# Looking for Good Car Battery charger.



## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

I've had this one for about 8 yrs, very happy with it.









Amazon.com: Schumacher SC1359 Fully Automatic Battery Charger, Maintainer, and Auto Desulfator with Battery Detection - 15 Amp/3 Amp, 6V/12V - For Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Marine, RVs : Automotive


Buy Schumacher SC1359 Fully Automatic Battery Charger, Maintainer, and Auto Desulfator with Battery Detection - 15 Amp/3 Amp, 6V/12V - For Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Marine, RVs: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



www.amazon.com


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

I have had those big chargers... a Craftsman that I loved and a Schumacher that was just OK. They both died long ago. These days I am a fan of the Noco line. They make a bunch of smart chargers in all sizes and with various features. The other good thing about them is that they have built in selectable support for normal and AGM batteries and many of them also have built in smart maintainer function. As for the jump start piece, I am not sure but they may make some that have that feature but what I do is to just have one of their lithium ion jumpstart batteries. That can go with on road trips or be used at home in the garage. These jump starters will start anything, multiple times, on one charge. And they hold their charge damn near forever.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

> because I live in the desert when summer temps go up to over 115°F and it would automatically adjust to protect the battery from overheating.


Vehicle charging voltages are 15.5v in winter & 13.5v in summer, regulated by the thermal sensor in the voltage regulator.
I can't comment on underhood temps while a vehicle is on the road.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Some modern cars go way beyond that with the ECM managing voltage and charging. Like my 2016 Vette... when you start up and drive off it will charge at close to 15V to replenish the battery and then the voltage will ramp down to 13.5V or so. This can take longer or shorter time depending on how long the car has been sitting and the state of the battery. If it has been on a maintainer the ramp down happens quick.



quatsch said:


> Vehicle charging voltages are 15.5v in winter & 13.5v in summer, regulated by the thermal sensor in the voltage regulator.
> I can't comment on underhood temps while a vehicle is on the road.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Bosch has/had a book on vehicle elec. systems.

They had this complex graph which showed the tradeoff of charging voltage vs. driving habits vs. battery life vs. who knows what else?

IIRC & BTW, they allowed a max voltage drop across wiring of 0.1v but 1/4v for the battery cables.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

How old is this book? Post a link if you can find it.



quatsch said:


> Bosch has/had a book on vehicle elec. systems.
> 
> They had this complex graph which showed the tradeoff of charging voltage vs. driving habits vs. battery life vs. who knows what else?
> 
> IIRC & BTW, they allowed a max voltage drop across wiring of 0.1v but 1/4v for the battery cables.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Bosch Automotive Electrics and Automotive Electronics: Systems and Components, Networking and Hybrid Drive (Bosch Professional Automotive Information) 5th ed. 2014 Edition

but the version I read was from B4 2003.

You are more curious than almost anyone on this forum.


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## JohnnyB60 (Feb 9, 2013)

quatsch said:


> Vehicle charging voltages are 15.5v in winter & 13.5v in summer, regulated by the thermal sensor in the voltage regulator.
> I can't comment on underhood temps while a vehicle is on the road.


I would never be using the charger while running, but I don’t drive my truck everyday and for the most part only once a month. I’ve gone through battery chargers in the past 10 years due to the heat.

Right now, I’m using a small maintainer charger that I’ve had for years and it does charge but takes over night. It doesn’t have all the advanced technology to protect it and I worry about my truck catching fire. It’s kind of a pain to keep connected all the time because the sun and heat here destroys the extension cords plus I have critters that chew on the cords at night.

I also have an extra battery that I use for a lift gate and to jump start the truck when it dies and I use the maintainer charger to keep the spare battery charged, but it gets unplugged a lot.

I bought a couple of different solar chargers for the truck but it’s not reliable because I believe the Truck electronics uses more than its share of charging voltage. A friend gave me a battery disconnect switch, but I just can’t find a good accessible place to mount it


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

This is the charger/maintainer I use for the Vette. In addition to low amp maintenance it will also charge at up tp 5 amps when needed. Hangs on the wall out of the way. Get some extra cables and adapters to use for other vehicles and batteries other than the vehicle you are maintaining on a frequent basis.

Amazon.com: NOCO GENIUS5, 5-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, and Battery Desulfator with Temperature Compensation : Automotive


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

Your making a mistake by getting a "do all" battery charger. 
I have a small solar system and have learned TONS since moving from lead acid to LI batteries.
Each construction group has its optimal charging characteristics. 
Choose a charger for what you need. Not way you may need in the future.


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## JohnnyB60 (Feb 9, 2013)

raylo32 said:


> This is the charger/maintainer I use for the Vette. In addition to low amp maintenance it will also charge at up tp 5 amps when needed. Hangs on the wall out of the way. Get some extra cables and adapters to use for other vehicles and batteries other than the vehicle you are maintaining on a frequent basis.
> 
> Amazon.com: NOCO GENIUS5, 5-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, and Battery Desulfator with Temperature Compensation : Automotive


Thanks! This is similar to what I was going to buy, but has the correct input voltage. I'm not sure about the 5 Amp. How long does this take to charge a dead battery?


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Charge time is roughly the amp hours you want to charge divided by charger amps. Roughly. The thing is you really never really need to charge a battery that is completely dead.... and if a starting battery IS _completely_ dead it it most like toast and needs to be replaced due to sulfation and cell damage. There may be some exceptions for fairly new batteries but they are just that, exceptions.



JohnnyB60 said:


> Thanks! This is similar to what I was going to buy, but has the correct input voltage. I'm not sure about the 5 Amp. How long does this take to charge a dead battery?


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

raylo32 
gave good information. I will add if you battery is ~11 volts you can probably throw it away.

I have tried draining and filling with new fluid then shoving 60 amps into them. Even 10 amps for 48 hours. My experiments always failed.


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## JohnnyB60 (Feb 9, 2013)

SW Dweller said:


> raylo32
> gave good information. I will add if you battery is ~11 volts you can probably throw it away.
> 
> I have tried draining and filling with new fluid then shoving 60 amps into them. Even 10 amps for 48 hours. My experiments always failed.


My battery has died at least 10 times in the last 5 years due to non-use but it always charges back up. Although i always carry jumper cables and spare battery just in case.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

It wasn't completely dead. Just because it doesn't start doesn't=completely dead. There is a voltage per cell that if you go below for any duration the battery is toast. Yours didn't get that low or for long, hence not completely dead. As it gets older you will get away with less and less neglect.



JohnnyB60 said:


> My battery has died at least 10 times in the last 5 years due to non-use but it always charges back up. Although i always carry jumper cables and spare battery just in case.


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## JohnnyB60 (Feb 9, 2013)

raylo32 said:


> It wasn't completely dead. Just because it doesn't start doesn't=completely dead. There is a voltage per cell that if you go below for any duration the battery is toast. Yours didn't get that low or for long, hence not completely dead. As it gets older you will get away with less and less neglect.


I used to buy a Sears DieHard back in the 70s that would easily last 10 years, but now your lucky to get 5 years. We used to automatically replace batteries every 4 years at my old employer even if it tested good.

I know I got my moneys worth with this battery so I don't really care if it dies completely, I'm just going to get what I can out of it. That's one reason why I want a good charger so my next battery will last.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

May i ask if anyone knows of a durable battery maintainer that will charge the 1.5-2 amps if a battery falls off 1 volt and turn off when the battery is fully charged and can it be used to slowly charge a fully dead battery?


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