Comparing BatteryMINDer Plus Models

April 07, 2018 8

The BatteryMINDer Plus 12117 was replaced by model 1500 and 1510 several years ago. So what’s the difference between the BatteryMINDer 1500 and 1510?

BatteryMINDer Plus 1500 vs 1510

Essentially nothing as it pertains to the actual charge, maintenance and desulfating functionality. Both units are a 12-volt 1500 mA charger maintainer with SmarTECHnology® built in. They both have Hi/Lo temperature compensation with auto-temp sensor and automatic pulse desulfation. All the normal safety features, such as wrong polarity detection and spark free use come standard. The 1500 and 1510 are guaranteed to never overcharge your batteries. And the best part, there are no buttons to push!

The difference between the two new replacement models is in the packaging, warranty and included accessories. The improvements in relation to the old model 12117 are tremendous!

Model 1500

The BatteryMINDer Plus 1500 comes with their standard 1 year, 100% money back guarantee and 5 years “no hassle” warranty. This warranty is standard for all of Battery Minder chargers. It is the one on the green packaging.

As to accessories, it will arrive only with the regular plug-n-play SAE battery clips. These clamps are similar to what you would find with Battery Tender, Schumacher and PulseTech chargers for example.

Model 1510

The 1510 also comes with the standard 1 year money back guarantee but extends the “no hassle” warranty to 10 years. This 5-year extension (for a total of 10 years) is the reason they call it the 1510 vs 1500. Its packaging is red.

The 1510 charger arrives with a different set of SAE alligator clamps. The battery clips will be insulated—covered by plastic housing—from tip to tip to help prevent accidental shorts… that produce magnificent bursts of light and scare the bajeepers out of you (Yes, I am speaking from experience).

These charger maintainers will also come with a set of eyelets (also known as ring terminal assembly). The SAE to ring connectors will have an inline 15A replaceable auto fuse.

How Do These Compare To Model 12117?

BatteryMINDer Plus Model 12117 The original BatterMINDer Plus model 12117 was extremely popular. It looked like the typical black box wall adapter but with bright green and red writing on the face indicating it could charge, maintain and condition batteries. It was a two-stage 12 Volt 1.33 amp (1330 mA) charger without temperature compensation. The one drawback is that you had to push the green maintenance button to start the desulfation conditioning mode.

The new 1500/10 version is fully automatic using multi-phase SmarTECHnology®, has a longer but slimmer profile, is temp compensated and is now California Energy Compliant.

What About Other Charger Brands?

In regards to overall and peak performance I feel the BatteryMINDer 1500 still knocks the socks off Deltran’s Battery Tender Jr maintainer and the Battery Tender Plus charger. The peak amperage output for Deltrans non-desulfating chargers are 750 mA and 1250 mA. The Tender Plus units still have a charge profile that I find lacking compared the BatteryMINDer Plus (and others in this space).

Noco’s popular Genius G750 and G1100 chargers have a really nice charge profile but are not frequency based desulfators. They do have an advantage in that they are both a 6V and 12V charger. As the naming suggests the G750 is 750 mA and the G1100 is 1100 mA.

There are a couple other solid charger brands in this space that provide decent charge profiles and nice features such as a 6V/12V combo or the BMW CAN-bus connector or ultra low voltage detection and recovery. Schauer’s Charge Master series and Optimate come to mind.

I think the BatteryMINDer Plus will continue to be a staple in garages around the world. Its powerful charge profile and simplistic no button operation make it the perfect charger for all your small engine vehicles from lawn mowers, motorcycles and side-by-sides to the family sedan and SUV crossover.

If you are curious to see what else Battery Minder makes, simply follow this link over to the category page. We stock the full line of chargers and accessories and are standing by to answer any questions.

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8 Comment(s)

Steven Schultz

May 17, 2018 20:29

I just received my 12117 today. After reading the manual... page 8 under ADDITIONALFEATURES it is written "Desulfation is the removal of sulfate build-up from your battery's plates. It occurs at all times the unit is connected." I cannot find any indication of the High Frequency Pulse Desulfation within the instruction manual... only on the retail clamshell packaging.

redrubberball1

May 04, 2018 16:50

The Batteryminder 12117 continues to be popular and is currently being discounted at $29.95 with free ship, at Northern Tools. A good entry level charger to play around with the desulfation process.

impactbatt

May 05, 2018 05:45

Yes, we have confirmed Northern Tool has purchased the rights to exclusively sell the old clunky designed 12117 model that will not desulfate unless you remember to push the button. The 12117 was cutting edge 15 years ago, but so was my first cell phone! Something that was the size of my head is now tiny and does 100x more. There is a place in history to remember the relics, but if you hold on to them forever and don't press forward you will be left behind and left wanting. The BatteryMINDer Plus 1500 and 1510 are the way of the future for entry level charging and maintaining.

Caley Noland

Apr 25, 2021 22:02

I have a 1500 but the difference between it and the old one are minimal, hardly like comparing a 15 year old cell phone to todays. It lacks the temperature compensation and has a .2 amp charge rate difference 1.3 vs 1.5. You must press a button allegedly to desulfate. Small diff for $20 which is a large percentage of the 1500s price. The 1510 getting a whole new model number for a warranty extension and different terminal clips is laughable as well. How about AGM support guys? Not that my 1500 seems to be doing too much damage to my AGM batteries.

Daniel Edwards

Sep 07, 2021 19:39

While the 12117 does have the desulfating button you can push to start, it will automatically start desulfating when the battery reaches a full charge. If I were to need another I’m sure I would go with a newer model but the 12117 I have does a good job.