Recommend me a Battery Charger

luckydawg

luckydawg

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Looking for some first hand input on a battery charger. I had a real old on that I liked but no longer.
Here are a couple of needs / wants in one

Charges in a few hours or less
Has a jump start mode-- where I can just hook it up to the dead battery in place & it will start it up
UNCOMPLICATED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE -AND USE
Less than $175
Has some kind of ability to tell me when I start using it how dead the battery is

Prefer feedback from first hand exp.

What all do you guys have out there that you like and use?

Thanks
 
88 folks viewed and nobody even mentioned what they have and if they like it
Pretty tough crowd
 
I have a black and decker and a old I think sears model. the black and decker has done me just fine, im not sure how fast it chargers to be honest but was only like $30 bucks
 
Cruzscarwash said:
I have a black and decker and a old I think sears model. the black and decker has done me just fine, im not sure how fast it chargers to be honest but was only like $30 bucks
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Thanks for the feedback- The old one I had was a old sears one also- square black box that was pretty heavy. Served me good when I had it
 
You'll probably find a decent selection of such chargers to fit your needs and budget at places like a Fleet/Farm, or Truck & Tractor Supply Business.

The Battery Tender or CTEK types are more for maintaining and charge relatively slower than perhaps what you are specifically looking for.
A good maintainer type is also nice to have on hand, and there's many here to choose from.
 
I bought one last year @ rural king but am not happy with it- paid less than $50 for it though. Want to really buy one-- for the last time hence willing to spending a bit more on it
 
Maybe what you are looking for is the large roll around type which you'd commonly see at Gas Stations and auto repair shops. Such as these would probably be the last charger you'll buy in this lifetime.

Probably a common brand would be the venerable Schumacher

They commonly have a variety of settings, slow trickle charge, jump start and usually can charge either 6V or 12V Batteries.
 
I didn’t post because imo you want two separate units. One to charge one for jump starting. The combo units aren’t typically that great


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MattPersman said:
I didn’t post because imo you want two separate units. One to charge one for jump starting. The combo units aren’t typically that great


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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From some articles I've read about chargers, some run of the mill cheapo units will of course charge a Battery, but there might be a downside.

In that as they taper the charge and the amperage drops, the voltage increases, and the end result is, is that some junk chargers can fry the living crap out of a battery.

Forgive me if it is verboten, but this is one charger that I have, and have been very happy with it.

https://www.pulsetech.net/store/12v...v-battery-maintenance-charger-desulfator.html

I suspect the CTEK chargers sold here are of a high quality and are properly designed also to not turn a battery to toast.
 
I use Battery Tender +
For the occasional customer car that needs a jump, I have one of these.

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Battery tenders my client has 40 of them all hooked up to classic cars ranging from 50 k to 380 k .I also have one on my car
 
Thanks to everyone that took the time to post feedback to help this old man out!!!
Ended up with one of those Schumacher ones-- about $120
 
I realize a decision has already been made, but I'll just throw in for future reference, they sell the CTEK chargers here--https://www.autogeek.net/ctek-battery-chargers.html .

I have a 4.3 (which they don't seem to sell here anymore). It doesn't have the brute force of the old Sears black box (which I think the one I have is 12 amps) but I bought the CTEK mostly for maintenance charging. They are good chargers that work as advertised, plus they are small. Shop around or wait for a sale here.
 
chet31 said:
Here's a different approach, something like this is an LED flashlight, will jump start your car, charge your car battery, charge your phone, charge your laptop, and will fit in your glove box, $67:

Amazon.com: GOOLOO 800A Peak 18000mAh SuperSafe Car Jump Starter with USB Quick Charge 3.0 (Up to 7.0L Gas or 5.5L Diesel Engine), 12V Portable Power Pack Auto Battery Booster Phone Charger Built-in LED Light: Automotive
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I am glad that I found this thread. I had a situation this weekend where I did a lot of interior work on the wife's Buick and I guess I left the doors open for a long time. The car wouldn't start after I was done. I was considering a trickle charger then I checked out this GOOLOO item. Thanks Chet. Do you have one?
 
A Lot of newer cars have an option to turn of the domes,,either on the light itself or somewhere on the dash,,like the one on your truck by the headlight switch.

On older models I used to pull the dome fuse so I could leave the doors open overnight but having a battery charger and a jump box is never a bad idea.
 
UncleDavy said:
I am glad that I found this thread. I had a situation this weekend where I did a lot of interior work on the wife's Buick and I guess I left the doors open for a long time. The car wouldn't start after I was done. I was considering a trickle charger then I checked out this GOOLOO item. Thanks Chet. Do you have one?
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I bought one for my son and myself. He has a Kia. Sometimes when he uses the automatic setting for his headlights, the headlights don't shut off when he parks the car, which drains the battery. I frankly wasn't sure it would work, but he's used it twice now and it jump started the car well. I bought one to jump start my boat when needed, but fortunately I haven't needed to use it for that purpose. Don't know how well they'll hold up long-term, but for now I'm sold. But I'm not sold on Kias.
 
chet31 said:
I bought one for my son and myself. He has a Kia. Sometimes when he uses the automatic setting for his headlights, the headlights don't shut off when he parks the car, which drains the battery.
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Something's really wrong with that car, I know two people with Hyundai's that don't even have the automatic headlights, and if they forget to turn them off, they shut off with the ignition. Sounds like there is a problem with the headlight relay in your son's car; you should have it checked out.
 
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