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What battery charger do you use?

What battery charger do you use?
Turbogus

Turbogus

Old Time Jeeper
Posts
1,232
Thanks
2
Location
Albany, OR
Vehicle(s)
'78 CJ 5 Renegade (Black Betty) Motor AMC 360, T150 trans, 20 tc, Dana 30 front and Dana 44 rear w/posi

'96 GMC K1500 Suburban (Big Blue Basterd) fully loaded with over $10k in options
I know this is a very old line but I'm looking for some guidance on battery chargers/maintainers I've had two NAPA 3 LED chargers over the years and perhaps I'm misinterpreting their capabilities but after all of the work I've done on BB for the last several months neither the older nor the newer NAPA chargers would bring my batteries up beyond 10.8 Volts. Taking one of these batteries to my local shop they put it on their cart charger and brought it up to 12.2 volts~perfect.
I'm thinking of switching to Schumaker or someone else for a reliable charger that can maintain my batteries during the down time when things go kaput and BB languishes in my garage for a few months. Any recommendations for a charger/maintainer would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
I'm leaning toward the Schumaker SC-1000A, Schumaker being the only other mainstream charger in my area and, haveing more than the single year warranty that NAPA has.
 
I'm leary of any constant charge over 1.5 amps.
As far as your low batteries go-Disconnect the main leads and charge'em up. See if they hold their charge.
What's the PN# on your NAPA charger you speak of?
LG
 
Yeah Gus, like Lumpy suggested you might have other issues. Like check the battery voltage right after a full charge, with all the other stuff disconnected. As you hook things back up check for any battery drain with an amp meter. Also do a later check for voltage lost. I really like using those brass marine style terminals with copper terminal ends for doing repetitive battery work.
 
I have had very good results with "battery tender" .I use the jr. size on all my 12v single battery vehicles and a larger one built to maintain dual 12v applications ( boat,motor home,cargo trailer) . I run about 7-8 tenders at any one time. My battery replacement has gone way down and never a dead battery. Buy them at Amazon with good discount for multiple purchase and free shipping. mike

ps forgot I have one on my Honda 5000 electric start generator
and keep one on my test battery on the work bench.It adds up fast.
 
Last edited:
My CJ's PO had a parasitic drain, which I inherited.

As a stop-gap measure, I installed a battery cut-off switch.

The eventual fix was a new wiring harness and removing a bunch of legacy aftermarket components - some working, some half-not-working - that made my head spin trying to figure out if they were functioning or not; the cut-off switch kept the battery usable.

I have this

https://www.walmart.com/ip/DSR-PSC-12500A-Btry-Charger-Starter-15-40-UL-Rated-Amps/40922930

It works on everything except a really drained, down to zero, battery.

I buy batteries from Sears because they never talk back to me when I want to return something. They put it on their shop tester and it came back good, charged to 100% 12v+ change, but it was nearly too hot to handle for a few minutes. I don't know what amperage they used, but it sorta scared me.

-Jon
 
mstar said:
I have had very good results with "battery tender" .I use the jr. size on all my 12v single battery vehicles and a larger one built to maintain dual 12v applications ( boat,motor home,cargo trailer) . I run about 7-8 tenders at any one time. My battery replacement has gone way down and never a dead battery. Buy them at Amazon with good discount for multiple purchase and free shipping. mike

ps forgot I have one on my Honda 5000 electric start generator
and keep one on my test battery on the work bench.It adds up fast.
Click to expand...


same thing for me, battery tender brand. never had a problem. as someone else posted it won't bring a battery back from the dead but it will maintain a good one for a long, long time.
 
One word of caution. If you have an AGM battery, make sure your tender or charger is rated for AGM batteries. They do have different charging needs than typical FLA batteries.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Steve-May I ask for a link/source for this.
I cant find any such 'rating' on any of my maintainers or charges, I have never had any issue. Yes I use AGM, but only in my Jeep.
My Jeep stays hook'd up to the same maintainer that's in the link, in my first post.
THX,
LG
 
steve1973 said:
One word of caution. If you have an AGM battery, make sure your tender or charger is rated for AGM batteries. They do have different charging needs than typical FLA batteries.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yes, additional info on this rating would be helpful.The fact that you are aware of it tells me you have a lot of knowledge on the subject. thanks
 
I see nut'n that sez the 1.5amp put out by a maintainer is any issue to AGM batteries. :confused:
LG
 
There is no danger of a 1.5 amp 'maintainer' sulfating a AGM battery.
Most maintainers peek output is 1.5 amps max output, and level off at about 1.1-1.25 amps at 13 volts DC.
Those articles are VERY informative about true higher amperage battery chargers and THX for the info. :notworthy:
In fact-I think those links you provided, should be made into a 'sticky'.
LG
 
For what it's worth, my charger has an AGM setting.

-Jon
 
My true charger, does not as it's a 25+ year old Sears. It's only settings are 2 or 10 amps and is 'automatic' in sensing the charge.
Jon-What charger do you have?
LG
 
I just love my CRS-:o
LG
 
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