petrulio

This is my first winter with a 996. I have a heated garage in which it will be stored. I also plan to drive the car when weather and road conditions permit. It will however go for several weeks between drives. Any ideas/suggestions for a batter charger/maintainer?

Thanks,
Leon

Barn996

I bought a Schumacher battery tender that works great, but it doesn't plug into the lighter like many available.

SH || NC

I think a lot of folks like the OEM unit. I have a Battery Tender Plus. HTH

uberskier

I'm in the same position- 1st winter, have it in a somewhat heated garage (maybe 40 at the low), and will take it out when weather permits.

I just bought a Schumacher also. But since I want to keep the car covered, I can't really have the unit in the trunk with the trunk closed, at least that's how it appears in the instructions. I'd have to either take the battery out to keep the cover on or not cover the car and keep the hood open.

Another question - and I've done lots of searching and seen many answers
-Should there be a problem with me starting it up once about every week/1.5 weeks and letting it run for about 15-20 minutes? I may only back it out of the garage. Or should I really take it on a 10-15 drive?

PJorgen

Always better to drive if possible, That wya more than just the engine gets warmed up, i.e.; tires are rotated to prevent flat spots, suspension gets a bit of a work out, etc.

However, start-up and idle is better than doing nothing provided you get the engine up to oeprating temp.

troos

Whichever tender you decide on, make sure in addition to offering a trickle charge, you also get one that desulphates the battery. This will contribute a lot to longer battery life. I'm a fan of the Battery Minder, but I'm sure there are others out there that do both.

Michael-Dallas

+1 for the Battery Tender, I have a Battery Tender Jr.. The unit and cigarette adapter cost me $40/shipped from Amazon.com.

///Michael

95C4VanIsle

I have the OEM unit that plugs into the cigarrette lighter. You can actually put the wire in the door at the bottom of the door and close it on the wire without damaging the wire/unit. This makes it easy to cover the car and keep the battery charged. I keep my car garaged and covered in the winter and drive when the weather permits.

cdodkin

Original OEM Unit - works just fine - takes seconds to plug in to the cigarette lighter on the dash - worth every $$$

gota911

Phil, did you see that? You need one of those!

Phil G.

Tim, come on now. I already have one - you know that.

gota911

You have one that DESULFATES the battery while it is changing the battery? I DON"T THINK SO!!!!! and if you do, it ain't workin' correctly! Remember last winter?

I was actually trying to help! NO... REALLY..... I WAS!!!!

Rob in WA

Porsche

Phil G.

That's mine! Gets altogether too much use. My battery is on a first name basis with it.

RF5BPilot

Be cautious about only 10-15 minutes run time. If you run it, it should come up to full temp--then an additional 20mins or so to get moisture out of the crankcase--real driving not idling. General concensus seems to be that a short engine run is worse than not starting it.