What's a decent battery charger?

I have one of those Black & Decker smart chargers, photo in the 3rd post. Glad to hear it is a good one! I bought it on a close out sale in a woodworking tool store. That night we stayed with friends who had a car with a very dead battery. I charged it and used the equalize and desulphate features. It seemed fine after that.

I find it works pretty well, though the voltage display reads several tenths high, and it does seem to quit before fully charging. Thanks for the tip about the fan! I'll keep my ears open for sounds of failure.

I have this little gem waiting in my Christmas stocking to replace the one I made in 1975 for playing around with electronics.

eBay link
I chose the ten amp version so I can manually top up batteries. No timer but I could easily plug it into an AC timer if doing something risky. It seems to work perfectly except the current meter reads two tenths low and therefore indicates zero for any current below 250 mA. It is smaller than it looks in the picture.

He shall see...

The "microprocessor" retails for $1.21 in (10) lots.

BUT! This subject actually helped me see something related to charging but in a different vein. I was going nuts trying to figure out how to recharge the Lifeline while on the road. Sheeze! The answer was right in front of me! 2-1/2 foot long paired 6 gauge welding cable, a twin bumper (firewall) mount socket, a plug for the cables, two excellent clamps, and a genuine 80-amp breaker that mounts under the hood with the rest of the circuit. Tap directly into the alternator output stud. When not in use the harness unplugs. Drive 200 miles and the Lifeline is recharged. I must be getting old :(

path1 wrote:
Driving by Wal-Mart last night and picked up Schumacher model SC11. It is not going to last either IMO. Indicators to me why it won't last. "Fully automatic" "start/stop push button interface" and "microprocessor controlled" But then again maybe it will last. Right on the box it reads..."Since 1947 Schumacher Electric Corp has been leading change and driving performance to exceed it customers expectations" So maybe I won't have any problems:)

Claims to be: 80A engine start 20A boost 6-2A charge for $70.00

Thanks

This should work fine for the intended use.

westend wrote:
Path1,
The wheeled Diehard charger with timer I linked to earlier is $99 and probably fulfilled through Sears. I'd suggest you return the Shumacher and get the wheeled Diehard.
FWIW, I have a wheeled Exide charger that has been charging batteries for 20 years. I'm blaming the bigger transformer for it's longevity.

I'll be bring this with me when we snowbird.

(from link) measures 13.00 x 16.00 x 32.00 Inches. Even with handle of, its pretty big unit. Only so much room.

+2 to the Schumacher brand float-chargers. I've got a few and only had one go out over many years, and keep a couple of my AGMs plugged in ($30K Harley-Davidson and Optima Blue-Top AGM) as trickle chargers. Some of them have the higher-amp setting which would provide both a fast charger and a float-charger. As a jumper we use a WAGAN power-dome. After so many years of using the small Schumacher float-chargers without issue, it's obvious from some of the products other folks rely on that we've saved a tidy sum of $pending Green indeed. :)

Path1,
The wheeled Diehard charger with timer I linked to earlier is $99 and probably fulfilled through Sears. I'd suggest you return the Shumacher and get the wheeled Diehard.
FWIW, I have a wheeled Exide charger that has been charging batteries for 20 years. I'm blaming the bigger transformer for it's longevity.

Señor Kettner, your example is indeed fact. Charge a battery fully and it will hibernate several months <30c. Charge a battery with a Dyson charger and store it several months, then repeat next season. The result is a badly sulfated battery and the Dyson gizmo can not under any circumstances de-sulfate it.

If when charging a battery with a generator, the cells do not bubble lightly, the battery is not fully charged. If a mostly charged battery is taken home and put through a few cycles with a Dyson, it may gain >95% charged status. But that missing 5% is a killer.

This does not matter with lightly used batteries that spend lots of time off-season connected to a charger (not a maintainer! A Charger!). The if's the and's and the butts make for a sorry total of maybe's.

Do it. Charge a battery to 1.265. Then connect it to a maintainer. How many months will it spend glaciating it's way to 1.266 then 1.267, then...? Chemistry does not wait.

Yes, a Zap desulfate button can be pushed a hundred times to hurry the process. Talk about stupid - compare nursemaiding a desulfate button to simply charging until cell electrolyte bubbles slightly.

Once the process is known, a person does not need to monitor cell bubbling. They'll know from gaining practical experience how much charging is needed.

I know my Lifeline will need 3 to 3.25 hours to fully recharge from a voltage level of around 12.50 So with 14.4 volts voltage control limit I set the spring wound timer to a little over three hours. Presto. Perfectly charged battery.

The confused in the midst will scream "I doan wanna twist no stupid dials!" This is a battery charger, not a converter. With a 75% charged battery I can set the timer for TWELVE HOURS and not hurt the battery. Why? This is a charger not a converter.

Amateurs make the mistake of assumption. They read they rationalize and they freak if applying absorbsion charge voltage to a battery is maintained for 4 hours instead of one hour THIS IS A BATTERY CHARGER NOT A CONVERTER! The battery could care less. Hyper meticulous PRECISE voltage and time calculations are an utter waste of time and reveal the advocate is a real greenhorn when it comes to battery charging.

Other spouted nonsense wails a lightly bubbling battery means it is "Boiling!" Again ignorance is being shouted for all to see and read. Careful assumptions, blended with rationalization, and sweetened with wacko shared opinions try to push reality out the window. It is sad.

Mr Kettner is correct. Gross assumptions mean gross battery sales increases.

Next time you become aware of a malfunctioning battery, do an audit: Time spent in diagnostics. Time and money spend to go have the battery tested. Ooooo I forgot to add removal and replacement time. Then time and money spent for shopping for a replacement or maybe arguing with the parts counter. Bad batteries can wipe out a boondocking vacation.

But that doesn't matter, right?

Dyson chargers are Plug N Play! Trumps common sense.

OP here...

When I posted I never thought this would go on for 3 pages. Guess I'm hard on batteries and chargers. My old Sears charger, a Christmas gift around mid 70's (we believe) worked great. Problem was it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It charged batteries, and it kept charging them until you disconnected it. If I forgot about it, I blew up more than one battery over the years I had it. Options were 6 or 12 volt, and a on/off switch. Next charger of unknown brand had a very short life. I ran over it backing out of garage. Next one was the harbor freight, it was only on it's 2nd or 3rd job and noticed it was taking forever to charge. Put volt meter between the clamps and nothing. Pulled cover and some melted plastic, so called it quits. Posted here for recommendations for new charger. Even called the local Black & Decker "factory support", they were no help.

Driving by Wal-Mart last night and picked up Schumacher model SC11. It is not going to last either IMO. Indicators to me why it won't last. "Fully automatic" "start/stop push button interface" and "microprocessor controlled" But then again maybe it will last. Right on the box it reads..."Since 1947 Schumacher Electric Corp has been leading change and driving performance to exceed it customers expectations" So maybe I won't have any problems:)

Claims to be: 80A engine start 20A boost 6-2A charge for $70.00

Thanks

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Wottya mean my battery is no stinky bueno? I used it three or four time and it's out of warranty?

How long is the warranty?

This sounds like no charger was used. Operator abuse. Not a smart charger issue but rather a no charger issue.

No maintenance, no worky.