Trickle battery charger

[5030]

Hulkman Sigma 10 on sale as well as the Sigma 5.

Amazon

Amazon - Sigma 5

No where does it state trickle charging current and it has a bunch of negative reviews as well and finally, it came over in a container, from China. I'll stick with my Yuhasa trickle chargers at less than 500 Ma. You exceed 500 Ma for a prolonged period of time, the 'trickle' charger will boil your battery dry.

 

[Duds13]

No where does it state trickle charging current and it has a bunch of negative reviews as well and finally, it came over in a container, from China. I'll stick with my Yuhasa trickle chargers at less than 500 Ma. You exceed 500 Ma for a prolonged period of time, the 'trickle' charger will boil your battery dry.

OK! The Yuasa look nice. I may grab one if the Hulkman's fail me

 

[LittleBill21]

The AGM charging profile is one of the reasons I usually choose one of BatteryMINDER's higher end chargers, unless I'm dedicating it to a vehicle I know will use the standard flooded lead-acid charging profile

However, while the BAtteryMINDer 12117TC does not have a dedicated AGM charging profile, it is safe for use with AGM batteries. Many AGM battery manufacturers (including Optima) suggest a charging profile very similar to a flooded lead-acid battery. The ones which do suggest a different charging profile (such as Odyssey) typically specify a battery float charging voltage of 0.2 volts higher than a typical lead-acid battery. From what I've heard, these can also safely be charged with the standard flooded lead-acid charging profile. The battery may be slightly undercharged, but still protected from desulfation, and better than not having it on a maintainer at all.

The NOCO charger @LittleBill21 linked is a great deal and a well designed charger/maintainer. After using my old BatteryMINDer model 1500 (no dedicated AGM charging profile) for years on my wife's motorcycle, I switched to that same NOCO charger to get the AGM charging profile. There are only 2 things I don't like about the NOCO chargers:

1. They use a proprietary connector, rather than the industry standard SAE connector found on many other chargers. This required buying a $15 adaptor to go from the NOCO charger to the SAE pigtails I have installed on almost all of my equipment. (I could buy the NOCO ring terminals, which already have their proprietary connector on the end, but then none of my other chargers would connect.)
2. Their desulfation mode only operates while the unit is in charge mode. It is idle durig the "float" stage, which is active once the battery is fully charged. Not a huge deal, since a fully charged battery generally will not suffer from sulfation, but it can require multiple resets and charging cycles to recover a moderate to heavily sulfated battery.

Even with those concerns, I do really like the NOCO chargers. I own two: one on my wife's motorcycle (AGM battery) and another 2-bank 12 volt charger on my antique military pickup truck (24 volt system consisting of two 12V "maintenance free" lead acid batteries). Both chargers have been working well for the past 5+ years.

Just cut the connectors off if you want and use whatever connector you want. I cut one off a set I was using. 0 need to use their propriety connectors.

 

[Topzide]

I've also cut the SAE 2 pole connector off my smart maintainers and installed Anderson Power Pole connectors. Fits all the jumpers on the tractors that I have for aux lighting. Use what you want.

 

[John_Mc]

No where does it state trickle charging current and it has a bunch of negative reviews as well and finally, it came over in a container, from China. I'll stick with my Yuhasa trickle chargers at less than 500 Ma. You exceed 500 Ma for a prolonged period of time, the 'trickle' charger will boil your battery dry.

I'm not familiar with Hulkman chargers, but modern smart charger/maintainers often don't state trickle charge current because it's not an issue: they are not "trickle chargers". Whne the battery is fully charged, they stop charging and monitor the battery until a further charge is needed.

True "trickle chargers" are old technology. They forced charge into the battery full time. With a low enough amperage rating on a large enough battery, you could usually get away with it. The risk is that they overcharge the battery and boil off electrolyte

A modern smart charger/maintainer does not have that problem. They continuously monitor the battery and adjust. I've left an 8 amp BatteryMINDER charger on my dump trailer and the 2 bank NOCO charger rated at 10 amps per bank on my antique truck batteries for months at a time with no problems, just a perfectly topped off and ready to go battery. These are both smart chargers, and taper off the charge when the battery is full. They do not overcharge, and they do not boil off electrolyte. I could not get away with that with my old 10 Amp "dumb" charger.

 

[grsthegreat]

Ya, trickle charger is an old time term, but has been used for so many years, one just keeps using it instead of smart charger.

 

[BackRoad]

I've also cut the SAE 2 pole connector off my smart maintainers and installed Anderson Power Pole connectors. Fits all the jumpers on the tractors that I have for aux lighting. Use what you want.

Another vote for the Anderson PP connectors. Added a permanent set on my tractor to power the 12v pump on the OR diesel transfer tank.

They're very sturdy, reliable and idiot proof!

 

[Too many Kubotas]

be aware this is only for lead acid, has temp compenstation, and doesn't seem to have a mode for agm either.

All I have in vehicles is lead acid (which includes AGM) and have used the above mentioned BatteryMINDers as well as the older versions for decades - both on wet and AGM batteries - and so far so good.

Some are used on batteries 24/7 for years, others used as "floaters" on vehicles/batteries as needed, and some are hooked up to vehicles any time they're not driven. Coincidentally (?) I tend to get much longer life out of batteries than most do.

 

[Racer4]

Back on the subject of chargers/maintainers:

I see that Northern Tool is running a special on the BatteryMINDer model 12117TC. This is a 12V, 1 amp, smart charger/maintainer with temperature compensation and desulfation. Normally $40, now on sale for $20.

I own a lot of their maintainers. Typically, I go for models that are a little higher up in their line-up. (The 12117TC is their lowest price model, and is currently only sold to Northern Tool.) However, at that price, it would be hard to pass up if I needed another maintainer. I own a 12117 (does not include temperature compensation - it's the predecessor to the currently made 12117TC). It's over 20 years old and still working as-designed.

Thanks for posting this. Just put one on my Christmas list!

 

[LittleBill21]

All I have in vehicles is lead acid (which includes AGM) and have used the above mentioned BatteryMINDers as well as the older versions for decades - both on wet and AGM batteries - and so far so good.

Some are used on batteries 24/7 for years, others used as "floaters" on vehicles/batteries as needed, and some are hooked up to vehicles any time they're not driven. Coincidentally (?) I tend to get much longer life out of batteries than most do.

Ok? for 3 dollars more you get the agm and lithium profile. seems like a no brainer to me