Looking for decent battery charger

[PILOON]

Try to find chargers that only use copper in the construction.

For a variety of reasons I've opened up a few to discover aluminum wound transformers.
From there I noticed a common problem.
Dissimilar metal corrosion.
Copper and aluminum simply do not like to be together and create corrosion.
It gets worst if stored in damp and humid places and generally always after the warranty is up.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Here's my deere batt. charger,

It's very heavy and has lots of copper in it, copper is what makes them last.

It came to me broke and headed for the dumpster, but I asked if I could have it and it was given to me. When I got it home, I opened it and found a broken wire inside that I fixed and it's been a good charger since. Later I also bought an extension cord, cut the plug off it and wired the cord into this charger to replace the bad power cord, that it also had.

I have a bigger upright charger too, but I only use it when I need a HEAVY boost...also some smaller chargers...

SR

 

[Popgadget]

Here’s what I use for my all around Go to battery charger.

BatteryMINDer(R) Model 128CEC1 12V 2/4/8 AMP Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator

I also have 24v and high current chargers when they are (rarely) required.

 

[John_Mc]

Here’s what I use for my all around Go to battery charger.

BatteryMINDer(R) Model 128CEC1 12V 2/4/8 AMP Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator

I also have 24v and high current chargers when they are (rarely) required.

BattryMINDer chargers are some of the best around. All of their models are smart chargers, temperature compensated, and include desulfating. I have 6 of their units, ranging from a couple of small, relatively inexpensive maintainers (rated at about 1.3 or 1.5 amps, one of which is 20 years old and still going strong) to a 24 volt unit specifically designed for aircraft batteries.

The 128 CEC1 is one of high end units - probably my favorite of all the models I own with three amperage ratings and 3 charging profiles optimized for gel, flooded or AGM batteries.

If you are just looking for low-amperage maintainer/charger, and don't need the ability to charge quickly, their Model 1500 or 1510 are very well designed, inexpensive units. (The 1510 is electrically identical to the 1500, but the 1510 comes with better accessories and a longer warranty.)

 

[Jaylegger]

+3 for the Battery Minder 128CEC1.

These measure as advertised and have true temperature compensation. I much prefer this to the Shoes, Noco's and CTEk's I've owned over the years.

 

[jymbee]

BattryMINDer chargers are some of the best around. All of their models are smart chargers, temperature compensated, and include desulfating. I have 6 of their units, ranging from a couple of small, relatively inexpensive maintainers (rated at about 1.3 or 1.5 amps, one of which is 20 years old and still going strong) to a 24 volt unit specifically designed for aircraft batteries.

The 128 CEC1 is one of high end units - probably my favorite of all the models I own with three amperage ratings and 3 charging profiles optimized for gel, flooded or AGM batteries.

If you are just looking for low-amperage maintainer/charger, and don't need the ability to charge quickly, their Model 1500 or 1510 are very well designed, inexpensive units. (The 1510 is electrically identical to the 1500, but the 1510 comes with better accessories and a longer warranty.)

Thanks much for the input. Looks like I'm going to go ahead and buy a BatteryMINDer and it looks like the BatteryMINDer 2012 might be a good compromise between features & price. Might be interesting to attempt to bring back to life some of these old batteries around here, but not holding out a lot of hope in that regard.

 

[fried1765]

I use CTEK & Deltran.

Those are very small, low amperage, maintenance chargers.
Perhaps the OP was referring to the larger, traditional selectable amperage battery chargers?

 

[skipmarcy]

Retired auto mechanic here, also been looking at the chargers out there the past 2 weeks and finally gave up and repaired my old Craftsman 2/10 amp I bought in the mid - 70's. All that was wrong was a female spade terminal (aluminum) had cracked and fallen off its male counterpart. Still charges fine and the ammeter even still works ! I have a friend that still runs his shop nearby and he has had several of these "smart" chargers that have not lasted more than a year or two in a professional setting. I guess for a homeowner wanting to maintain batteries they probably will work well enough but in a shop setting they can't hold up to the almost constant use, and besides that they are pretty much un-repairable. During winter I keep my mower, trailer and deep cycle batteries in my insulated shed and keep a 10 watt solar charger on them in a south facing window.

 

[John_Mc]

Retired auto mechanic here, also been looking at the chargers out there the past 2 weeks and finally gave up and repaired my old Craftsman 2/10 amp I bought in the mid - 70's. All that was wrong was a female spade terminal (aluminum) had cracked and fallen off its male counterpart. Still charges fine and the ammeter even still works ! I have a friend that still runs his shop nearby and he has had several of these "smart" chargers that have not lasted more than a year or two in a professional setting. I guess for a homeowner wanting to maintain batteries they probably will work well enough but in a shop setting they can't hold up to the almost constant use, and besides that they are pretty much un-repairable. During winter I keep my mower, trailer and deep cycle batteries in my insulated shed and keep a 10 watt solar charger on them in a south facing window.

All 6 of my various BatteryMINDer charges are in almost constant use. One of them is coming up on 20 years old. My 2 newest are over 2 years old. the other 3 range from 4-7 years old. I've only had one BatteryMinder charger fail on me: that was my aviation charger which was damage in a storm which tore doors of the hangar building and caused electrical issues which also took out my 110v electric winch and damaged wiring in the building. The damaged charger was over 5 years old, out of warranty, and clearly did not fail as a result of a defect in the charger - yet they still gave me a discount on the replacement.

All of their chargers have a 5 year warranty, except for the Model 1510 which has a 10 year warranty (it's a small, 1.5 amp smart charger with temperature compensation and desulfating).