Battery Charger recommendation

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timtune

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A buddy has borrowed my charger long enough I've decided it's his.

The one I loaned was a 12/6V charger with a 10 amp engine boost mode for 12V. That engine boost mode was great for anything cranky (no pun intended).

Any one recommend a unit with 12/6V trickle charge and an engine boost mode?
 
I saw some on clearance at Parts Source a while ago. They looked good with a heavily reduced price.
 

NOCO - Genius

Discover the world of charging. Find battery chargers for cars, motorcycles, trucks and more. From trickle chargers to onboard marine battery chargers.
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I have a new smarter charger, it does 2/4/6A.

I find the smart chargers have some nice features - like switching to maintain cycle when the battery is fully charged. Many new chargers won’t charge a dead battery - kinda stupid, I also find they are not as reliable, I’ve had a few fail.

I giot a combo kit of 2 analog motomaster chargers in high school. A small 2/6a and a shop model on wheels with 2/6/30/50a and a timer. They are battered from years of use, but they still work like a charm and they’ll charge a dead battery.

If I could only have one, it would be the shop model on wheels. Marketplace has them periodically for $50 or less.
 
I generally just use an SAE compatible battery tender and leave the lead on the bike permanently. Don't let the battery go dead and you wont have to 10a charge it!

However, for jump start, the red, yellow and green tool brands have a jump starter now. Still, the Noco work better. Project farm did a test
 
Mad Mike said:
I have a new smarter charger, it does 2/4/6A.

I find the smart chargers have some nice features - like switching to maintain cycle when the battery is fully charged. Many new chargers won’t charge a dead battery - kinda stupid, I also find they are not as reliable, I’ve had a few fail.
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Had this problem, definitely frustrating. Have to assume it's a safety 'feature' to prevent connecting to non-battery things or arcing bare leads. I ended up connecting another battery in parallel long enough to get the dead battery to show enough voltage to allow the charger to work. I'm sure there's a good reason why that was a bad idea, but it worked...

Biggest advantage I can see with newer 'smart' chargers is they supposedly recognize lithium batteries and can fully charge to the higher voltage a lithium battery can take over AGM or LA. The NOCO one I installed on a boat had a selector for the battery type, which seemed more reliable than the charger figuring it out on its own. Considering the proliferation of lithium everywhere these days, it's handy to have...
 
If I have a dead battery I'll start with a dumb charger on 10 amps for a while, then later switch to smart charger with hopes of the smart technology revitalizing the battery.
 
Priller said:
Had this problem, definitely frustrating. Have to assume it's a safety 'feature' to prevent connecting to non-battery things or arcing bare leads. I ended up connecting another battery in parallel long enough to get the dead battery to show enough voltage to allow the charger to work. I'm sure there's a good reason why that was a bad idea, but it worked...

Biggest advantage I can see with newer 'smart' chargers is they supposedly recognize lithium batteries and can fully charge to the higher voltage a lithium battery can take over AGM or LA. The NOCO one I installed on a boat had a selector for the battery type, which seemed more reliable than the charger figuring it out on its own. Considering the proliferation of lithium everywhere these days, it's handy to have...
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Agree, you should have a decent smart charger that works with lithium batteries (if you have lithium batteries).

Not sure @timtune is there yet, probably be a few years before he accepts motorized stuff built this century.
 
What about splitting the functions. Have one of those small booster packs that keeps a charge for a long time and can boost a car/motorbike many times before charging.
Then get a smart charger for regular, and trickle charging?

Last week at work a guy needed a boost and I had mine in the trunk but not charged it for at least 2 years, maybe longer. It had 3 LEDs lit instead of 5 but it got the job done.

Edit:
I do have this old work horse that has saved me many times. Have had for more than 25 years but not a lot of use.
IMG_5736.jpeg
 
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Thanks guys. I have a few tenders that I use on the main stuff but they are all 12V. I still need something for a 6V battery from my little Honda.
And again I really like having the 10 amp boost mode for anything those times that something is sluggish.

And @Mad Mike is correct any lithium in my house is likely getting charged via a USB.

@POWERMAN did I miss something? The NOCO seemed to be 12V only and dedicated t0 a particular ampherage.
 
timtune said:
Thanks guys. I have a few tenders that I use on the main stuff but they are all 12V. I still need something for a 6V battery from my little Honda.
And again I really like having the 10 amp boost mode for anything those times that something is sluggish.

And @Mad Mike is correct any lithium in my house is likely getting charged via a USB.

@POWERMAN did I miss something? The NOCO seemed to be 12V only and dedicated t0 a particular ampherage.
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I just edited my post above with a pic of what you are describing.
 
Sunday Rider said:
I just edited my post above with a pic of what you are describing.
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That's similar to my old one. The switch bottom right is similar to mine i that there is no 2amp trickle for 6V batteries. If you're not careful it will boil a 6V. That says 70amp boost mine was only 10 amp but really good for a bike boost.

Is 2 amp trickle for a 6V hard to find?
 
timtune said:
That's similar to my old one. The switch bottom right is similar to mine i that there is no 2amp trickle for 6V batteries. If you're not careful it will boil a 6V. That says 70amp boost mine was only 10 amp but really good for a bike boost.

Is 2 amp trickle for a 6V hard to find?
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There is this from Amazon 2 amps

NOCO GENIUS1: 1A 6V/12V Smart Battery Charger – Automatic Maintainer, Trickle Charger & Desulfator with Overcharge Protection & Temperature Compensation – for Lead-Acid & Lithium Batteries, Battery Chargers - Amazon Canada

NOCO GENIUS1: 1A 6V/12V Smart Battery Charger – Automatic Maintainer, Trickle Charger & Desulfator with Overcharge Protection & Temperature Compensation – for Lead-Acid & Lithium Batteries in Battery Chargers.
a.co

and this 1 amp

Huiaipaic 6V 12V Battery Charger Maintainer, 2-Amp Fully Automatic Smart Charger, Portable Trickle Charger,Car Battery Repair and Desulfator for Automotive,Boat,Motorcycle,Lawn Mower,RV,ATV,Toy Car : Amazon.ca: Automotive

Huiaipaic 6V 12V Battery Charger Maintainer, 2-Amp Fully Automatic Smart Charger, Portable Trickle Charger,Car Battery Repair and Desulfator for Automotive,Boat,Motorcycle,Lawn Mower,RV,ATV,Toy Car : Amazon.ca: Automotive
a.co
 
timtune said:
That's similar to my old one. The switch bottom right is similar to mine i that there is no 2amp trickle for 6V batteries. If you're not careful it will boil a 6V. That says 70amp boost mine was only 10 amp but really good for a bike boost.

Is 2 amp trickle for a 6V hard to find?
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You’re better off with the 10a assist as it has 100% duty cycle. The 60+ amp chargers will crank for between 3-5 seconds then step down to 6a for about 5 minutes to cool. For anything useful for jumpstarting cars/trucks, you’ll need a proper shop type charger.
 
Sunday Rider said:
What about splitting the functions. Have one of those small booster packs that keeps a charge for a long time and can boost a car/motorbike many times before charging.
Then get a smart charger for regular, and trickle charging?
Click to expand...

This is the way. I have an old school 40/20/10 "dumb" charging cart with 200A boost that's a bit cumbersome to connect to a long extension cord to reach a car on the driveway, but my handheld Lithium booster that fits in my pocket is quick and easy. Also small enough to pack in my tail bag for a road trip to help others (or myself) and doubles as a USB charger.

85K100 said:
If I have a dead battery I'll start with a dumb charger on 10 amps for a while, then later switch to smart charger with hopes of the smart technology revitalizing the battery.
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This is exactly what I had to do one February when my MDX battery was near the end of its life and wouldn't start when my wife came out after work. A coworker couldn't boost it with his car and cables, and neither could CAA when they arrived. Thinking it was the anti-theft system triggered, I had them tow it home so I could take a closer look and for ***** and giggles I put my charging cart on it at 10A for about 10 minutes, then turned it to 200A and it started like nothing.
 
timtune said:
A buddy has borrowed my charger long enough I've decided it's his.

The one I loaned was a 12/6V charger with a 10 amp engine boost mode for 12V. That engine boost mode was great for anything cranky (no pun intended).

Any one recommend a unit with 12/6V trickle charge and an engine boost mode?
Click to expand...

Whatever you decide, consider which pigtails you have on all of your vehicles and whether you want to go through the hassle of dealing with adapters or clamps (especially if the batteries are hard to reach) if you get one with proprietary connectors like Noco or CTEK.

That said, CTEK is my favorite charger brand, but because of the proprietary connector, I primarily use mine for resurrecting neglected batteries. My next favorite is Optimate which uses standard SAE and has probven to be almost if not just as good as the CTEK for dealing with troublesome lead batteries, and was the original charger recommended and sold by Antigravity when their lithium batteries had no built-in BMS.
 
Was out looking and the higher amp chargers have a range but the low end is 6amp. Can you trickle charge at 6a? The more I look it looks like I should be buying 2 chargers.
 
The safe charging rate for lead acid batteries is somewhere between 10-20% of the AH rating depending on whether it's standard lead, gel, or AGM. These are the modes on my CTEK 3300 and I always use the first one for my lead acid bike batteries:
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