What is the best 12 volt Battery Charger regardless of cost.

[ultrarunner]

I just was given several "New Batteries"

Actually, they were brand new 11 months ago, put into vehicles the day before the owner was injured... they just sat for 11 months never used.

One came right up on a Battery Tender and another has started to "Gas" on an old Industrial Charger.

The big, Dozer 12 Volts have not done anything... I think a light was left on the entire time.

An old timer that worked in the Battery Business said they had expensive "Associated Brand" chargers with a special setting for sulfated batteries they would use when a customer returned a battery under warranty.

I see Walmart and others have small charges advertised to work on sulfated batteries.

I wouldn't mind spending the money for a good charger... just don't know what to buy... I think the two big batteries cost over $300 for the pair.

Anybody in the battery business and can point me in the right direction?

 

[Craig Clayton]

To BoboB (This copy and paste from another post )
That is why he is the Manager of a Auto parts, I have heard all those urban legends. The Battery usually goes dead because it internally chemically discharges. Sitting on concrete (no ) . The battery trickle charger is the most correct part it keeps the battery in a chemical active state. A lead acid battery only has so many charge discharge cycles before it starts to sulfate.
The following is a true story about a lead acid battery. A new $40,000 floor sweeper machine was purchased and the charger was wired by an other electrician. The sweeper
driver said he was only getting 45 minutes run on the machine before it was near dead. He put it on the charger and the next day again 45 minutes dead. This went on for 6 months. They called the service company and were fed goop about water level etc. 2 weeks later I just happen to pass the machine when the sales rep again returned but now he was dealing with me. I did a hydrometer test and the battery was almost water. The short of the long I checked the voltage taps on the charger and they were set wrong. I corrected that and spoke to the senior electrical engineer at the charger company and was Emailed minor charger setting corrections until the battery improved. The engineer said the new battery was SULFATED and had a 50/50 chance of recovery. I worked the charger and after 1.5 months the battery is almost back to the factory run time of 4.5 hrs.
If you sit a battery on a cold floor it will not have the max output. The trickle charger will keep it warm. Riding lawn mowers have a thankless life, poor charging , high vibration , and possible internal dicharges.

The cost of the charger is not the point, any good brand around $100.00 should work. If the batteries just sit there do not force them to take a charge, you to walk them back
. A gentle discharge then a slow charge but not trickle you will be there forever. If they have sulfated it is 50 /50 if they can be saved
Craig Clayton

 

[crazyal]

I bought a VDC BatteryMINder desulphator.

I've had some success with it but I've also had batteries that just didn't come back. I've had as much luck with this charger.

It's the best all around charger I've ever owned. It doesn't over charge your battery, will tell you how well your charging system is working on your car, gives you a percentage of how much of a charge your battery has taken, among other things.

 

[Transit]

I have a Vector Smart charger, VEC1097 A. 2, 10, 30 amp, 80 amp engine start. Very pleased with the results, it will not over charge the battery. I have charged 1,000 CCA tractor batteries. You must be careful and disconnect the battery when using desulfate mode or risk blowing the cars computer.

 

[whistlepig]

I have one of these Model 2365. Charges, desulfates, maintains. It is by far the easiest and quickest charging of any I have owned.Save A Battery - 6 12 24 36 48V Maintainers

 

[ultrarunner]

I have one of these Model 2365. Charges, desulfates, maintains. It is by far the easiest and quickest charging of any I have owned.Save A Battery - 6 12 24 36 48V Maintainers

I've seen this one advertised in some of the Holiday Catalogs and had it in mind when I posted.

http://www.saveabattery.com/all-in-onedeepcycler.aspx

Some of the solar guys have some sophisticated charges too... seems the choices are endless.

I sent an e-mail to the Battery Tender folks 10 days ago... so far, I have not received a reply regarding my sulfation question.

 

[whistlepig]

I like it. It's mounted on the corner of my work bench on the garage. I have the optional 25' lead that will reach anything in my garage. I have a couple of ATV's that I keep in a pole barn that doesn't have electric. I pull these in once a month and hook this charger up. I hook them up and forget them. It charges and then automatically switches to battery maintenance mode. The LED is a whole lot better than a gauge needle that's flopping around so badly that it can't be read.

 

[Dmace]

Hands down, the BEST battery charger/tender on the market is the OptiMate 3. I have two of them and have even brought a few batteries back from the dead. It's incredible and under $60!

 

[ultrarunner]

I like it. It's mounted on the corner of my work bench on the garage. I have the optional 25' lead that will reach anything in my garage. I have a couple of ATV's that I keep in a pole barn that doesn't have electric. I pull these in once a month and hook this charger up. I hook them up and forget them. It charges and then automatically switches to battery maintenance mode. The LED is a whole lot better than a gauge needle that's flopping around so badly that it can't be read.

OK... sold, just ordered one online at Harrington with 20% off... they get you on shipping though... $79.95 plus $15 shipping for the Charger/Tester/Maintainer

 

[whistlepig]

OK... sold, just ordered one online at Harrington with 20% off... they get you on shipping though... $79.95 plus $15 shipping for the Charger/Tester/Maintainer

You'll like it. I bought mine this past summer. You can't really appreciate it until you use one. Ease of use is what I like best. Hook the battery up and go to bed. If the battery needs charging, desulfating, or just maintenance the microprocessor will figure that out while you are asleep. It will cycle through to find what best suits the batteries needs and do it in the proper order.