I'm routinely deployed for three-four month stretches every year. The idea of a battery tender when I'm not there to make sure everything is functioning as it should makes me nervous. I don't want to come back to a burnt out car/garage/home because something malfunctioned and went unnoticed for three months.
I've been using a portable car jumper twice a year for the past five years without issue. $100 from Amazon. The battery gets low enough after three months that it can't turn over the engine, but not so low all of the electronics lose their memory (clocks, radio settings etc all remain). Quick jump, drive the car for a half hour, and everything is back to normal. Still using the original battery that came from the factory.
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