Charging Batteries

[tomcat7359]

After being around the aftermath of several batteries that "came apart" I have a very deep appreciation for them. Amazing the amount of damage hydrogen gas in a contained shell can do. On batteries I am going to charge with a charger, always make sure the charger is turned off and not plugged in, hook up cables to battery, then always have my back to the battery while plugging in and turning on charger. At least this keeps my face away from the blast zone if it should occur.
In jump starting a vehicle, when I first lift the hood, I take notice if I smell the rotten egg/acid smell. If that is detected, I will leave hood open and back away for a few minutes. Then I ALWAYS hook my jumper cables to the dead/weak battery first, making sure the opposite leads are not touching each other, then I lower the hood down as far as possible. This is to protect me in cause of battery "come apart". I then hook up the leads to the vehicle I am going to jump start from, this also puts my back to the dead/weak battery...

 

[careyo63]

Most all of the Automotive shops requires the Tech. to only use a Booster Pack to jump a Veh. If it doesn't start then the Battey is Removed. The owner can do what they want, But the liability and chance of bodily harm even to the Tech. and with the cost of having to clean up the Veh. it prevents that from happening.

 

[2458n]

I have a big old NAPA charger that is a box on wheels. 30 amps is as low as it will charge a 12 volt battery. It does have a higher amp rating for cranking. I have a 2012 battery charging on it now. I only have one eye now so I try to stay away from the whole recharging process.

 

[bmaverick]

Over the last weekend I had picked up a 6v/12v battery charger-maintainer from TSC with a coupon discount. I had read a few reviews on motorcross forums, nissan forums, hobby aircraft forums, marine forums, and tractor forums. Schumacher 6/12V Battery Maintainer, 1.5A - Tractor Supply Co.

Basically there are a few brands out there. The best is Yausa, but I couldn't find one easily for the price. Next was the Battery Minder. It had many good reviews up to 1 year, but after than the thing either kept working for just stopped working. I read fair to horable reviews of the Harbor Frieght $12 unit. It's a clone of the battery minder, but really cheaply made.

I have mixed thoughts about the Schumacher brand. Back in the day, their products were made in the USA. Now things are just engineered in IL and made in China. Still it came with a 2-yr warranty.
The charger will activate below 12v. It goes into maintain mode to monitor a steady 13.2v as the battery needs it. Thus, if you put a bettery in storage, the product keeps the battery in top shape. Many reviews state that batteries are lasting well over 7 years with the product.

 

[KennyG]

I have mixed thoughts about the Schumacher brand. Back in the day, their products were made in the USA. Now things are just engineered in IL and made in China. Still it came with a 2-yr warranty.

I hope Schumacher has kept the quality up. I have one I bought in the early 70's that I still use regularly. I had to replace a damaged power cord (my fault) and it has a badly dented case (again, my fault) but it just keeps working.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I find it odd that no one mentioned the removal of caps (if not sealed top) prior to charging. This allows the hydrogen to freely vent from the top area that is free of acid/water mix so as not to accumulate and possibly cause an explosion when a spark occurs.

Connecting the clamps prior to plugging in the charger is a good idea but doesn't guarantee no spark if a bad connection is made but at least you wont be nearby if it does explode. Same with disconnecting, kill the power to the charger first.

 

[clemsonfor]

I get the $5 (wwith coupon) battery tender things from Harbor freight. I have had some for over 2 years constantly on my boat battery. works well and battery is always topped up. Would i use it in my garage...maybe not, i might wory about a short and fire as they use cheap components but its in a metal shed on a concrete slab, all that would be lost would be a $1500 boat if it went up.

 

[California]

I cooked the water out of a battery by leaving a $5 HF charger attached through the winter. They claim the current is too low to do this - but I found the top of the plates exposed when I prep'ed the tractor for use in the spring. My advice is run that model charger for only a few days at a time.

I started using the solar charger that is license-plate size. I'm not sure it does anything at all, but the battery always shows 12.5 V or better so it must do something.

 

[buickanddeere]

Most people get complacent with batteries and take liberties that they should not. batteries hold a lot of energy, they can not be shut off, they will explode and spray corrosive acid.

 

[kenmac]

I have a couple of these... Automatic Battery Charger - 12V I may try 1 on the tractor battery over the winter