Hot Rods looking for a new Battery Charger

I'm in the market for a new battery charger. I liked the Schumacher that I'm replacing, and since I'm 55 and this is only the second time I've ever had to buy one, that is the brand I'm leaning towards. I've got both 6V and 12V vehicles, so I like to get one that will charge both. I don't really want one that rolls around, I like being able to put in that cabinets of the car trailer. There are more options now than in the early 80s!

What are you guys using?

 

I usually use the little Schumacher SC1360 (actually an older version of it). But sometimes the battery is really dead, and the automatic charger just won't charge it, so I bust out an old charger to get it going. I have a few from the 1970s/80s.

 

Do you need a charger for trickle charging
batteries on older vehicles you drive
occasionally or one to use when a good
battery runs down ?

I just got this off Amazon last week.
With the promo code and the 40%
discount it was less than $50 with
free shipping thru Amazon Prime.

It has enough power to jump start
my diesel dually daily tow vehicle
that has dual group 65 batteries
plus it has usb ports to charge your
phone or computer or ?

@ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZXSWTJQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20



Jim

 

I'd like to know also.

In the shop I had one battery charger last about 30 years. A big roll around commercial type 6-12 volt with boost.
Used to be able to rebuild the rectifier bridge, I believe they called it, with a kit when it began to charge poorly.

Finally it gave up.

I have bought at least 3 roll arounds, since then and they all don't last.
My current one is starting to go also.

Now days, can't rebuild the cheaply made pieces of junk available today!

I am 66 years old and want one that will last until I retire, which isn't any time soon.

Would like to find another commercial type that will do 6-12 volt and AGM type batteries that will outlast me.

Dead batteries are almost a daily occurrence around here.
Either my shop is built over an electrical magnetic field or maybe an old Indian Burial Ground, not sure which!
Batteries go dead and water pumps start leaking from the weep hole for no apparent reason all the time around here!

Any recommendations? I am listening.

 

When Schumacher said he was closing down his Chicago plant and moving production to China because his workers were overpaid I was done with him. Buy any Chinese charger but Schumacher.

 

Yard sales
Estate sales

 

I have a question: do the old garage battery chargers work on the new agm batteries? I’ve got one that is not old, it’s just under 35 years old… heavy sucker, big ass cables, solid copper terminal clamps that look like they came from an arc welder. Sold way back then by Willard or something…

 

In the last couple years I've upgraded to NOCO smart chargers and I love them. I don't use my "old reliable" charger at all anymore. They can maintain a battery or charge it, and will do 6 or 12V and the various battery types. They come in various amp ratings, for my purposes I went with 2 amp, the first one was so good I bought a second.

You can also force them to charge a battery if it's completely dead, and they'll repair if necessary.

I also have a NOCO boost pack and got one for my wife, way better than using booster cables and they work very well.

NOCO isn't the cheapest but they've been great for me.

 

Yes...and...no. Some older chargers can allow the charging voltage to exceed fifteen volts and cause the AGM type batteries to vent hydrogen gas through their pressure valves. When that happens, it shortens the life of the battery and it also looses some of it's ampacity...not good. You can use an older type charger, just have to monitor the voltage while it's charging the battery and make sure it doesn't exceed fifteen volts.

 

So, if the gauge is not correct on the charger, use a dvm?

 

I did buy a cheap auto zone one. Has wheels. Does its job.
But no 6 volt.
I had an old one I nursed until I couldn’t.
Best bet in my opinion is one from a yard sale.
Most of the new ones need to see voltage first. So no starter testing
Dang safety crap.

 

I fip the breaker off when I close up the shop.

A new cord is an EZ deal

 

I'm also in the market for a battery charger. My intended use is between rounds with my dragster. The dragster has an alternator to keep voltage up during a run but I run the electric water pump and electric fan to cool the engine between rounds and need to maintain battery voltage to start the car when we're called for the next round. The water pump and fan each require about 6Amp @ 12 DC volts. My portable generator is only 900W rated, so what is the highest Amp charger that it would power? That's only 7.5 Amp @ 120 V available for charger input. My current charger is an old 6/12 V with 6 Amp 12 Volt rating and it seems to be getting weak.

If I'm hijacking this thread I apologize and understand why my question might be deleted.

Thanks

Lynn

 

We use Associated brand battery chargers at work and we are hard on them and they hold up. Associated is also a St. Louis company and service is available less than 5 miles from our shop at their facility. At home, I have a 30 year old Craftsman roll around that works very good.

 

I still have an old Schumacher in my shop, hopefully it will last as long as I may need one. I went through a lot of NOCO chargers when I was still working as an A&P and developed a distinct dislike for them. They either won't charge the battery, don't work out of the box or fail within a couple of months. Like a lot of technology they think they're a lot smarter than they really are...

 

I've been using AGM and Optimum batteries in some of my builds, and the Optimum battery charger is great, even on non-AGM batteries. Charged a few batteries that my old roll around charger wouldn't do.

 

What happened to your existing Schumacher? Did it quit for some reason, or are you just looking for something newer? Those old things were pretty bulletproof and don't usually wear out.

 

Like Anthony and Moriarty I do the garage sale route.
From 50 yr old models to nearly new they can be bought for $5 or less.
The tall roller models that are 6/12 V with boost can be found for under $20.
Most have had limited use and sellers who just want them gone.

 

Yes. The meters on most chargers are not able to discern actual voltage accurately. They're usually more relative reading.
Not much difference between a safe 14.7 volt limit and compromising 15.

 

Huh, the 3 NOCO's I've using now for 8 years have worked flawlessly.

 

So will leaky old cars , but they're traditional!

 

I have a Schumacher that's maybe 15 years old, has a digital readout and a plastic body, not sure what model it is though. It's easily the best charger I've ever had. Small and easy to move, 6 and 12 volts with separate settings for AGM and gel cell, has a booster/jump start feature. Plus the digital readout will tell you if the battery has a dead cell, and it'll also tell you if the alternator is working when the car is running, like the old Sun VAT40 could do. Have diagnosed many issues with it and charged many batteries. Also has a separate setting for smaller batteries like a lawnmower or motorcycle.

I love it, it does a lot more than my old tin buzzbox ever did. My only complaint is that it defaults to the AGM setting so you always have to click all the settings over before it starts charging. But it's a great tool.

 

I have a Schumacher that is 25 years old. It seams like it does not work correctly at times. I also have a battery tender that is 15 years old. The battery tender is what I use. It is slow to charge but I'm ok with that. I've rear that slow charging is better for the battery.

 

Meter seams to never work correctly on my Schumacher.

 

I have an old Schumacher charger that I almost ran over on my way home from work one morning over 30 years ago. I think it fell out of some farmers pickup. It was dented up pretty bad, but I took the metal cover off and semi-straightened it, put if back on. It worked great every time that I have needed it since I found it.

 

Most of my life I lusted one of the big super duper roll around chargers, until I had one.
Another big thing in the way, getting air hoses and extension cords caught in it while sitting there, and when its time to roll it to the job, it should be self propelled to crawl over the crap on the floor.

Now, I like the 6 or 10 amp garage sale things, have several. Also got a new 2 amp trickle / tender thing for bikes etc. Thats all I need

 

Left my key on and didn’t have enough
battery juice to turn the starter this morning.
Lucky for me I had bought this and charged
it with the USB 12VDC cord from my cigar
lighter in my truck. I have dual group 65
batteries in my diesel dually, hooked it
up to the passenger side battery which
is closest to the starter, it took less than a
minute to charge the battery and my truck
started immediately.



Jim

 

Absolutely, this has worked flawlessly for years. I could put skateboard wheels on the milk crate and have a roll-around...