Need Battery Charger Recommendation

A

AlfinCT

Member
My old (30 years?) 6v-12v Sears battery chager has given up the ghost. I bought a 6v-12v charger from Harbor Freight. It failed on itsd first use.

I've got to get something better. What features in new chargers do you find useful? Can you recommend a good 6v-12v charger- brand and model please. Thanks.
 
when you say charger do you mean a little 2Amax trickle charger or a 2/10/50A booster starter charger?

I like to read reviews on farm store websites as they get used quite often on a farm and are honest opinions. I have a 2A diehard charger i got from K mart years ago and still works great, also have my grandfathers probably 30+ year old shumacher (not sure how to spell that) 2/10/50 charger and it is wonderful.

the more automatic this and that a charger has more likely its going to fail, IF it decides the battery is worth charging, some chargers wont even begin to charge if the battery is too low to begin with.

i prefer the old analogue meter with its 2 sliding switches (one for 6/12V other for amp setting) as its a tried and true design that hasnt changed in 60 years. i wish they did have a power switch though...
 
I mainly use a new one made by Schumacher (sp?) that I picked up at Oreillys Auto Parts. Not cheap, but seems to be quality made-there aren't many options these days-Harbor Freight has put evertyone else out of business.
There's a used tool store near me, and I've found a couple of old US-made 12v/6v chargers there- a "K-Mart" one, and a "Schauer". I've bought them for less than $10 each, and I use them out in the barn.
 
I have a few 5 and 6 amps chargers that I buy from swap meets for less than $10. They work great and have a real amp meter with numbers. Meters that just have "HIGH" and "LOW" don't tell you much. I have a Sears 5 amp and a Sears 6 amp and both work great.
 
jeep44 said:
I mainly use a new one made by Schumacher (sp?) that I picked up at Oreillys Auto Parts. Not cheap, but seems to be quality made-there aren't many options these days-Harbor Freight has put evertyone else out of business.
There's a used tool store near me, and I've found a couple of old US-made 12v/6v chargers there- a "K-Mart" one, and a "Schauer". I've bought them for less than $10 each, and I use them out in the barn.
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that was another thing i was going to suggest is go visit your pawn shops and its garage sale/rummage sale season starting up too, great places for the old but good chargers for cheap.

whats wrong with your old charger? most of the time i find the switches go bad and dont make contact anymore...(cheap fix)
 
Fix you old charger.

The transformer is probably fine, it might just need a capacitor or diode depending on what is wrong.
 
When I pick up an old battery charger, I always make sure to wire-wheel the electrode clamps, so they are shiny and clean before I use them.
 
TSC frequently have their large commercial charger on Sale. Great for 6 volts, 12 volts and boosting. Many chargers do not show 6 volts. usually on sale for about $150. Wayne
 
The battery tenders are handy but do not charge quickly. You have to have both if you want to leave the battery on the tender after you charge it. Optima offers one that does both but one it is 12 volt only and two it is a little pricey!
 
Probably a stupid question, but does it matter which way you connect the battery charger if it is a positive ground?

I use a Battery Tender, and can never get it to fully charge the battery.
 
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ya, red to positive black to negative

so if your car is pos ground, red to framerail black to neg post of battery

are you tryign to use the battery tender as a charger? its meant to keep the battery at top shape not really charge the battery. Or your battery is done for and it cant hold a charge
 
My apologies, I didn't mean to hijack this thread. I bought a new battery 2 years ago. I will occasionally hook up the battery, and it never will fully charge. I use the same "Tender" on my motorcycle battery, and within a few hours the light will turn from red to green. (fully charged) When I hook up the model A battery, I can leave it hooked up for days, and it won't turn green.
 
CWilson said:
My apologies, I didn't mean to hijack this thread. I bought a new battery 2 years ago. I will occasionally hook up the battery, and it never will fully charge. I use the same "Tender" on my motorcycle battery, and within a few hours the light will turn from red to green. (fully charged) When I hook up the model A battery, I can leave it hooked up for days, and it won't turn green.
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Is your car 6 0r 12?

Is the tender for 6v and 12v
 
I'm not trying to change the subject, but I will suggest that whatever charger you do use you remove the battery to charge it, just last summer my Dad was charging the battery in his 1935 Oldsmobile, the battery was below the floor under the drivers seat, and while charging on a 6 amp charge the battery exploded. The car caught fire due to the battery explosion, and by the time Dad saw it, called the fire department, and they got there and put it out it was a complete loss. So from now on, anything with a battery inside the cab, we Will be removing the battery to charge.
Anyway, like I said I'm not trying to change the subject, just a suggestion from a very heartbreaking lesson we learned. If anyone wants to know more I'll start a new thread about it.
 
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