Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Battery charger

From: "Matt" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 20:33:05 GMT

I have both of these and they work well:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326706_200326706
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200332201_200332201  Matt

---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Mark Miller" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Subject: [Shop-talk] Battery charger
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 12:01:28 -0800

Hi.  I am in the market for a pretty good, great in not in the budget, 12V
battery charger. $50-100 or so.  Run of the mill 10A, maybe a lower range as
well.  I am tired of the HF ones that always seem to fail right when I have
a battery that needs it.
What say ye, o list of near infinite wisdom?

Thanks!

Mark Miller
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive

---

From: "Karl Vacek" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 16:49:03 -0600

Second that on both sizes of BatteryMinder - I actually have 6 of the
smaller model and one of the large.  Every one of them is in use all winter,
and most of them are in use all summer too.  The way they extend battery
life by desulphation has paid for them.  But really the small ones are
battery maintainers and won't help you start your car today.  Further, if
you have a completely dead battery be aware that computer chargers like
these require a minimum threshold voltage in the battery, and sill not begin
to work if the battery is lower than that.

Therefore, a "plain old" charger can be handy too.  They do not check the
battery voltage or desulphate, but just create DC power.  Schumacher is an
old, well-respected brand.  I'd want at least a 25-amp mode if not a 75-amp
or more "Start" mode.  Even a "Start" mode won't actually start a car
directly (starters draw more than that), but it will get enough charge into
a decent battery within a few minutes to let you start the car.

I suggest that you avoid the "Vector" chargers (now owned by Black &
Decker).  They look pretty but they tend to break quickly - a large
percentage of owner reviews report failures.  Mine died Friday after a few
years of infrequent use, and I'm considering just throwing it out rather
than bothering to fix it.

Karl

-----Original Message-----
From: Matt
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Battery charger

---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Mark Miller" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Subject: [Shop-talk] Battery charger
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 12:01:28 -0800

Thanks!

Mark Miller

[email-masked]

[email-masked]
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]

---

From: "Randall" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 17:04:10 -0800

> I know the hard-core battery types laugh at the idea that what these 
> chargers do is really 'desulfating' but it does seem to work, 

FWIW, I just recovered 2 AGM batteries and a 12v gel pack that were badly sulfated, using a very simple home-brew "desulfator".  I
honestly did not think it would work, but I'm 3 for 3 and working on the 4th as I type.

The "desulfator" is just a single diode (half wave rectifier) and an incandescent light bulb, in series.  The diode supplies
essentially 16ms pulses, while the bulb limits the current.

All of the batteries initially went up to around 60 volts (indicating very high internal resistance and severe sulfation), then
after a few days dropped to well below 12v.  After 3-4 days, I switched to an ordinary unregulated charger for about 10 hours.

Haven't done a real load test yet, but after loading one at about 5 amps for about an hour, the voltage was still around 12.8.

Randall

[email-masked]

---

From: Dave C <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 17:15:34 -0800

What size light bulb and diode did you use?  I have a couple of 
batteries that might work on.

On 11/24/2013 5:04 PM, Randall wrote:
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
> Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]

[email-masked]

---

From: "Randall" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 21:56:34 -0800

> batteries that might work on.

The diode was a 1N4007, rated 1 amp, 1000 volts.  Probably overkill, just what I had handy.  The bulb is a 40 watt (110 volt), again
just what I happened to have handy.  I think the original article called for a 100 watt bulb.

Randall

[email-masked]