Battery Charger Question

[nluchau]

What is a good all around charger I can get for my boat battery? I would like to stick around 50 bucks. Are their any better ones for the money? I've been looking at the Schumacher lineup but not sure if they are any good.

Thanks

[Mike89]

that would be a good choise, but i use the smallest charge possible. 1 or 2 amps only. I also run them down and then recharge them. I use a battery indicator and I have them last a very long time. Mike

[Joe's Kid]

I don't know what you're looking for, exactly, but I've had one called "Battery Tender" for about 5 years and it's been real good to me. Check 'em out.

[Surface Tension]

I've been using a Schumacher for 20 years and couldn't ask for more from it. It has the switch for conventional batteries, deep cycle and manual. One of my deep cycle batteries is over 10 years old and its still as good as the day I bought it.

What ever you decide to buy make sure its designed for deep cycle batteries.

[Fishin4Life]

I love my Schumacher, ran me about 70 bucks at napa or something. It works great though. Automatically shuts down at full charge. Won't overheat, basically a great no worries charging system. Would never own another brand.

[BobT]

I too use a Schumacher. Surface Tension is correct. Not all chargers work the same and not all batteries should be charged the same. Make sure the charger matches your battery's recommended charge rate if you want your batteries to last. There are different recommended charge procedures even among similar battery types such as deep cycle. Some recommend fast recharge while others recommend slow. Some recommend discharging deep cycles before recharging while others, like mine, recommend recharging as soon as possible. It varies.

Bob

[BigWadeS]

I have a craftsman and it is great, very reliable and haven't had any problems with it. It also has multiple settings for different type of batteries and situations.

[harvey lee]

I also would vote for Schumacher. My son has one for the race car from Cornwall tools and it also seems very nice,but a few more dollars.

[nluchau]

Thanks for the replies. I see Schumacher has the "speed charge" type that is digital. Is this one good? its about 40 bucks.

Thanks

[Fishin4Life]

This is the one I have...

great multi-purpose charger. Has 2 amp and 15 amp charge rates, plus a 100 amp jump start (that isn't worth a dump) but it does charge well. Has a setting specifically for deep cycle batteries, and also a setting for regular. IMO its worth the extra $$

[azzclwn]

If you can swing an extra 30-40 bucks, get yourself an onboard charger, I put one in this year, love the covenience and well worth it in my opinion.

If you stick with a portable, I agree with the rest, I've had a Schumaker for 10+ years and it has worked flawlessly.

[LMITOUT]

I picked up a Penske charger at K-Mart for a reasonable price a few years ago. It's been charging my 12V trolling motor battery without fail since then.

Next boat I get will have an on-board charging system to make it easy and quick.

[Mudcutter]

I have buddies that work for the FAA in Environmental support, back-up power, lighting etc at airports. They claim that anything over 6AMp when charging deep cycle batteries warps the plates in lead-acid batt's over time. So those 50amp+ settings on chargers can't be good unless in a pinch. I leave mine on 2amp and forget about for 2-3 days. WOrks good, when you have the time. I suppose on a long trip that's not worthwhile (charging over night getting ready for the next day after a day on the water).

DOes make sense (6amp or less) thou when you think about what's going on.

My .02

Muddy

[iffwalleyes]

Yes when you are charging a deep cycle you should never use the higher settings on a charger. I never run my charger over 2 amps. Now a onboard charger is designed for deep cycles and have special system that monitors the charging. It will charge at say 10 amps to maybe 50% and then it starts to decrease the charge until it is fully charged.

[nluchau]

I picked up a Black and Decker Model. It looked to be a bit better than the schumachers for some reason. I will give it a go for a while.

(please read forum policy before posting again)

Thanks for the replies everyone