battery charger

[nancyk]

I am currently using a 20 year old,at least, Centech battery charger. I only use it on 2 amp for the tractor, zero-turn(monthly or so to top off), and vehicles as needed. I dropped it when hooking up to the tractor and the indicator needle fell off but it still charges fine, the light going from red to green when battery is fully charged. A vehicle battery went dead the other day(door left ajar) and it has been hooked to the charger for three days, though it is only plugged in during the day so I can keep an eye on it. Light on charger has not changed to green, tho the interior light of the vehicle does come on so I believe it is receiving the charge. I am thinking of getting a newer model charger but just read that the newer models will not charge a fully empty battery as it may not detect the battery when connected. Thoughts? I know this forum likes battery tenders/minders but as I like to keep an eye on any charging and do not leave anything connected if I am not nearby, I have not gotten one. A tender will not charge a dead vehicle battery, will it?

 

[IXLR8]

You are correct, most tenders will not charge a dead battery. Some will and they are not cheap. I have used this one to bring back a dead battery. Just put it in supply mode until battery is charged enough for the 'tender' to finish the charge.

Ctek supply/charger

 

[scootr]

I have 2 of these little lightweight Ctek chargers. They are great. The only feature missing is a visible voltmeter so I added one (little RC gadget) on top of one with a little wire and a glue gun. They have been working on cars, tractors, motorcycles, and stand alone batteries...for years. Highly recommend you get one. When it is done charging it goes into storage or maintenance mode. So you can leave it on that classic car or whatever.

Can somebody tell me why on earth this post is under review!?

 

[mrmikey]

Can somebody tell me why on earth this post is under review!?

LOL, same problem I had a while back the word g-u-n is not allowed. I was describing a device for dispensing pressurized grease and used the bad word.

 

[John_Mc]

The Noco Genius series chargers will detect and attempt to charge a dead battery that is as low as 1 volt. If the battery is lower than 1 volt, you can manually turn on "force mode" and charge batteries all the way down to zero volts. They can be left connected to batteries long term (and without the need to "check on them").

NOCO - Genius

Discover the world of charging. Find battery chargers for cars, motorcycles, trucks and more. From trickle chargers to onboard marine battery chargers.

no.co

In my opinion, the top two brands of smart charger/maintainers on the market today are Noco and BatteryMINDer. Both have a desulfation feature and are temperature compensated (adjust charging voltages to optimum level based on ambient temperature), both can safely be left connected continously. I like how the desulfation feature on the BatteryMINDer works a bit better, but the Noco units offer "Force Mode" (to start a completely flat battery), and the Noco Genius 2 and larger have IP65 rating for water resistance.

 

[WranglerX]

I have a million year old 6 amp (6 volt/12 volt) charger well maybe at least 40 years young... Broke amp gauge when it was dropped a while back.... Added cheap chinese voltage/amperage digital meter for about $6 and world is good again (sourced ebray) .....

 

[dj1701]

After having the NOCO brand I was hooked. They put more effort into how well they package them than some companies put into their product.

 

[nancyk]

I believe I have found why my minivan is taking so long to re-charge. The battery was installed 2018 and it was a 7 year Toyota battery. It was totally dead, from a door slightly open. Time for a new battery, hope I can get to the dealer. In the past the Centech charger has worked fine to charge the totally dead battery, and keep others topped off. I just thought I may get a new charger. Whichever I may get must be uncomplicated, not a state-of-the-art. Explain desulfation and do I need to be concerned with that. All vehicles are in a garage, the zero-turn and tractor are in a covered/sided building and hopefully not being used when very cold.