Need help with Battery Chargers

[arfnsx]

I need help with getther the property battery charger/tender.

What are the differences with the two and what brand do you find work best?

Below is the one that I use but it doesnt seem to keep it charged. I think I just realized it is only 1 amp and my other one is 1.5 amps.

How many Amps and how many Volts should it be?

 

[SFNSXguy]

Here is an excellent one:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+maintenance/battery+care/battery+manager+iv.do

 

[nsxtasy]

I thought the number of amps determines only how fast it will charge the car, not whether or not it will charge the car.

What kind of battery do you have?

And will this charger be used only for the NSX, or for other cars also?

 

[arfnsx]

Interstate
750CCA

it will be used on the NSX and Jaguar XJS also 750-850CCA

thanks

 

[arfnsx]

What is the difference between?

Battery Tender

Battery Charger

Battery Trickle Charger

 

[Malibu Rapper]

I need help with getther the property battery charger/tender.

What are the differences with the two and what brand do you find work best?

Below is the one that I use but it doesnt seem to keep it charged. I think I just realized it is only 1 amp and my other one is 1.5 amps.

How many Amps and how many Volts should it be?

This is a slow charger. Not to be confused with a battery maintainer. This you would use to slow charge a battery but would probably want to remove it after it's done because it will end up overcharging the battery or cycling the recharge. A battery maintainer like the Battery Tender or there is a Schumacher maintainer that looks almost exactly like this charger would stay at a safe float voltage after properly charging the battery.

No reason to buy this particular unit IMO. I have both the Battery Tender and the Schumacher maintainers. I can tell you just recently I noticed a difference. My NSX battery went dead because I forgot to connect the Battery Tender during a long vacation. I had the $20 Schumacher unit from Walmart and let it try to charge the battery and after a day it came up with an orange error light. I unplugged it, reseated it, did everything I could and it would not do anything but error out. So I brought over my Battery Tender and it was able to charge the battery up to a certain point but the battery hardly had the capacity it used to. While the interior lights would turn on, the car could not crank. I ended up buying a new battery from Costco.

The Battery Tender Plus I have is a better unit. Better built and worked better in this case but it should at 3 times the retail price of the Schumacher. They are both similar designs. I've had good luck with the Schumacher keeping my cars charged. So for 20 bucks and it's easy to find in Walmart it will work in a pinch. If I was willing to wait and wanted to spend a bit more, I'd definitely spring for the Battery Tender Plus.

 

[arfnsx]

Thanks Malibu

Battery Tender Plus is the exact charger I was looking at. I met them a few years ago and told me the "plus" version is good because once it reaches 14.4volts, it will go into float mode and once it drops below 12.0 and 12.5 volts that the Battery Tender Plus battery charger will reset and begin the full charger cycle.

Now that I think about it, I bought the Schumacher initially for my motorcycle so that may be why it wasnt conditioning my batteries that way I expected.

I just got a new battery for the NSX and I do not want to allow this one to dies like my last one. I only had that one for 2 years and being in and out of the body and audio shop allowed it to die way too quickly!

 

[latzke]

The pictured schumacher product is not a maintainer/tender and I've never seen it recommended for such. The schumacher product below is a maintainer/tender (I bought based on recommendations from this site and it works great):

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM-1562A-Speed-Charge-Maintainer/dp/B0009IBJAS

 

[Malibu Rapper]

The pictured schumacher product is not a maintainer/tender and I've never seen it recommended for such. The schumacher product below is a maintainer/tender (I bought based on recommendations from this site and it works great):

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM-1562A-Speed-Charge-Maintainer/dp/B0009IBJAS

This is the one I mentioned was $20 at Walmart. The cables are a bit harder and cheaper feeling than the Battery Tender and the construction is also cheaper. They both employ the same idea though, bring the battery up to power and maintain at a safe float voltage. It's a great deal at $20, if you want something better it will cost you more...

 

[arfnsx]

I just ordered the Battery Tender Plus from a authorized dealer on ebay for $45 shipped.

After reading all of the boards and epinions, I felt it was the best tender for the money. The 10 warranty didn't hurt either.

Thanks for your help.

 

[nsxtasy]

This is a slow charger. Not to be confused with a battery maintainer.

The pictured schumacher product is not a maintainer/tender and I've never seen it recommended for such. The schumacher product below is a maintainer/tender (I bought based on recommendations from this site and it works great):

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM-1562A-Speed-Charge-Maintainer/dp/B0009IBJAS

Yup. The tip-off is that the one pictured above has the word MANUAL on it. The chargers that stop charging once the battery is fully charged (so you can't overcharge the battery) usually have the word AUTOMATIC on the charger and in their descriptions.

 

[trainingrevolution]

I have been using the Battery Tender Plus for two years now and I have been very happy with results. I keep it connected for long periods of time without being concerned about overcharging the battery. I especially like the accessories (extension cables) allow you to position it just about anywhere. I used to have a Diehard model but lost it during a move, this compact Tender Plus has exceeded my expectations. I believe I paid about $45 from a reseller, worth every penny.

[/QUOTE]

 

[nsxtasy]

The Battery Tender Plus is another automatic charger (one that won't overcharge) even though it doesn't have the word "automatic" on it.

 

[DDozier]

This is the unit I am using, it will charge and maintain a battery and can be left on the battery as long a s needed. It has three basic charging rates 2/8/15amp and is fully automatic, you connect it to the battery and choose the charge rate and your done, it shuts off when done and floats the battery at 13.5 volts. It has a recondition feature I use to save my motocyle batteries and it seams to work.

I picked this unit because I wanted more than a trickle charger and I wanted a battery charger that did more than just charge the battery, it has a digital voltage gauge and an amp gauge so you now exactly what the status is of the battery being charged. Great unit. I have the Xantrex version but they are marketed under the Duracell brand now but it is the same unit.

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/259/p/2554/pt/7/product.asp

Dave

 

[arfnsx]

I ordered my Battery Tender Plus and it came in today. If I like it I will order a few more for the other cars and bikes.

 

[ftuhy]

The question is - what are you trying to do?

If its simply to maintain a fully-charged battery when the car sits idle for weeks or months at a time, a cheap (but properly designed) float charger will work just fine. I have one from Harbor Freight that I got on sale for about $6 or $8 that works fine - my battery is going on 9 years old now & the car goes into hibernation from Nov/Dec until Mar/April.

If you want to charge a battery and time is not an issue, then low charge current is preferred.

Sometimes, if the damage is not too severe, a low current can be used to restore a battery that suffered deep discharge. A high current though will help ensure that battery's death. If the battery was severely damaged by the deep discharge, it doesn't matter what you connect to it, its dead.

If you own a shop and want to charge a battery quickly to get the customer out the door, then the higher the current the better.

Some definitions:
Float charger - maintains the ideal "float voltage" vs temperature on the battery. The current often drops to zero, except to support any load from the car (usually under 50 mA). This type charge is best for storing flooded lead-acid batteries. Since batteries have a slow self-discharge and the voltage varies with temperature, a float charger will increase/decrease its output voltage as needed to compensate for those effects.

Trickle Charger - maintains a constant low level charging current into the battery. While this is OK to charge flooded lead-acid batteries, it not good for storing a battery. It should not be left connected once the battery is fully charged as it can dry out the battery.

Battery Tenders - read the box, as this varies with supplier. But, something that truly functions as an automatic tender should charge at a moderate current (1 to 10 amps) then go into true float mode once full charge is reached. There are some with all sorts or marketing gimics that remain to be proven, such as providing an occasional shot of high current. (That scheme is not used in telecommunications applications where the batteries need to last 20 to 40 years. Hence my skepticism.)

 

[DrDave]

I am very happy with the Battery Tender Plus I recently bought. In the constant voltage stage it holds 14.6 volts in a cool Seattle climate. It will drop down to a safe float mode after the battery is completely charged.

Dave