"Best" battery charger

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Well, not really looking for the best, but just looking for some opinions of some good 2/10/20 (or close) chargers. I'm looking to grab a pair of matching ones in the upcoming months, and just want to see what you guys have had good results with. I personally have used Vector chargers, which are the same ones that Kinetik used to use for their 12V charger. I have a 2/6/10 and a 2/10/20 as of right now...might grab another 2/10/20 if I can, or maybe step it up to the 2/10/20/35-40.

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[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Alternator //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Alternator //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

This will be used to keep uninstalled batts maintained...smartass. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Bump before I go to bed...

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Up for some opinions.

 

[sobe3yourself. 10+ year member]

2/10/50 come in handy in case you need to "jump" a car at home

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Here's one I've been eye-balling.

Amazon.com: Schumacher SSC-1500A Ship 'N' Shore SpeedCharge Charger with included 75-amp battery clamps: Automotive

 

[ShiningBuick 10+ year member]

I am trying out a Schumacher 1200, so far not super impressed, and a little worried after reading the reviews.

My optima was at 4v after leaving TVs in my car on all week.. so trying to slow charge it. I had to "Reboot" the charger like 15 times, kept saying "bad battery". Now it's up to around 9v. I'm hesitant to leave it alone tonight, though.

I was looking at this one:

Amazon.com: Battery Tender 021-0128 Battery Tender Plus 12V Battery Charger: Automotive

Any opinions? I really want a charger I can slow charge my deep cycle AGMs with and not have to worry about cooking a $200 batt.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Any opinions? I really want a charger I can slow charge my deep cycle AGMs with and not have to worry about cooking a $200 batt.

I used my Vector 2/6/10 at 2amps to charge a dead batt that I had from leaving my lights on all night. Starting voltage was something like 6V. I gave it a nice long charge, like 6 hours or so, and it worked fine and held a charge like normal.

Is your Schumacher one the of kinds that has needles and stuff, or is it a new digital one?

 

[ShiningBuick 10+ year member]

This one:

Amazon.com: Schumacher SC-1200A SpeedCharge 12/8/2 Amp Charger/Maintainer/Starter/Tester: Automotive

I took it off my car last night and slapped it on an old Optima I had that was at 5.5v. It gave me bad batt a couple times, but took for the most part. Woke up to "bat batt" again, and restarted before work. Came home 6 hours later and the battery charger voltage read 15v.. but when I turned the charger portion off it read 13, and once disconnected read 12.6 on my multimeter.

Continuing the charge on my car battery now.. but I'm keeping an eye on it..

Those are my findings.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like you want a battery tender, not just a charger. Tenders actually monitor the battery charge and turn themselves on/off as needed, so you can just leave it hooked up and it wont ever over charge the batt. I got into them when I had quads, as those tiny batts are very sensitive to over charging, tend to sit for long periods without use, and are expensive to replace. They work well on larger car-sized batts as well though.

NEW DELTRAN BATTERY TENDER PLUS 12V BATTERY CHARGER | eBay

 

[MONSONwarrior Premium Member]

This is the charger I have and it has a tender built in so it basically does everything //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Amazon.com: Schumacher XC75 SpeedCharge Battery Charger with Engine Start: Automotive

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like you want a battery tender, not just a charger. Tenders actually monitor the battery charge and turn themselves on/off as needed, so you can just leave it hooked up and it wont ever over charge the batt. I got into them when I had quads, as those tiny batts are very sensitive to over charging, tend to sit for long periods without use, and are expensive to replace. They work well on larger car-sized batts as well though.
NEW DELTRAN BATTERY TENDER PLUS 12V BATTERY CHARGER | eBay

I'd like to have something that does both...give me a solid 20amp charge at first and be able to maintain like a tender after that.

I'm working on a little...project. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/sneaky.gif.7189749b3a3f769e8815b47e8ae87f88.gif

 

[kingmanbc 10+ year member]

battery tender ftw

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I'd like to have something that does both...give me a solid 20amp charge at first and be able to maintain like a tender after that.
I'm working on a little...project. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/sneaky.gif.7189749b3a3f769e8815b47e8ae87f88.gif

Batteries charge best with a small amperage charger. The idea of a tender is not to charge a dead batt, it is to maintain one. If your batt is dead, its still best to recharge it with a 1 or 2 amp charger, unless you need to use the batt soon. But charging your batt with a 1 or 2 amp charge will give a deeper charge over all.

Most good chargers will step down their output as needed, but they wont ever shut themselves off completely. That is the difference between a tender and a charger.