Looking for a good deep cycle battery charger

[mdcamping]

I have a 10' John boat with electric motor, maybe once a year I will take it out. Any recommendations on a good reasonable priced charger.

Thanks Mike

[pianotuna]

Toots a Tune on an organ for Mex!

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Costco Mexico still sells the Schumacher two-dial wheeled charger. The first dial selects charge intensity, the second dial selects time.

It is every bit as intelligent as the user.
It is a battery charger, not a Wurlitzer Pipe Organ.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

NOT FOR EVERYONE

See what I mean :)?

[red31]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
NOT FOR EVERYONE The Best Portable Charger On The Market

with no charge profile listed in the manual it is junk IMO

[2112]

Dang Mex, that's $500. He can get a 4 stage 45A Progressive Dynamics PD9245CV for $200 and use that as a portable charger.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

NOT FOR EVERYONE The Best Portable Charger On The Market

[EMD360]

Best battery charger used to be Vectron 40 amp smart charger. Then it was Black and Decker but no longer available either. Closest thing looks to be Schumacher 30 amp smart with 100 amp starting power. I’ve used the old Vectron several times and it lives up to its reputation.

[time2roll]

mdcamping wrote:
The charger I have is a straight 10 amp, which I got for free 20 + yrs ago.

I would stick with this old 10 amp.

[2112]

mdcamping wrote:
The other day I tried doing a 2nd charge, boat motor wasn't lasting will probably look for a quality Marine Battery.

You don't want a marine battery, you want a true deep cycle battery for your application. If you can handle a 130Lb battery THIS would be an ideal battery for your motor. It would be best to recharge it with a 30A charger.

[Grit_dog]

What he said. ^
2 different possible needs here.
1 is battery maintenance in the “off” season. This can be easy as hitting the battery with your old charger for a day every couple/few months, or hook it to a little battery maintainer continuously and not worry about it.
2 is “rapid” charging between uses. Which again could be accomplished with your 10a charger say overnight or several hours. Or a better charger. HF is never on my list as a place to get “better” tools though.

But regardless, you need to start with a good battery.

[mr_andyj]

$12 trickle charger from walmark.

Are you asking something different? What do you mean "take it out once a year" exactly? Will you need to charge the battery back multiple times on this one outing or will the charge be enough for the little outing?
If you want to recharge it fast between boat trips on this once per year outing then that is way different than keeping the battery charged all year for that one trip.

A small gas motor is better in this situation as a motor can sit years and be ready to go. Battery will die a slow death over time and there is really no way to keep a battery alive for too many years. A golf cart batty can last 5-7 years, some keep them longer, but .....

Kind of a crazy question

[30sweeds]

Mike,if it's listed as a "marine" battery,it will be the wrong battery. For your application,you need a straight deep cycle.

[mdcamping]

The charger I have is a straight 10 amp, which I got for free 20 + yrs ago. Harbor Freight has a multiple setting charger for $60, think I'll go with that. The other day I tried doing a 2nd charge, boat motor wasn't lasting will probably look for a quality Marine Battery.

Kind of a newbie question here so please take it easy on me, how long do I leave a battery unattended on a trickle charge?

Thanks everyone for your replies
Mike

[Sagebrush]

I've had good performance from these 15 amp chargers at Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Everstart-Maxx-50-Amp-Automotive-Battery-Charger-with-Patented-Engine-Sta...

Works on batteries of all sizes and has the reconditioning mode. I use mine daily on my diesel trucks for the last few years, so far so good. I buy them because they do handle 15 amps charge rates and are the smart type for around $60. You can charge up a good size battery fairly fast or trickle charge it with the same unit.

For maintenance only I would just get a small BatteryTender: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Battery-Tender-4-Amp-6V-or-12V-Selectable-Battery-Charger/460452900

Noco work okay too. I don't think they last as long as the Deltran products though after talking to various folks who have tried them and my first hand experience. My 7.5 amp Noco Genius only lasted a couple years of occasional use. So I would not buy another one unless it was a little wall wort, those seem to be a good durable charger.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS1-Fully-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B07W46BX31/ref=psdc_...

I've had the Battery Tenders go for many years, Noco have almost all died too soon. I have one 1 amp charger left on my back up generator that still works, its about 4 years old.