12V Battery Charger Recommendations

[scarney1988]

I am in the market for a 12V battery charger. I am a "pro" wrench and need a battery charger from time to time. I am hoping the collective knowledge of GJ can point me to a couple of options.

Wants:

1. Stowable in a deep toolbox drawer or end cabinet
2. Be able to perform a fast charge in 3 hours or less
3. Offer both automatic and manual features
4. Cost less than $350
5. Run off 110V wall outlet

Thanks in advance.

 

[Airframer]

Been considering picking up one from here... http://www.usabatterychargers.com/

 

[scarney1988]

Brilliant... Solid choices... made in the USA... 5 year warranty.... Perfect!!! Going to be hard to beat that. Thank you!

Anyone order from the above mentioned website before? Seems legit, but one can never be too sure.

 

[MattPersman]

Noco genius if you want to store in a drawer. http://www.geniuschargers.com/G26000

 

[scarney1988]

Hmm genius has quite a few good options too. Do you have one personally??? If so, how do you like it?

 

[jkwilson]

Get on NOCO's mailing list. They have 50% off sales a couple of times a year. Usually July and December.

 

[articsilber323]

i have the optima charger i like it, does 15 amps very compact, only thing i dont like is takes about 2-3 min to start charging because it "analyzing the battery"

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M3PQFA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have had good luck with Schumacher chargers. They are widely available.

Be careful what you ask for ! Manual chargers that can push more than 10-20A are an accident waiting to happen. At that rate you can boil a battery in a short time and possibly boil it dry and then BOOM !! Not a pretty site.

Stick with an automatic one.

 

[justme-]

stay away from Schumacher like the plague - Mine is about 4 years old and has had issues for 2 years - fan died, display LEDs are dying, and I'm not sure it charges correctly (per it's program). We sell them at work - the big roll chargers are mostly empty space - for show, and the boost boxes are ****.
Customer support is non existent as well.

 

[MattPersman]

Yes I have a genius the 7200 I am wanting to get the 26000 for the shop as well the 7200 has been great it's like the size of a brick roughly works will all types of batteries that I know

 

[scarney1988]

Ya, I am really liking the Genius G26000. It does not have the raw power of many of the wheel types, but it does offer quite a few other features. Also, it does not offer an "engine start assist" feature which would be nice. Additionally its listed charge time for 560Ah batteries is a little longer [starting from 50% charge]. It does meet pretty much every other requirement though.

The Schumacher XC103 seems to offer most of my desired features. Fully automatic, portable, engine start feature.

The solar PL2520 also offer much of my requests.

I'll post more up later.

 

[gobeer net]

I have a Schumacher SC-8020A and would buy another one. I use it on AGM and lead acid of all sizes from dirtbikes to golf carts. I don't believe it has manual settings and the auto settings have been known to take all night to charge a completely discharged large deep cycle from a golf cart. That same battery was charged on a "standard regular" charger many times with marginal success so I was happy to let it charge all night in order to get results.

The starting feature is surprising considering the lead size but seems to work. I don't think your going to be starting any diesels off of it though. If my jeep yellow top is completely dead, I have to let it run through two "starting cycles" to get enough juice in the battery to start the engine.

Mine is about 3 years old. The housing is adequate but not overly robust. The tabs on the back to wrap the cords on have long fallen off. The handle seems flimsy but is holding up well. I've seen new car dealerships use the same model every day for years. The fans get noisy and the flimsy bits fall off but I don't know of any failures yet.

They are small, light and get the job done. The model I described can be had under $100 and seems like an entry level solution for the work you mentioned. For more money I figure you can get a more "professional" machine suited for constant duty use.

 

[scarney1988]

I have a Schumacher SC-8020A and would buy another one. I use it on AGM and lead acid of all sizes from dirtbikes to golf carts. I don't believe it has manual settings and the auto settings have been known to take all night to charge a completely discharged large deep cycle from a golf cart. That same battery was charged on a "standard regular" charger many times with marginal success so I was happy to let it charge all night in order to get results.

The starting feature is surprising considering the lead size but seems to work. I don't think your going to be starting any diesels off of it though. If my jeep yellow top is completely dead, I have to let it run through two "starting cycles" to get enough juice in the battery to start the engine.

Mine is about 3 years old. The housing is adequate but not overly robust. The tabs on the back to wrap the cords on have long fallen off. The handle seems flimsy but is holding up well. I've seen new car dealerships use the same model every day for years. The fans get noisy and the flimsy bits fall off but I don't know of any failures yet.

They are small, light and get the job done. The model I described can be had under $100 and seems like an entry level solution for the work you mentioned. For more money I figure you can get a more "professional" machine suited for constant duty use.

Thank you gobeer net. It is definitely a machine to consider. What would you say your average "charge time" is?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Been considering picking up one from here... http://www.usabatterychargers.com/

Those things look old school, but I bet they are solid! Their jumper cables look really nice for the price.

 

[IOWNJUNK]

Speed charge ship-n-shore, had one for about 10 years with no issues. Digital battery % readout and shuts itself off when done.

 

[chevy302dz]

Brilliant... Solid choices... made in the USA... 5 year warranty.... Perfect!!! Going to be hard to beat that. Thank you!

Anyone order from the above mentioned website before? Seems legit, but one can never be too sure.

I bought a Model CH110 from them a few years back no problems with the purchase or the charger after sale support is good too.

 

[gobeer net]

Thank you gobeer net. It is definitely a machine to consider. What would you say your average "charge time" is?

Charge time varies heavily depending on the battery size and level of discharge/condition. If your in a hurry, this may not be the best fit. Although, after working in a service department which sold and warrantied ACDelco batteries, I think it takes time to properly charge a battery. ACDelco required us to have a specific charger which took many hours to charge/condition/test a battery before we could warranty it. After seeing it charge many batteries for up to 8 hours I accepted that it took time to properly charge a battery.

Back to the Schumacher. A discharged 1/2 ton truck battery will take 3-6 hours. Motorcycle batteries usually take .5-2 hours. Again it varies heavily and a severely discharged battery may charge overnight. I watch the voltage gauge on the charger and it will work its way up/down. This is more noticable on a severly discharged battery. From something I read a long time ago, it keeps repeating this cycle until current flow drops below a certain level. At this point the battery is either charged or bad.


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[bangzoom]

Has anyone here ever used Associated Equipment's ATEC 12v Battery Chargers (portable) - not built in the USA by Associated Equipment) but imported from China?