Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay junk)

[frugalangler]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

Those larger chargers aren't meant to be left connected to a battery for extended periods of time (well, maybe some can do that, but only if they specifically offer that mode). They are meant to hook to a discharged battery and charge it up to full capacity. Then you unhook it.
Rob

Almost all current generation chargers available today are multi-stage microprocessor controlled (read the package, not all are but are older re-marketed units) and are capable of being left on continuously. The size of the charger doen't determine that, the processor inside does - multi-stage ones will go idle after final charge and if the voltage is sensed to drop, will go into maintain mode until it's brought back to full state. If you need or want a charger for connect and forget look to a current technology marine unit.

 

[BigBlue1]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

Almost all current generation chargers available today are multi-stage microprocessor controlled (read the package, not all are but are older re-marketed units) and are capable of being left on continuously. The size of the charger doen't determine that, the processor inside does - multi-stage ones will go idle after final charge and if the voltage is sensed to drop, will go into maintain mode until it's brought back to full state. If you need or want a charger for connect and forget look to a current technology marine unit.

Gotcha. But it is worth noting my point because battery chargers last forever and a huge quantity of the ones sitting in peoples' garages could be well over 5-10 years old and do not have that logic in them. Leaving one of those hooked up for days or weeks could well damage the battery. This is why I said that some may also be maintainers but only if specified as a feature. I tried to be pretty clear for folks but I guess I didn't manage that well enough...

Rob

 

[California]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

I don't know if Harbor Freight's present $10 Float Charger is the same thing as their $5 charger I bought several years ago - but I know from experience that old one will lower the water level below the top of the plates of a battery if it is left on for days.

I suspect the old one runs constant current with no sensor.

 

[California]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

[re high frequency risk to electronics] Generally ... connect the device w/ the shortest leads possible, the longer length of wire acts as a high frequency filter so the impact of those spikes is much reduced ... the key is the inherent 'choke' characteristic of a long piece of wire to the very narrow spike I use -

If a concern, a ferrite bead can be placed on the power wires to any electronic device, even a doughnut shaped one w/ the wire wrapped through it a few times would eliminate any potential damage, IMHO.

Thanks! My concern was theoretical, there are no delicate electronics on my elderly Yanmars. Well maybe the diodes in the $30 alternator.

That's good to know there is a solution for that possible problem.

 

[RjCorazza]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

I built a bunch of desulfators based on a design I found on the internet. It was years ago, but I believe the designer’s name was Alister Cooper (?). They are best suited for desulfating on a routine basis, but I was able to show a 10% improvement in many trashed batteries (never to a useable state though).
They were cheap to make, and an enjoyable project. I even made beautiful circuit boards with autocad, transparency film, a laser printer, iron (to transfer to copper sheet), and of course the circuit board material and acid bath.

 

[PILOON]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

Interesting discussion.
A friend gets lots of items from the local recycle yard and I get to trouble shoot for him.
Included are many chargers.
What I have noticed is that many are wound with aluminum wire vs copper.
Now aluminum vs copper is 'dissimilar metals' and that results in corrosion so most failures are actually due to corrosion where the two metals join up.
(Naturally that 'failure' happens after the warranty is up.)
All that to save a couple of cents at the production level. (10 cents at production is dollars at retail)
Remember that hydro had lots of problems when household wiring went aluminum, took all sorts of special connectors and today I believe only copper is 'code'.

 

[japody]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

So, having said all of the technical stuff, which battery charger/desulphator would you recommend for someone not so savvy in electronics?

 

[California]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

So, having said all of the technical stuff, which battery charger/desulphator would you recommend for someone not so savvy in electronics?

Take a look at the first post in this thread. I went with the cheapest one I thought could do the job, $25. That post has a link to Ford850's better $45 charger, a later improved version of what I have. I think the update is simply a temperature sensor to adjust the charge for temperature. It never freezes where I am so I think my non-temperature-sensitive one is sufficient, for my climate.

There are likely more good ones above my $25 choice but I concluded there is nothing decent any cheaper.

Note that you still need a separate charger. These de-sulphator devices put out only enough current to keep a battery topped up.

 

[BigBlue1]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

So, having said all of the technical stuff, which battery charger/desulphator would you recommend for someone not so savvy in electronics?

Do you want to maintain the charge on a good condition battery that you are putting into seasonal storage or keeping healthy during the year on a low-use piece of equipment? Or fix a battery that has aged and has problems? I can say for the former that Battery Tender Jr. models have served me well for years. I had a motorcycle battery I maintained with one that lasted 11 years. A motorcycle battery on a Honda VTX 1800 that gets stored for 5 months of the year! I've had batteries in a JD 345 garden tractor that lasted over 8 years. As for fixing older, poor-condition batteries I can't help because I typically don't encounter them. Someone else will offer input as to that situation.

Rob

 

[Ford850]

Re: Battery Charger / Desulphator - BatteryMINDer 12117 $25 - (& comparison to Ebay j

Take a look at the first post in this thread. I went with the cheapest one I thought could do the job, $25. That post has a link to Ford850's better $45 charger, a later improved version of what I have. I think the update is simply a temperature sensor to adjust the charge for temperature. It never freezes where I am so I think my non-temperature-sensitive one is sufficient, for my climate.

There are likely more good ones above my $25 choice but I concluded there is nothing decent any cheaper.

Note that you still need a separate charger. These de-sulphator devices put out only enough current to keep a battery topped up.

I think the temperature sensor is more important in hot climates. It cuts back on the charge in higher temps so it doesn't boil out a battery.