BATTERY CHARGER?

[SWAMP FOX]

I need a new battery charger. I got batteries in 3 vehicles plus a deep cycle in my boat for my trolling motor.

What is a good one? Walmart has Schumacher battery chargers for about $60.

Good, bad, indiffent...does it matter? Looks like all of them are made in China these days.

Thanks.

[JD1]

Went to a pawn shop about 6 mos. ago and picked up a fairly new 2/10/200 amp wheeled schumacker for $75. Had been using craftsman portables(also Schumacher)but I got tired of buying a new one every few years so thought I would give this a shot. Good luck.

[Dlogfish]

I bought a Schumacher from Wally World. It does all different batteries, and has different charge rates plus a maintance mode. You can hook it up to batteries and get a digital read out of the voltage and leave it hooked to a battery and it will charge as needed. Pretty good little charger for $50

[CatFan]

I'd stay with something like the Speed Charge. The wheeled units are usually manual chargers and can overcharge a battery unless you know how to do the charging calculations and can watch it all the time.

[Yelim]

I bought the Stanley digital from WM and it stopped working. Returned it and bought the Shu digital and a month it burned out. Yesterday I bought the shu with metal case shuts off to tricle when full. Also got a two year replacement for another $3. wait and see. Keep your receipt and box. Buy from someone that will take it back. Harbor Freight has some also.

[Cray]

Take a look at these, they make on boards and these in several sizes. Have no hands on with them but have read a lot of really good reviews on them.
NOCO Genius G15000 15 Amp UltraSafe Pro-Series Battery Charger - Walmart.com

[crappiewisdom]

Schumachers are OK. They don't seem to be as reliable as they used to be...at least in my experience. I had an old one that lasted for years. Replaced it 2 years ago and that one didn't work right out of the box. Got another one and it stopped working correctly after a few months. Got another one and it seems to be working OK. Time will tell.

[outdoorsron]

Hello: Be aware of the smart charger. In my experience with them if your battery is completely dead they won't charge the battery. Good Luck. O - R

[CatFan]

Hello: Be aware of the smart charger. In my experience with them if your battery is completely dead they won't charge the battery. Good Luck. O - R

That's onboard chargers designed for permanent installation. They won't charge a completely dead battery because Coast Guard regulations require them to not be a source of ignition. The charger can't tell the difference between a dead battery and the leads touching each other so the charger won't turn on if it can't see at least 2V between the leads. If that happens very often, you'll be replacing the battery anyway. The issue doesn't exist in portable chargers.

[outdoorsron]

Hello : CatFan my experience was with automotive chargers not onboard chargers. Like I said in my experiences. Good Luck. O - R