Battery chargers

[Don selleck]

Shopping for a new battery charger, I've had a few over the past 5 years or so, seems like there junk after about a year or so. I got a nice rolling Shumacher for Christmas a while back, wouldn't work right out of the box. My son emailed them for a return and they said you can keep it, crazy I guess the shippping is more than what the charger was worth. I took the cover off and there was 2 wires that weren't connected, plugged them in and it worked fine for about a year. Would like to get a smart one that senses when the battery is charged, but reliability is #1. Wondered if anyone has bought one in the last few years that hasn't given them any trouble, thanks in advance.

 

[MarPar]

I have had one of these for about a year and they work great. Lead-acid, li-ion (it will do agm's, but I can't speak to that).

NOCO GENIUS10 6V 12V 10A Smart Battery Charger For Trucks, SUVs, Cars, Diesel Trucks, & RVs – Automatic Charger, Maintainer, Trickle Charger

The NOCO GENIUS10 is a compact yet powerful 6V and 12V 10A smart battery charger, maintainer, trickle charger, and desulfator for lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, including automotive, marine, and deep-cycle types such as flooded, gel, AGM, SLA, maintenance-free, and LiFePO4. Compatible with...

no.co

 

[Don selleck]

looks like that one does about everything, from trickle normal even bring back ones from dead, for pretty much most battery styles. thanks,

 

[OMTWF-72SE]

I second the noco10, I switched to it after less than stellar from a battery tender model that couldn't handle multiple years of Az heat for a car stored in an uninsulated garage. A friend has a noco gb70 jump box that saved the day recently when the battery failed on my '38. Trickle charger had turned off and I didn't notice

 

[themechanic]

NOCO GENIUS1: 1A 6V/12V Smart... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W46BX31?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[Don selleck]

thats a tiny one nice for a trickle charger, and pretty cheap on the price.

 

[themechanic]

thats a tiny one nice for a trickle charger, and pretty cheap on the price.

Exactly why I bought it. Most of the time I charge the battery the old fashioned way.

 

[themechanic]

Exactly why I bought it. Most of the time I charge the battery the old fashioned way.

BTW, my old original Battery Tender I bought in 2012 is still doing what it's supposed to.


Battery Tender 021-0128 Battery... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068XCQU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

BTW, my old original Battery Tender I bought in 2012 is still doing what it's supposed to.


Battery Tender 021-0128 Battery... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068XCQU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Glad to hear it’s holding up. Have mine since 2018 knock on wood

 

[turbine68rt]

Had this one for many years, no issues.
https://a.co/d/i2Bj78X

 

[Darter6]

I agree with NOCO. Same as themechanic I too have a Battery Tender that is 24 years old and works just fine.

 

[Don selleck]

I just ordered it, so glad I got all you guys opinion, thanks to all!

 

[Sinitro]

BTW, my old original Battery Tender I bought in 2012 is still doing what it's supposed to.


Battery Tender 021-0128 Battery... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068XCQU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

If the Battery Tender is that old, most likely it does not have the Desulfator feature.
It is crucial as the battery can have a high build-up sulfate buildup causing the battery tender to overload and possibly short out starting a fire.
I had this happen to me, but fortunately I caught it in time the Battery Tender had shorted out and was all mishaped and badly deformed/warped.
I called Battery Tender, reported the quality issue to Tech Support, they replied don't worry throw it away and sent me a new one. 2 Weeks later I got a panic call from one of their product quality engineers wanting the old, defective unit returned so they could investigate further. Too late already gone into the dumpster.

Just my $0.02...

 

[Don selleck]

That happened to a friend of mine had a old trickle charger on his vette, ended up losing his shop the vette a very nice boat and a grade all telescopic boom lift. His insurance paid out and he bought a house in florida around the time of the mortgage collapse. He came out smellin like a rose, good thing no one was hurt because his son did stay in an apartment he had built upstairs ocassionally.

 

[33 IMP]

I have a roll-around Schumacher that still works good, that is forty years old. But it has ZERO automatic features. I'd better not forget it's on.
I use a couple cheap little lead acid/agm chargers from hf much more often.

 

[Sinitro]

The basic problem is based on the way a typical lead battery is designed, it uses (6) individual cells rated @ 2.2V each linked in series configuration equaling 13.2V. A layer of sulfate can develop in a link that causes a high resistance, poor conductivity condition causing an overload condition. To my knowledge later Battery Tenders and other brand battery trickle/maintenance chargers are now designed with a momentary high voltage spike charge flashed very 5/10 seconds that burns off the sulfur buildup. To verify one should check more closely for their specific charger brand/model...

Just my $0.02...

 

[1967coronet]

This fire started at the area of the battery tenders. Local guy and friend ,
No way to tell if the tender or the 120 outlet was a fault , fire guys and insurance guys agreed on the origin area.
Hagerty paid off.
70 chevelle SS convert
Steel 36 Ford convert
Steel 37 Ford coupe

 

[Don selleck]

devastating I couldn't imagine if that happened.

 

[OKDart]

If the Battery Tender is that old, most likely it does not have the Desulfator feature.
It is crucial as the battery can have a high build-up sulfate buildup causing the battery tender to overload and possibly short out starting a fire.
I had this happen to me, but fortunately I caught it in time the Battery Tender had shorted out and was all mishaped and badly deformed/warped.
I called Battery Tender, reported the quality issue to Tech Support, they replied don't worry throw it away and sent me a new one. 2 Weeks later I got a panic call from one of their product quality engineers wanting the old, defective unit returned so they could investigate further. Too late already gone into the dumpster.

Just my $0.02...

Hmm, I have a few of the 1.25 amp Battery tenders from 2010-2013. Two of them stopped working, both were on questionable batteries. Nothing looks wrong with them, just no lights come on and no charging. They have the fuse in the cord, wouldn't that protect them?

 

[toolmanmike]

I have a roll-around Schumacher that still works good, that is forty years old. But it has ZERO automatic features. I'd better not forget it's on.
I use a couple cheap little lead acid/agm chargers from hf much more often.

I have owned an old Schumacher 2-10-50 for years. It does automatically cycle off when the battery is charged. I don't trust it after this many years though.