Trickle charger/maintainer for the winter.

Looking to buy a trickle charger for my ATV.  The winch/plow really draws the battery down, and if we have deep snow to push it gets questionable whether I have enough juice to finish plowing.

Looking for a model that has the little pigtail with ring terminals to make it simple to plug it in between plowings.

Any brands/models recommended?  Any to avoid?

Also, why is it so dang hard to find red ring terminals in stores?  I want to cut the alligator clamps off and put rings on so I can put that pigtail on my cycle.  Red connects to positive - why do stores sell blue and yellow?

A little twist on the same topic.  Last month I traded in my atv battery for a new one.  The old one is 5+ y/o and the liquid inside was bone dry. 

So was I supposed to add distilled water to the battery to extend its life?  Wont that freeze in the winter? 

He's exactly it's called a stator and like said it only keeps the charge you have so if battery is half charged it will keep it at half charge. Believe me I've ice fished in some pretty cold temperatures and use to never charge the battery and a few years ago tried starting it and no charge battery was only a year old now I just put it on the battery tender jr couple hours before I go fishing and full power every time there are other brands that work great As well. They have portable jump packs made for atv to now that are really compact  just in case of you don't maintain your battery.

NO,   I had thought the same thing.   That an ATV/UTV  alternator would charge like a car.   But actually it only puts enough charge to keep it running and maybe a hair of surface charge on the battery.   So you do need to charge the battery at least once in spring.    Then if plowing, once at the start and once mid season.  

My battery isn't that old and rode on and off till, I caught the rona, beginning of Nov.  and put in the garage for winter mid Dec. and Battery was stone dead.  

Never herd of having to put a charger on an atv battery, surprised it would be needed if using at least once a month,with snow removal figure you use it a few times a month. As you use wheeler isn't your battery charged during this time ? I never had to put a charger on.

Battery tender jr works flawless for atv I put the ring terminal on battery then ran wire up next to the seat with quick connect. Just plug in the unit and attach quick connect and wait for awhile and it's charged. Works great traveling can plug it in to a outside outlet at a motel hotel or cabin and just plug it in I've also had a outlet in the truck bed I could use while trailering but haven't tried it yet.

7th, I have the same plug in set-up... I pull the seat off my ATV for that exact reason.

Then I know to unplug before putting the seat back on and riding away..

I have the battery tender made by Interstate batteries, at least that's where I bought it . . On my second year with no issues . I have mine installed with a two prong quick connect that sticks out on the back of my machine , so just plug and and let it be . Just remember to disconnect before riding out of the garage !

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.  A lot of good options to consider.

FYI, I spoke to Tech Support at one of the bigger name companies, and they say the inline fuse isn't actually needed on the smaller amperage chargers, but they put it on to ease some people's minds.  So, I can buy one unit, clip the clamps off the one pigtail and attach a set of ring terminals, and my ATV and my cycle are covered - just have to swap the charger back and forth each month.

Battery Tender Jr. About $25 at Amazon.... Works as advertised.

I have the older version of the Black and Decker trickle charger that you pictured in your post. It came with the interchaneable pig tails and clamps. Purchased at either Wal-Mart or Menards (it's been a while). I use it for lawn tractor. Works fine for years now. It is switchable between 1amp and 2amp output. Also has overcharge protection. when battery is fully charged, it goes into "float mode" which monitors battery amperage and charges as necessary when needed. I imagine the newer digital version would be at least as good or better than my older model.

Ive got a Schumacher brand 1.5 amp Model 1562A. The clamps unplug from the cord so i can plug the charger into the ATV battery connection.  I use the same unit to trickle charge boat, tractor and car batteries.

7 years and still good. 

The plastic colors on the lugs are standardized for the wire size.  Red/Pink for #18-#22, Blue for #14 and #16, and Yellow for #10 and #12.

The fuse is for fire safety, so the product gets disconnected from the power source if a fault develops.  The assumption with the alligator clips is that the connection is both temporary and readily disconnected.  I would definitely keep a fuse in-line as it also protects all the wiring downstream as well, as pinched wires / wires pulling out are pretty common occurrences.

That sounds like a great plan.

All the models I've looked at, the ring terminal pigtail has a fuse on it - the clamp pigtail doesn't.  Ideas why?

If I get one, I want to cut the clamps off and put ring terminals on, is the fuse necessary?

Exact same one I have. I think I spent maybe $20 on amazon. My atv has a little storage compartment on the back which you can open to access the battery. The connector stays in there so it is not exposed to the elements. Once I pull in my garage, I can pop open the compartment and its right there for easy connection. I cant speak on how long this charger will last , but Im on my second year with no problems.

DS - like this one?