Battery chargers

[Sinitro]

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?

Can't say...
Never seen a Battery Tender with a AC line cord fuse..
Just my $0.02..

 

[Sinitro]

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.

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.

The older Schumacher chargers were banned from sales in California some years back..
As they were older analog, lower energy efficient design using a big transformer and rectifier.
May work fine for conventional lead batteries but not recommended for the later AGM batteries..

Just my $0.02...

 

[toolmanmike]

The older Schumacher chargers were banned from sales in California some years back..
As they were older analog, lower energy efficient design using a big transformer and rectifier.
May work fine for conventional lead batteries but not recommended for the later AGM batteries..

Just my $0.02...

2 amp trickle

 

[RemCharger]

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...

Thanks. I'm a bit of a battery soup nazi. But still not a believer in tenderizers. They have their place on somewhat regular use, high drain situations. But a good battery with zero draw will be just fine by itself.

 

[Sinitro]

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.

As I posted previously..
Some Schumacher chargers were banned from sale in California due to not meeting certain energy efficiency standards,
yet they were still being sold in other states.
Regarding Harbor Freight chargers I recall there was a major safety product recall for certain models...
Best to check with HF corporate for more specific details by model..

Just my $0.02...

 

[OKDart]

Can't say...
Never seen a Battery Tender with a AC line cord fuse..
Just my $0.02..

Fuse in the charge cord

 

[MarPar]

Thanks. I'm a bit of a battery soup nazi. But still not a believer in tenderizers. They have their place on somewhat regular use, high drain situations. But a good battery with zero draw will be just fine by itself.

I do not believe in tenderizers myself. Albeit in a different realm. lol

 

[Sinitro]

Fuse in the charge cord

OK...
That makes more sense..
How much protection the fuse provides depends upon its type(slo-blow or fast blow)
and current rating vs the voltage/current specs of the charger itself...
Again never seen one so can't comment more..

Just my $0.02...

 

[RR Fan Dan]

I bought these on eBay. Pretty cheap and work great. Smart charges. Even senses outside temperatures and adjusts charging. Been using them for a year now on three cars with no problems. I also have my jump and carry for emergencies.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[Mackman]

Thanks. I'm a bit of a battery soup nazi. But still not a believer in tenderizers. They have their place on somewhat regular use, high drain situations. But a good battery with zero draw will be just fine by itself.

I used a Battery Tender Jr. on my motorcycle, and came to the conclusion that it boiled the water out of the battery over time (a couple years).At least it seemed that way. I now use a timer ahead of the tender so it comes on for two hours each day. Time will tell.

 

[451Mopar]

Had one of the "smart" chargers that had the built in cooling fan, and it died, so I found my old "dumb" 2/6 amp charger that must be 40 years old and it still works fine and has output even when not connected to a battery.
For maintaining the car batteries, I have a quad output battery tender that has been working fine for over 10 years.

 

[toolmanmike]

Had one of the "smart" chargers that had the built in cooling fan, and it died, so I found my old "dumb" 2/6 amp charger that must be 40 years old and it still works fine and has output even when not connected to a battery.
For maintaining the car batteries, I have a quad output battery tender that has been working fine for over 10 years.

When the smart chargers first came out the wouldn't work on a dead battery. Duh! You had to start a charge with a standard charger, then put the smart charger on. That defect has been fixed shortly there after. I sent a few of the early ones back as not working.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

I used a Battery Tender Jr. on my motorcycle, and came to the conclusion that it boiled the water out of the battery over time (a couple years).At least it seemed that way. I now use a timer ahead of the tender so it comes on for two hours each day. Time will tell.

For lead acid batteries this is true. You have to keep an eye on your water level. I learned this the hard way. Replaced with GEL battery and it’s no longer a problem.

 

[RT SE 440]

I had one of these ctek battery chargers for years works perfectly they have a heat prob which you sit on top of the battery while charging which turns the charger off if it pick up any over heating on the battery while charging Battery chargers 12V & 24V from CTEK