I know this doesn't help much, but what you are going to find out is that battery science is incredibly complex. I work in a field where batteries are critical, and there is so much disagreement and new information all of the time, in addition to myriads of existing requirements, that not many people really understand what is going on.
What you are going to find is that an equalize charge is defined different for different companies. An equalize is a higher voltage than your maintenance voltage. For our critical batteries that are NEVER really used, they are put on equalize once a month or less. This is essentially to knock crap (I think sulfides) off of the lead plates and stir up the electrolyte a little. What battery tender is calling an equalize charge looks like it helps charge from 95% to 100% faster, that is all.
The key here is that you are putting a true equalize charge on your battery everytime you run your bike. So you don't need more than a simple battery tender. I do believe that a battery tender that has a higher voltage in the first charging is better than just a trickle charger. But you also want the voltage to have a maintenance voltage so that you don't boil the battery or ruin it in some other way.
Bottom line is that the 4-stage is not very useful to you unless you need your battery charged in a hurry (high voltage at beginning of charge) or you leave your bike sitting for months (equalize charges spread out weekly or monthly). In the latter case, you would be better off buying a tender and unplugging and replugging it in to your battery so that you get that higher voltage every few weeks. This is what I do with my standby battery that I use for jump starts.
Does that answer your question? I know it doesn't.
What you are going to find is that an equalize charge is defined different for different companies. An equalize is a higher voltage than your maintenance voltage. For our critical batteries that are NEVER really used, they are put on equalize once a month or less. This is essentially to knock crap (I think sulfides) off of the lead plates and stir up the electrolyte a little. What battery tender is calling an equalize charge looks like it helps charge from 95% to 100% faster, that is all.
The key here is that you are putting a true equalize charge on your battery everytime you run your bike. So you don't need more than a simple battery tender. I do believe that a battery tender that has a higher voltage in the first charging is better than just a trickle charger. But you also want the voltage to have a maintenance voltage so that you don't boil the battery or ruin it in some other way.
Bottom line is that the 4-stage is not very useful to you unless you need your battery charged in a hurry (high voltage at beginning of charge) or you leave your bike sitting for months (equalize charges spread out weekly or monthly). In the latter case, you would be better off buying a tender and unplugging and replugging it in to your battery so that you get that higher voltage every few weeks. This is what I do with my standby battery that I use for jump starts.
Does that answer your question? I know it doesn't.
