What's the safest and best battery charger?

[29er]

I've got a variety of toys including my 6-volt coupe; 12-volt modern cars; and a deep-cycle 12-volt trailer battery.

What do you guys recommend for a safe and efficient all-around battery charger?

Thanks!

Mike in Oregon

[ModelAMike1930]

Deltran Battery Tender Junior is what I use on both of mine. One is a six volt the other is 12 volt.

[Arlyn Bieber]

Buy an Optima battery and you don't need one.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Arlyn Bieber

Buy an Optima battery and you don't need one.

So true....

On a safe battery charger, there is no piece of electrical gear that is 100% safe.
A battery charger should never be left alone in charge mode and sitting near anything that can catch fire.
It's done all the time but it ain't safe.

[RandyinUtah]

Very good information that Pete just posted you cant trust any charger 100%. Just found out about a friend in Arizona that lost his shop and two cars from fire. The cause was a charger working on a battery for a hand drill that was on to long.

[updraught]

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Originally Posted by RandyinUtah

Very good information that Pete just posted you cant trust any charger 100%. Just found out about a friend in Arizona that lost his shop and two cars from fire. The cause was a charger working on a battery for a hand drill that was on to long.

I'd have a guess that it was a lithium battery. They don't like overcharging and can become unstable.

CTEK, I think is considered to be the best charger in our neck of the woods.

[JohnLaVoy]

We've had good luck with the CTEK tenders and they are available in both 6 & 12 volt.

[mshmodela]

I actually have two, a 6V, 2 AMP changer and a 6V, 6AMP. Remember the slower the better and make sure you pull the caps.

12V/6V @ 2 AMP:

http://www.sears.com/diehard-battery...&mktRedirect=y

12V 2/6 AMP, 6 V @ 6AMP.

http://www.harborfreight.com/26-amp-...ger-60431.html

And yes both are cheap but seems to do the job --clearly home/hobbyist grade, not commercial grade units.

[dave in australia]

I don't use a battery charger, but use a 0-60 amp, variable voltage laboratory power supply. I have find that it gives a deeper more complete charge. I've never had as good as results with battery chargers, including the ctek brand ones.

[Tom Endy]

Sears sell the charge in the photo called a DieHard charger for about $25. It can charge a 6V battery @ 4 amps, or a 12V battery @2 amps by moving a slider switch. One of the safety features is that it will not turn on unless it sees a battery. While charging, if a clip lead falls off it shuts off.

Tom Endy

[Pete]

Originally Posted by dave in australia

I don't use a battery charger, but use a 0-60 amp, variable voltage laboratory power supply. I have find that it gives a deeper more complete charge. I've never had as good as results with battery chargers, including the ctek brand ones.

That's because the lab power supply is filtered so the AC ripple is probably below .1 percent.
Battery chargers are not filtered and can have as much as 20 percent ripple.

[ian Simpson]

J have a couple of different chargers, but the safest and most efficient is the cheapest that puts out the least charging amps. I like to charge my batteries, 6 or 12 volt at around 2 amps. Be patient and you will save a lot of time and money.

If the battery is in a vehicle, I only charge it sufficiently to start the vehicle, and then start it up and let nature take its course.

[29er]

Thanks all!

Mike

[Richard Redmond]

The CTEK UC 800 swedish-made charger is an excellent piece of kit.

[Tom Wesenberg]

My favorites are my Sears 4 and 6 amp 6/12 volt chargers, which are probably from the 60's and 70's. They cost under $10 used and have worked great for many years.

I just bought a 5 amp Sears 6/12 at Iola for a few dollars. It works great also.

I also bought a dwell/tach at Iola for a few dollars, but it doesn't work so great.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi Mike,

If you go to Amazon.com, you can find this little "Red" one:

Schumacher SP-1 2/4-Amp 6/12-Volt Automatic Battery Charger/Extender

Schumacher's SP1 Battery Extender is a universal 2/4-ampere automatic charger for 6- and 12-volt batteries. This charger uses microprocessor-controlled technology with multi-stage charging for added precision, safety and battery life. Auto-Voltage Detection will automatically select the battery voltage. The SP1 charges your batteries up to 3 times faster than competing chargers.

FWIW: My son & I have gone through several failed chargers made by Battery Tender but found this one can take a licking and keep on ticking.

Like anything else in electronics, battery chargers/extenders have improved a lot in function and safety.

Remember the graveyard is full of construction workers who owned all metal hand drills and circular saws .... then someone thought of making these tools with non-electrical-conducting plastic handles and grips ..... I threw away all of my all metal electric hand tools ..... and all of my old non-safe battery chargers ...... if you have an enemy ... just give him your 1960's battery charger or your all metal electric power tool.

[29er]

Thanks gentlemen! All are informative and useful comments.

Charging along in Orygun,
Mike