The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest *Battery Charger*

My old charger went belly up so I'm in the market for a new one. Only had it for 20+ years so don't know why it stopped working. I think this time around I'd like to get a charger and tender all in one. Anyone bought a new 12V charger lately? Pro's and Con's please.

here are a few to choose from
I have used a 6v Battery Tender Junior for many years.

Here is a higher-powered version that does 6v & 12v. This is what I would now buy, if I needed one.

If you're looking for something with more power, I have a 12V/6V charger that does up to 12A, for both AGM and standard batteries. Also maintains.
It's a Schumacher SC1200A. I believe I paid about $40 for it at Wally World.

For a while at the shop, we had a Schumacher auto charger. Multiple voltages, multiple battery types, etc. Shut itself off when done. We liked it so much, we picked up another one. Those are in addition to the few big boys we have along with the industrial jump boxes, etc.

I liked the Schumacher work chargers so much, I got one for home.

I like to buy a battery charger "by the pound"- - - - -there's no substitute for a big transformer and a good rectifier. The little portable chargers are OK for occasional use or topping off a low battery occasionally, but if you want to actually have one that can boost a dead vehicle or be used frequently, bite the bullet and get one with a full-sized cabinet and some wheels, and at least a 100 amp boost capability.
Jerry

I had a Battery Tender on a '06 Corvette that I don't drive enough to keep the battery charged. It gave out a few month's past the warranty. I replaced it with a cheap appliance timer connected to a battery charger with an auto shut-off. Set it to run about 30-40 min every day. So far this set-up has lasted 5+ years. Ir I need the charger I just disconnect it from the timer.

Thanks for the info guys.

I also have a Battery Tender and it works fine.

Spending winters in the south and summers in the north I have acquired a few battery’s that need tending (seven to be exact). I tried three of Harbor Freight’s version and tossed them out after getting back to dead battery’s. I ended up buying Battery Tender Juniors and have been using them successfully for two years. They have a 4.7 out of 5 star rating and comes with a five year warrantee.

I've been leaning towards this one. Haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. I need to take a look at Walmart, Autozone, etc. and see what they have in stock.

I was looking for a “real” battery charger last year after having to trash 3 of the Sears Dihard trickle chargers that stopped working within a year. Picked this up at Tractor Supply and have been pleased with it. It’s built old school and is well made.

Personally, I would keep them separate. I have the “Battery Tenders” to keep my unattended battery’s from going belly up and I have a 50-10-2 amp charger for general charging and boosting. The 50 amp boost has saved me countless times. I usually charge for 10-20 minutes on 10 amps, then switch it 50 amps to crank her over. The 50 amp boost is only good for about 15-20 seconds of cranking before you hit its duty cycle.

I have a Sears brand for thirty years, still going but its a manual charger, meaning it needs to be attended or you can cook your battery, if you don’t keep an eye on it. Three years ago, I bought a HF 50-10-2 automatic charger that I bought on sale for for thirty dollars. Only time will tell if it was a good buy.

One more thing about automatic chargers. They will not charge a totally dead battery. Their circuit board needs to sense voltage from the battery in order to kick on their charging circuit. Thats why I keep my old Sears manual charger.

Just my thoughts!

"My old charger went belly up so I'm in the market for a new one."

Olezippi,

When my battery charger went belly up about 10 years ago I did a little online research and found that a failed diode is often the culprit and I found a video showing exactly how to replace the diode. So I got an inexpensive bag of 3 alternator diodes on Ebay and installed one of them. That fixed the battery charger for way less than the sales tax alone on a new one, and the job took only a few minutes. That old battery charger is a really nice made in USA tool that was definitely worth saving. It's still going strong too.

Ray W

Thanks for the info guys. I think it was time anyway. I want something that I don't have to check on. Just connect it and let it do it's thing.

I had a battery tender on my trailer battery
And I was on vacation it had been the on for 1 month
And it blow up while I was gone.
But I been using battery tenders for years.

Been looking at this one online.

https://www.batterymart.com/p-del-0...m=1100310948535&utm_content=Chargers

Battery manufacturers listen to their customers and supply them with what they demand. About 30 years ago, a lot of customers said "I.'m too lazy to pull the caps off battery cells occasionally and check the electrolyte level and add water if necessary". The battery makers responded by developing "maintenance-free" batteries with sealed cell groups. They didn't work as well, or last as long as conventional batteries, but they were OK for most purposes. As long as a battery gets "exercised" occasionally, discharged about 25% or less and recharged, it will last longer and give better service than one that sits for weeks or months at a time without doing what it was designed to do- - - -provide a quick surge of starting current, and then get recharged over several minutes, or up to a few hours of vehicle operation before the next shutdown and restart. Extremes of operation at either end of the discharge/recharge envelope shorten battery life and/or require a different charging system or a "maintainer" to substitute for normal operation.

Recharging a low or dead battery and "maintaining" one that sits idle for extended periods requires different equipment. Trying to multi-task where battery charging is concerned doesn't accomplish either job as well as it could be done with dedicated equipment for both tasks. Most battery users don't know (or care) what's actually going on inside a battery- - - -they just want the thing to work right every rime, with no preventive maintenance whatsoever!
Jerry

This thread caused me to look for a better Battery Tender for my 6v trucks - they have several year old Optima AGM Batteries. These work best with AGM battery chargers/maintainers.

Optima batteries are excellent batteries that need special charging/maintaining techniques/equipment.

The Battery Tender suggestion above is for lead-acid sealed/unsealed batteries (I already have a old 6v/12v Lead-Acid Battery Tender). It is an excellent device.

That caused me to search for a 4 AMP Battery Tender 6v/12v AGM/Lithium/Lead-acid charger and maintainer.

Here is the best priced 4 AMP Battery Charger/Maintainer "Battery Tender" that I could find. - (it includes a 6 foot power cord and 5 foot battery cables)

Well.....I finally got around to buying a battery charger. Black Friday sales started today at Harbor Freight so I got 15% off. I was looking for one of the Battery Tender Plus locally but nobody had them and their were no sales online. This Cen-Tech charger is a little bigger on amps at the same price so I'm satisfied. Now a days I don't think one is much better than the other. Just not like it was back in the day when a manufacture was proud to put his name on a product that would last forever. Well....almost forever.