Battery Chargers - the portable type.

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Battery Chargers - the portable type.

Postby lrrowe » Sun Oct 16, 2016 10:19 pm

I thought my portable battery charger went bad, so I started to research to see what might be a good one to replace it with.
I found a lot of models, especially ones built by Schumacher, which seemed to offer the largest offer of choices under $100.

But the many reviews I could find were not complimentary of their quality or customer service....sort of a sad report on the product status not so indifferent then what we heard about a lot of the crappy goods offered to we buyers these days.

So not wanting to spend a lot of money today and to wait until I can find that best value in battery chargers, I used a HF coupon to get a 10/2/50 amp automatic unit today for $29. I hope it last at least a year until I can find good quality to replace it with.

Since I believe they do not build them like in the old days, I am asking what others can say about $100 or less portable battery chargers offered for sale today. What would be a very good one to watch for good sale prices over the next year?
Bob

First Post on Purchase of Trailer: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=60722
Hot water infloor and radiator heating project:[url]http://www.tnttt.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=54&t=62327[/

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Re: Battery Chargers - the portable type.

Postby yrock87 » Sun Oct 16, 2016 11:35 pm

lrrowe wrote:I thought my portable battery charger went bad, so I started to research to see what might be a good one to replace it with.
I found a lot of models, especially ones built by Schumacher, which seemed to offer the largest offer of choices under $100.

But the many reviews I could find were not complimentary of their quality or customer service....sort of a sad report on the product status not so indifferent then what we heard about a lot of the crappy goods offered to we buyers these days.

So not wanting to spend a lot of money today and to wait until I can find that best value in battery chargers, I used a HF coupon to get a 10/2/50 amp automatic unit today for $29. I hope it last at least a year until I can find good quality to replace it with.

Since I believe they do not build them like in the old days, I am asking what others can say about $100 or less portable battery chargers offered for sale today. What would be a very good one to watch for good sale prices over the next year?


Depends on what you need it for. I have two. A 3 year old sheumacher 15 2 125 (I think) that seemed to be built okay. I has the 'old school" heft and feel to it. I used to use it for everything but now I use it for bulk charging and as a jump start assist Not cheap plastic.. I also just got a noco genius 4 amp. And I like it. It is a much "smarter" charger. It has programs for led acid, agm, 6 volt and 'small' batteries for lawnmowers and the like. The reason I bought it was because it also has a recondition setting that desufflates.

The sheumacher was $80ish and the noco was $50
The SJ Cruiser, my 5x10 Benroy build http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=64944
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Re: Battery Chargers - the portable type.

Postby noseoil » Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:03 am

Bob, not an answer to your question exactly, but a small solar panel & a charge controller would work for about $100. The Morning Star 10 MPPT charging module goes for under $50 & that leaves $50 for a solar panel (20-30 watts). Just saying, you can have your cake & eat it too. This system won't bring a battery back from a low charge state very quickly, but for keeping it fully charged & running under light loads it would fit the bill & not cost too much.

If you went to the "full" amount on charging (100 watts for a single group 27 battery) you could have a system like we use which will last "forever" & cost about $200. We never run out of juice when camping....
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=60248
The time you spend planning is more important than the time you spend building.........

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Re: Battery Chargers - the portable type.

Postby Tomterrific » Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:14 am

I also have a NOCO Genuis charger. It is a less featured older model but works great. I have over charged batteries in the past with a bulk charger but bulk chargers still have a place in the shop, just not for charging good batteries.

The NOCO is small and light weight compared to my larger bulk chargers.

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Re: Battery Chargers - the portable type.

Postby lrrowe » Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:27 pm

Thanks for the replies. I am accumulating the info for my next buy. I got one of my two boat trolling motor batteries charged ok during the past few days while disconnected from the boats marine chargers and using my new cheap HF unit. And surprisingly to me, the other charger I have which I thought was defective since it only showed 9volts while not connected to a battery, seemed to bring the second battery up to 12.8 volts.

So I still have enough time to continue to research this and purchase a new one some day that does it all for under a $100; one which has good ratings. Noiseoil, I will also take the time to digest your solution.
Bob

First Post on Purchase of Trailer: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=60722
Hot water infloor and radiator heating project:[url]http://www.tnttt.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=54&t=62327[/

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