I want to get a good charger for all battery types (led acid, gel, agm). I am debating on Deltran Battery Tender Plus, Battery Tender Jr, or other types. What's your opinion?
Probably by now you've solved the problem .I have a large Craftsmen that I use to charge /charge with it's about 10 yrs old and it says automatic .I bought it because the write up said it wouldn't overcharge .I have a tender that says Napa on it .That works fine .
Sorry I just figured a smart person would answer your post
To me a Tender and Battery Charger are 2 different animals. A tender is made to keep the battery up to snuff. It other words you don't charge a battery with a Tender. You hook up a Tender to a already fully charged battery not being used still connected to a car for a long period of time say a few months or more. Especially on one of todays cars that are computer controlled with plenty of electronics that are eating power even when sitting still. Our C-1's, C-2's and C-3's are cars you don't have to worry about as far as eating much power. Other then the clock in these cars using a minimal amount of juice nothing else needs power continuously. Now if you have a newer electronic radio installed that will be a different story as it needs power to hold its memory like a computer does.
I happened to own 3 battery chargers being I own plenty of vehicles. I have an older Sears Floor Charger on wheels that I bought back in the 70's. Great for charging a battery right away in an hour or two and great for starting a car with a dead battery if need be. I also own 2 portable (10 amp chargers) good for overnight charging or for a battery that just needs a few hours of charging to get back up to snuff. One of my portable chargers even has a 50 amp boost for starting a car. Not as good as my floor charger but it does the trick most of the time in starting a car. I recommend anyone owning a vehicle or even a garden tractor have at least a 10 amp charger on hand as you will definitely end up using it at some point, trust me.
-- Edited by ffas23 on Wednesday 21st of April 2010 12:12:44 PM
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My current charger is an older Schumacher and it has 2 and 15 amp settings with a built in safety that turns it off when fully charged. Not sure it is OK for Optima batteries because they require 10 amp or less for charging. I never let my batteries get too low so usually I charge them overnight at 2 amps. But I would like to have a good charger/tender for all types of batteries. One that will trickle charge and charge at 8-10 amps for optima batteries. Safe for lead-acid, gel, and agm batteries.
