times I was misinformed about the temperature compensation issue. I am editing this review to be accurate as of today's date of 12/01/10. Because The Plus will bring a battery to full charge twice as quickly as The Jr. will, The Plus has a much better chance at overcoming a parasitic draw on your batteries power. Modern cars have sophisticated electronics that require constant power 24/7. Check all your battery connections & your alternator belt!!! If the connections are not clean & tight, clean it with original coca-cola and a rag / brush, make sure they fit snugly. If your alternator belt is too loose it will not charge your battery properly. If you only want to buy one Tender, don't cheap out, buy The Plus if you have the money to do so. If you want to buy 2 or 3 Tenders to make sure all your batteries are fully charged, the Jr. will probably do just fine. I personally alternate The Jr. between 3 different cars, if I had it to do over again, I would buy The Plus instead as I am not a patient person. Both models will turn off in 72 hours automatically if a full charge is not reached, & neither will start charging without at least 3 volts stored in the battery before initiating a charge. If you left your lights on for 4 days like I did, get a jump, & drive your car around for 30 minutes before hooking up any Tender to charge your dead battery. Either of these 2 Battery Tenders are the best in the world, don't bother doing anymore research, I have done it all for you. Buy one or buy both!!! I bought The Plus model a few months ago also... These babies save you $$$, time & frustration!!! Get the 25 foot extension if you want to charge a car that sits in the driveway, it's only $12. You might also want to buy the Cigarette Lighter Apapter to charge cars that have the battery in the trunk, like the BMW E39 models.
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I bought my first Battery Tender Jr. about 20 years ago (for an antique car that I drove infrequently) and it worked fine for over 15 years. I included it with that antique car when I sold it, and as far as I know, it still works.Based on my prior experience, on November 4, 2010, I bought another Battery Tender Jr. from Amazon for another infrequently driven car. It is now less than 1 year later, and that Battery Tender Jr. got so hot that the plastic case buckled and separated at the seam. So, planning to return it under warranty, I read their terms. Not only do I have to pay to ship that defective unit back to Deltran (which I expected), they also charge a fee for "Warranty Evaluation, Shipping & Handling"! That is OUTRAGEOUS! Since I have my receipt, my fee would be only $7.95 (if no receipt, fee is $11.95). It would cost me $18.90 ($7.95 plus $10.95 USPS Flat Rate medium box) to return it (or $22.90 if I didn't have a receipt which is more than the $21.39 cost of a new one from Amazon delivered!) Why bother with a warranty claim? If that was Deltran's plan from the outset to discourage warranty claims their so-called "warranty" is a fraudulent misrepresentation.
No doubt that my first, 20-year old Battery Tender Jr. was made in the USA. Not so with the second one the label says "Made in China". A piece of Junk!
