Battery Chargers

[Ricn]

Don't see a good place for this so trying it here.

My two old $19.95 automatic Sears battery chargers have finally failed me after 30 plus years, But the ones I see on-line look like something from out space. Help, I need good suggestions for replacement as we use them often. The Sears units are 2amp or 10 amp with a switch for one or the other and worked so well. Both have auto shut-off feature working as trickle chargers.

Thanks

 

[RjCorazza]

Battery chargers have come a long way over the years. At a minimum, I would be looking for a 3 stage automatic charger (bulk, absorbtion, float). If you're really into battery maintenance, look into the chargers that have an equalization cycle as an optional stage.
The one disadvantage of (many) modern chargers is that they are incapable of charging a dead or near dead battery due to an additional acceptance stage. If the battery is lower than x volts, the charger will not proceed to charge.
My preference in chargers is the Battery Minders brand. They have from 1 amp maintainers / desulfators to up to 8 amp charger / maintainers. They're are plenty of other good brands available, like Schumacher, Noco, Battery Tender to name a few.

 

[scootr]

Amazon.com

The Schumacher brand has worked good for me.

​

 

[Roadworthy]

I got a Noco ten amp charger but your chargers are old enough they can probably be repaired. The most common problem is probably the rectifier but you could have a poor connection internally. If the transformer still works they're not dead.

 

[oosik]

I have two types of chargers. A big, heavy, 8 amp Schumacher and several from Battery Tender. Also a battery tender/maintainer from CTK and Optimate. In the winter - everything goes on a tender/maintainer.

 

[Ricn]

good info. thanks all.

 

[California]

I've had great luck with a BatteryMinder Plus I saw recommended here, long ago. Earlier this year I replaced the batteries in two tractors. Each battery was dated 2011, so had 12+ plus years of intermittent use with one BatteryMinder swapped back and forth between them. This seems to show the 'high frequency desulfating' feature actually works.

One of those two batteries had several years use in wife's car before it cranked slow so I retired that battery to the tractor and got wife a new battery. A couple of months on the BatteryMinder restored it, then it served 5 years in its second life.

BatteryMINDer Plus Battery Charger/Trickle Charger/Desulfator, 12 Volt, 1 Amp, Model# 12117TC Now available only from Northern Tool (and NT via Ebay) for some reason. Likely superseded by something better?

What's a modern equivalent, or better? And costs less?

HF has stepped up quality in several categories, do they have an inexpensive good maintainer? I made the mistake of putting their cheap 1 amp trickle charger on a seldom-used tractor long ago and discovered it boiled the water out. Made a mess. Apparently there is no regulation at all in those.

 

[square1]

Can't go wrong with Victron charger / tenders. Pricey, but worth it.

victron charger - Google Search

 

[chim]

I haven't needed a battery charger (with the exception of batteries for cordless tools) in my 74 years. Survival of the fittest thing. Any battery that can't survive on its own needs to go away. Unless there's an obvious reason like a malfunction that kept a load on a battery without the engine running, bye bye battery.

My Ford tractor, for example, may sit for months between uses and always starts - Summer or Winter. I think I've replaced that battery twice since 1991. I did need to jump it at least once after leaving the rear work light on. Maybe it should have been wired through the ignition switch to compensate for my forgetfulness.

 

[ArlyA]

Amazon.com

The Schumacher brand has worked good for me.

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I'd only get one if it has the desulfator mode which does help batteries last longer. All Schumacher do that automatically. Last I heard anyway.

 

[Paystar]

I have every brand mentioned here, plus Canadian Tire and a big one branded as Caterpillar. They all work, never had an issue with any of them. Probable all made in same factory in China anyway.

My only grip with the small maintainer chargers is I wish they would use better quality wires. They get stiff as iron in the cold, then eventually the insulation splits exposing bare wires. That is pretty much the only reason I've ever thrown any of them out.

 

[bdhsfz6]

As others have said, consider a battery maintainer / desulfator.

I've been using one of these BatteryMinder's for over 15 years with good results:

BatteryMINDer: Automotive

VDC Electronics provides 6 -8-12-and 24-Volt chargers/ maintainers/ desulfators for all automotive battery types. 85% of the more than 80 million new automotive type storage batteries made each year will die in less than 3 years. Sulphation is the #1 cause of early battery failure and loss of...

www.amazon.com

 

[flyerdan]

If you have a charger that won't start charging an extremely discharged battery, you can fool it with another battery and jumper cables. Doesn't take too long to get a charge going and you can remove the second one.

 

[sixdogs]

My life did a right turn when I discovered NOCO brand "smart chargers" maybe 10 years ago. Old fashioned high power chargers ruined many batteries for me over the years and I just didn't realize how bad they were.

Now I use NOCO 3.5 and 5.0 amp smart chargers and refuse to let a big charger near any of my batteries. Now, instead of 5 years of battery life I can get 10-12 years by different charging and the things modern battery chargers do like de-sulfating old style batteries.

It helps that I keep my batteries up to charge, especially for cold weather. In late November or December, I make sure everything is fully charged and when I start things in March, no problems.

Old style high power battery chargers are the buggy whips of the last generations. They are dead but not everyone realizes it yet.

 

[rkvarner43]

You can trick the modern chargers to charge a dead battery by temporarily connecting a good battery to the dead battery while the charger is connected. I've heard even a 9 volt battery will allow the charger to go into charge mode, but I normally use jumper cables to another vehicle's battery.

 

[ultrarunner]

My life did a right turn when I discovered NOCO brand "smart chargers" maybe 10 years ago. Old fashioned high power chargers ruined many batteries for me over the years and I just didn't realize how bad they were.

Now I use NOCO 3.5 and 5.0 amp smart chargers and refuse to let a big charger near any of my batteries. Now, instead of 5 years of battery life I can get 10-12 years by different charging and the things modern battery chargers do like de-sulfating old style batteries.

It helps that I keep my batteries up to charge, especially for cold weather. In late November or December, I make sure everything is fully charged and when I start things in March, no problems.

Old style high power battery chargers are the buggy whips of the last generations. They are dead but not everyone realizes it yet.

I've cooked a few batteries others had given up on and returned to productive use...

None of the smart chargers were smart enough to do what brute force accomplished...

 

[RandyT]

You can trick the modern chargers to charge a dead battery by temporarily connecting a good battery to the dead battery while the charger is connected. I've heard even a 9 volt battery will allow the charger to go into charge mode, but I normally use jumper cables to another vehicle's battery.

Dead low voltage but otherwise good battery yes. A failed need to desulfate battery no.

 

[ArlyA]

Dead low voltage but otherwise good battery yes. A failed need to desulfate battery no.

Which is why I recommend getting a charger with a desulfate mode.

 

[Quartz]

I have used the Battery Tender Plus for many years on my tractors and riding lawn mowers. They work on AGM and other battery
types as well. If I am not using the tractor for awhile, I will unhook the leads, and plug in the battery tender. Also works well
on trucks, as one had a bad overair update, and the battery tender got the battery back to normal. No problems with them that I have had.
Good luck.

 

[LittleBill21]

Amazon.com

The Noco is a very good charger. covers literally everything.