What battery charger do you use?

[Onecountry]

I'll have to look at the one from Harboe Freight to replace my Schumacher.

 

[grsthegreat]

Harbor freight…..really? I once bought a carbon pyle tester from them. I tried it out on a fairly new battery. It shorted out the battery and got so hot in 10 seconds i thought it was going to explode. Ill never buy anything with a cord, motor or battery from that junk shop

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I have generic no name auto parts store 2/10/25 amp charger that has a "deep cycle" mode also, which I use to charge my 100 AH battery I use for my remote fence charger on my little orchard ... After that says it's "charged" I then put it on one of my BatteryMINDERS which have a desulfate feature.

I also use the BatteryMINDERS as tricky chargers on both tractors, on my pickup when I bring it home from sitting at my trucking companies terminal for weeks, and also put my generator battery on it once a year

Have a NOCO jump pack too ...

 

[Oaktree]

Old school, transformer based (got to be 40 years old) .... Pushes battery up to 16.5 volts (long float charge) .... Use it on my AGMs and Lead Acids.... And for electrolysis rust removing.... New microprocessor chargers sometimes won't start a charge if battery is to low, and you have to jump start charger with good battery

Same here, it's one I built 50-odd years ago. It has 2 voltage levels (don't think either goes quite as high as 16 though), generally use the lower setting.

I've never liked keeping batteries on chargers for long periods, I'll rotate this between seasonal pieces of equipment (lawnmower, ATV, snowmobile), not leaving it on any one for more than a couple days at a time (and it's usually on a timer). It has an ammeter so I can keep track of charge. Tractor, truck and cars are used often enough to not need one...maybe in extreme cold, but that's it.

I have a B&D "smart" charger/maintainer, but I don't use it very often...generally only when I need a 2nd one.

 

[garry1p]

Viking 4 amp microprocessor charger from HF.​

I have 2 and I highly recommend them.
I also have an old Craftsman transformer charger I use to bring a dead battery back enough to use an automatic charger.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I'm still using a HF old charger that has to be at least 15 years old.... no "float", no fancy anything.... just a simple charger.

 

[4x4moses]

Im posing to say that agm feature will pay off in longevity. It shortens the life to charge them improperly although it not apparent. It really matters on a four wheeler or lawnmower battery. I like agms but they do require a little special treatment. Keep us posted on your new fancy charger

Got my new Schumacher SC1280 charger - did the trick. Considered the Viking form Harbor Freight, but it was the same price as the Schumacher (with which I have experience). Not disappointed!

 

[Oaktree]

Got my new Schumacher SC1280 charger - did the trick. Considered the Viking form Harbor Freight, but it was the same price as the Schumacher (with which I have experience). Not disappointed!

Hard to go wrong with a Schumacher.

 

[ding beep]

+1 on the Battery Tenders

 

[Eaglesfate]

got a battery tender and charger, sears brand.

 

[lman]

got a battery tender and charger, sears brand.

There's still a Sears?

 

[Eaglesfate]

There's still a Sears?

Got it lumped in at an estate sale.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

LOL... I have a sears brand from the 70's I believe. Still works fine.

 

[crreed67]

2 Battery Tenders and 4 connector cords

 

[Engineer42]

This one that was passed down to me from my father.

I have a snap on at the other shop that was made by Marquette

 

[Spanner]

I have a CTEK.

 

[flyerdan]

I've got an old square Schumacher from the 80's or 90's with double length battery clip wires from a donor charger that died. Also have a craigslist Century 6/12v with timer and 200 amp boost.

 

[Tony H]

Vevor and NOCO. They have an AGM mode. I have a schumacher SC1300 installed in one tractor but that has simple Lead Acid battery.
What's the big hype with AGM batteries? I get 8 years on Lead Acid batteries.

 

[Mike1955]

Tony you are doing better than most. The selling point for me is the fact that the cables don’t corrode as bad. I think I got some inferior batteries only lasting two years me keeping them hot on the trickle. And it may be what they are on short living them.