Battery Chargers

[Tom '74 911]

I know there are a bunch of threads on this topic already, but a lot of the ones that the search function found for me were at least a few years old. . .

My old Les Schwab battery could sit on my cold concrete garage floor all winter and still be good to go in the spring. I now have an Optima Battery which seems a bit more sensitive so I'm looking for a charger that I can hook up and forget about for the winter months.

Is there a real reason to buy an expensive one or will a less expensive one work just fine?

Here are some examples between brands:

Battery Tender Jr. & Plus: Porsche 911 & Carrera Charging System - Page 3

Battery Tender Plus Gel Cell Model: Battery Tender 021-0156 Battery Tender Plus 12V Battery Charger True Gel Cell Model : Amazon.com : Automotive

What do you get with the increasing price? Seems like each brand (Battery Tender, C-Tek, Schumacher etc...) has a few models that go up in price, but it looks like even the ones that are low on the totem pole are multi-stepped and automatic switching to float or full charge depending on the battery voltage etc....

Is there a reason to spend more than twice as much?

Thanks,
Tom

Edited to provide a link to the Battery Tenders that are sold by Pelican. . .

[1990C4S]

I have had very good luck with the el-cheapo Harbor Freight floating charger. I believe they are $5 Black Friday.

[Rot 911]

Yep, Harbor Freight, Walmart, Target. They all work just fine.

[chuckr]

Walmart

[moneymanager]

You can get the Battery Tender Jr for $30 or so if you hunt. Has worked fine for me for about 5 years.

[GothingNC]

Perfect timing for this thread since my Battery was too weak to start the Targa last night, need to take it out more often

There is a Harbor Freight is a few miles from my office.

[DRACO A5OG]

If you go hf, make sure you place a dvm to monitor it as not overcharge.

[JeremyD]

I had a junior battery tender die on me - replaced with a tender plus for gel - some of them don't charge gel batteries well

[Tremelune]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

If you go hf, make sure you place a dvm to monitor it as not overcharge.

It suddenly sounds crazy to go with a Harbor Freight model when the awesome Battery Tender Jr is under $25 online. Put it on the car/motorcycle, forget it until you're ready.

[wwest]

Originally Posted by Tom '74 911

I know there are a bunch of threads on this topic already, but a lot of the ones that the search function found for me were at least a few years old. . .

My old Les Schwab battery could sit on my cold concrete garage floor all winter and still be good to go in the spring. I now have an Optima Battery which seems a bit more sensitive so I'm looking for a charger that I can hook up and forget about for the winter months.

Is there a real reason to buy an expensive one or will a less expensive one work just fine?

Here are some examples between brands:

Battery Tender Jr. & Plus: Porsche 911 & Carrera Charging System - Page 3

Battery Tender Plus Gel Cell Model: Battery Tender 021-0156 Battery Tender Plus 12V Battery Charger True Gel Cell Model : Amazon.com : Automotive

What do you get with the increasing price? Seems like each brand (Battery Tender, C-Tek, Schumacher etc...) has a few models that go up in price, but it looks like even the ones that are low on the totem pole are multi-stepped and automatic switching to float or full charge depending on the battery voltage etc....

Is there a reason to spend more than twice as much?

Thanks,
Tom

Edited to provide a link to the Battery Tenders that are sold by Pelican. . .

A "flat", fully discharged lead-acid battery on a charger might take several days to begin accepting a charge.

[wwest]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

If you go hf, make sure you place a dvm to monitor it as not overcharge.

It is generally not possible for a simple ~2A trickle-charger to overcharge an automotive lead-acid battery. Terminal voltage will rise to nominal and then the charge current <10W, will be dissipated via heating the battery.

[nineball]

i have used a battery tender jr for years on both lead-acid and agm and never had a problem. i use one on the 911 and another on the bike every winter.

[tirwin]

I have a BatteryMINDer brand for my Optima red top that came with the car.

They claim they have some special anti-sulfation technology. Here's a link to their claim:

http://batteryminders.com/forms/mastheads/auto/sulfation_auto.pdf

I'm sure one of the EEs on here will chime in. All I know is that I killed the battery when the car sat for months and after I hooked up a stereo amp. Hooked it up to the minder and 24 hrs later the battery was good as new.

Maybe there is something better. Maybe not. Hard to argue with free.

[69-912-swt]

I got a this Schumacher Battery charger this week at a pawn shop for $10

Hooked it up to my 87 Carrera today, too early to make any opinions, but one the battery clamps are stronger and heaver made than any charger I have had in my life !! Will know tomorrow if it has brought my 10yr old Interstate Battery back to full charge. Surprising my old battery still works well, only going dead if I didn't drive it evey two weeks. So I would keep it running 1/2 a hour to heat the oil up and charge the battery.

Schumacher SEM-1562A Battery Maintainer and Charger - Walmart.com

I wanted a Battery Tender brand, but for $10 dollars I couldn't say NO !!

[Howard M]

Ok, let me be the devil's advocate and recommend the (expensive) C-TEK. It has a temperature compensation feature which adjusts output for ambient temperature. My cars are in an unheated garage. I have plenty of Battery Tenders in use right now and they generally work fine (one did quit on me and took the battery with it). For the expensive batteries (big gels) I use the C-TEK.

[pwd72s]

bunch of cheapskate P-car owners here...

OPTIMA® Digital 1200 Charger 12V Performance Charger :: OPTIMA® Batteries

[RichardNew]

The cheap ones are fine if you have a cheap battery. If you have an AGM or Gell Cell you have to be a little more careful.

"The number of amps has a real bearing on the price you’ll pay for a battery charger. You can spend less than $50.00 for a charger that has fewer than 4 amps. If you feel you need 10 amps plan on spending around $100.00 for your charger. Remember though that more amps will simply allow you to charge the battery faster – not better."

That's a quote from my column this month's Vintage Motorsports. You can find the magazine in any Barnes and Noble. Since everyone here is so cheap you might want to send for a free issue.

Richard Newton
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[Noah930]

Originally Posted by 69-912-swt

I got a this Schumacher Battery charger this week at a pawn shop for $10


Schumacher SEM-1562A Battery Maintainer and Charger - Walmart.com

Like I've posted several times before, I've been a fan of this inexpensive battery charger for awhile, too. I have lead-acid and gel batteries in my cars & bikes. This is one charger that actually charges up to 14.7 or so volts (temporarily) before it floats back down to 13 or so. Most other chargers go up to 13.5 or so volts and that's it. Supposedly peaking at 14 volts more fully charges the battery to its full potential, thereby prolonging battery life. I have a real-time voltmeter hooked up to my bikes which is on all the time, so it's something I've been able to confirm.