School me on Battery Chargers

[NadieLite]

I am looking for a quality automotive battey charger that has engine start. Not really wanting a automatic charger or wheeled charger either. I am leaning towards the Associated 200/40/10amp charger 6015a

Is 200 amps good for starting?
Can Optima's handle that amperage?
Can a standard household outlet power that?
Would a lower starting amp be better?
Is 10 amps low enough for everything else including lawn batteries?


Should I save my money and get a Schumacher since both are made offshore?
I found new Blue Point charger's made by Associated on eBay for $119 shipped.

 

[Stick]

I am looking for a quality automotive battey charger that has engine start. Not really wanting a automatic charger or wheeled charger either. I am leaning towards the Associated 200/40/10amp charger 6015a

Is 200 amps good for starting?
Can Optima's handle that amperage?
Can a standard household outlet power that?
Would a lower starting amp be better?
Is 10 amps low enough for everything else including lawn batteries?

200A is generally enough for a "boost" start, if the battery is not completely dead.

I've found the problem with battery chargers and Optima batteries is not the current going into them, but rather the voltage. They don't tolerate more than 15V or so very well, and plenty of cheaper battery chargers go over that during normal charging. Optima says that the batteries are good up to 15.6V as long as they stay under 125°F, but again, not many cheap chargers monitor battery temperature.

A standard 15A outlet should power the chargers you linked just fine.

Lower starting amps wouldn't get you much, other than the fact that you would have to charge the battery before the "boost" starting.

As far as if 10A charging is low enough, IMO no it isn't. I like to use a 2-6A charge for smaller batteries, because there is less of a chance of damaging them from overheating.

If you are willing to forgo the boost start, Napa has a pretty good charger p/n#85-510 for under $100 or so. It's limited to 2-6-10A, but it has settings for lead-acid, AGM (optima), and gel (odyssey). We've got three or four of them around our shop at work, and they see far more use than the larger chargers we've got (including a Midtronics GR-1). They also make a slightly larger version p/n#85-525 that has 2-12-25A settings for a little more money.