What's the latest in battery chargers these days?

[Kevin B.]

I've had a simple little auto-parts brand dumb charger for several years, but I finally burned it up. Think I'd like to invest in something with some bells and whistles, what's new and hot in the world of battery chargers anymore?

 

[Kevin B.]

Some possibilities. I'm sure the Optima would do the job well. I've heard good things about about the Genius too.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS10-Fully-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B07W3QT226

https://www.amazon.com/Optima-Digital-Performance-Maintainer-Battery/dp/B00DHGPVKI

That's a lot of money for me to spend right now, so I'm looking at cheaper options too. This one seems to say all the right things.

Amazon.com: MOTOPOWER MP00207 6V / 12V 4AMP Automatic Smart Battery Charger Maintainer with Battery Repair Mode: Automotive

Buy MOTOPOWER MP00207 6V / 12V 4AMP Automatic Smart Battery Charger Maintainer with Battery Repair Mode: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[moab_cj5]

Wanting to charge and maintain multiple batteries as the same time (i have dual batteries in my cruiser), I bought this several months ago:

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-G4-Advanced-Battery-Maintainer/dp/B0068EV26I/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=noco+gen&qid=1593203257&sr=8-5

So far I have been pleased, but don't have long term data on batteries failing/not failing with this in use. I like that it will condition an AGM and will also charge Lithium if I ever go that route. The reviews are positive enough for me. The ones that charge 1 battery are significantly less money.

 

[Greg]

I picked one of these last week and it's been great, puts out varying amperage depending on the need and the digital readout will show you a percentage of the battery charge as it progresses. It also has an option to charge AGM batteries.

Amazon.com

 

[Homefryy]

My current battery charger is a $20 solar charge controller with an old 18v laptop power supply wired to it instead of a solar panel. Works well so far.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NPDWZJ7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jmM9EbXTV9GYJ

 

[lhracing]

I have an AGM battery and have been using the following for maintenance charging because my runner doesn't get driven much and when I am running the fridge before going on a trip. So far I am very happy with the charger.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS10-Fully-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B07W3QT226

 

[Kevin B.]

I picked one of these last week and it's been great, puts out varying amperage depending on the need and the digital readout will show you a percentage of the battery charge as it progresses. It also has an option to charge AGM batteries.

Amazon.com

I like the reverse hookup protection on that. I, uh, know a guy that did that once.

 

[glockman]

If you are looking for a "maintenance charger" not a " the car wont start" charger, these are hard to beat.

Search results for: 'store 12v 24v battery chargers 12v maintenance chargers xc100 p xtreme charge 12v battery maintenance charger desulfator'

www.pulsetech.net

They claim to pulse and remove sulfur scaling on the plates. I have two co-workers that are tight asses and have both brought batteries back from the dead using these. One of them plugged it into his rust bucket weekly and the battery lasted 10 years. Anecdotal but I used his charger just like this to stretch a 4 wheeler battery another summer.

 

[TurboMinivan]

I have this older Black & Decker branded smart charger:

I bought it at Wally World many years ago, and I recall it being pretty cheap. However, it has been a great little charger. It will alert you if you connect the cables backwards, for example, and it will also only charge a battery to full. You can choose between three charge settings--10, 6, or 2 amps--and it will automatically step down as the battery nears full. Overall, I've really liked it for being such a cheap model. Having said that, I have finally decided that this model has two significant drawbacks:

#1: it cannot charge AGM batteries (I have one in the Jeep).
#2: it cannot charge a completely dead battery. There needs to be a minimum voltage amount for this charger to see, and if I'm below that threshold then this charger is completely worthless.

Based on those two drawbacks, if I were shopping for a charger today I would seriously consider the NOCO Genius10 that @lhracing posted above.