Battery Chargers

[whistlepig]

My 20 year old Sears battery charger bit the dust today. I did some searching today looking for a charger with all the features that I like and came across a Granite Digital 1702 charger. Maybe all hype but if it works as advertised it has all the features that I would like to have. Plug and play so to speak. I ordered one tonight. We'll see if it does what it says on the package. Ordered it from saveabattery.com.

 

[Transit]

Did you check out the Victor Smart charger model 1097A?
Charge rate, select 2, 10, 30 amps.
Quick charge, 80 amps.
Charges 3 battery types.

Many other features.

 

[KennyV]

Granite Digital 1702 charger. Maybe all hype but if it works as advertised it has all the features that I would like to have.

You will LOVE that charger... It is exactly as advertised... THE best charger you can get... KennyV

 

[Skyco]

Not to be a killjoy but $100 for a 4 amp charger seems really steep to me, I don't see any settings for the different types of batteries either...different charging strategies are needed for different types.

The Vector (not Victor) chargers have worked great for me, I have 2 that are around 25-30 amp to bring a battery up fast if needed then they switch into different stages to properly finish up. Only problem I've had is one has a noisy fan until it runs for a few minutes.

Anyway- hope it works out for ya' let us know

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Hmmm, pretty fancy unit.

I prefer a higher capacity charger like the Black & Decker VEC1095ABD Smart Battery 25/10/2 Amp unit for charging. It's B&D so probably won't last all that long, but it can charge a dead battery in a reasonable time and cost around $100.

For maintaining batteries, the Deltran Battery Tender 022-0150-DL-WH Waterproof 800mA works well (so far) and doesn't cost much. I've got them everywhere: the BX24, the Deere 425, the boat, the generator, the kids Subaru while he's in Japan, etc, etc.

One very nice thing about the little unit (that won't matter much to TBN folks) is that it can safely maintain a small (4AH) sealed battery.

my $.02,
Z.

 

[Skyco]

BTW - Black and Decker and the Vector are the same...B&D bought Vector awhile back.

 

[dcyrilc]

BTW - Black and Decker and the Vector are the same...B&D bought Vector awhile back.

Just because they are owned by the same parent company doesn't mean they are the same quality. Black and Decker and DeWalt have been together for years and there's no comparison between the two.

My :2cents: worth.

 

[Skyco]

Ok. Since we are talking about chargers I figured most people would understand the comment was about chargers.
Maybe I should have said B&D and Vector CHARGERS are the same.

 

[DiezNutz]

...Black and Decker and DeWalt have been together for years and there's no comparison between the two...

There's more than there used to be...

Ok. Since we are talking about chargers I figured most people would understand the comment was about chargers.
Maybe I should have said B&D and Vector CHARGERS are the same.

Am I the only one that noticed in the part number:

Black & Decker VEC1095ABD

 

[DickS]

I prefer the BatteryMINDer.

 

[rdsaustintx]

Just because they are owned by the same parent company doesn't mean they are the same quality. Black and Decker and DeWalt have been together for years and there's no comparison between the two.

As much as I hate to be disagreeable :ashamed: I have to take exception. DeWalt went to cr*p since B&D bought them. I have thrown away every product tried since the merger, but I have an OLD DeWalt saw that just keeps running. 25 years now.

In fairness, just about every premium label is showing up on cheap Chinese stuff. The tools aren't durable, but the prices are irresistable.

Topic save: I last bought a "Duracell" charger in a panic for about $70. Don't do that.

 

[whistlepig]

You will LOVE that charger... It is exactly as advertised... THE best charger you can get... KennyV

I got the Granite Digital 1702 Friday. It does what it says it does on the package. It has a bracket to wall mount it (which I did) and I ordered the optional charging extension cords. Trucks, tractor, ATV's, lawn tractor can all be reached in the barn with the charger wall mounted and the optional extension cords. The digital LCD readout tells me the battery condition instantly on hook up. It charges in a quarter of the time of any charger I have owned before. From the start this charger is telling me things about my batteries long before I have problems with them. It's a whole different level of charger and well worth the money.